The acting is still as cardboard as the flimsy-looking model home used as a set, but the premise of Cinemax's new After Dark series, Forbidden Science, is several notches above the usual contrived idea behind the softcore porn. Instead of people calling in to a talk radio host with their best-sex-ever stories or a hotel that prompts rediscovering the passion in a relationship, Forbidden Science is downright complicated.

In the pilot, which premiered last week, we're introduced to Bethany Montrose (Joanna Alderson), the new employee at 4Ever Innovations. Recently divorced, she's starting over with the help of old friend Colin Summers (Levi Freeman), the "brilliant but ruthless owner of 4Ever Innovations," according to the Cinemax website. Her first day on the job, she meets Julia White (Vanessa Broze)—the clone of a woman who was murdered by her husband and his lawyer lover.

Along the way, of course, there's plenty of sex, most of it as giggle-inducing as Skinemax fans might hope. The best scene in the first episode involves the murdering husband screwing his lover next to—and on top of—the sleeping clone, with a close second a scene involving Bethany fantasizing a scene that seems strangely centered on her, and not the man inside her.

But what sets Forbidden Science apart from the rest of the pack is both its twisting plot and the high production values, both of which can be attributed to creator Doug Brode, a conceptual artist who has worked on Iron Man and the upcoming Star Trek movie. No longer are the actors done a disservice with flat lighting and cheap production values. Now, the cinematography has a luster to it that only enhances the hard bodies and sex that gets equal air time with "vibrators for your mind," clones, and, in upcoming episodes, androids. For anyone who finds themselves bored on Friday nights, Forbidden Science should take the place of The Starter Wife as a guilty viewing pleasure.

Photo courtesy of Cinemax.com.