Sex Factor: Season 1, The Review

Distributor: xHamster Edition Details: Hardcore Version Streaming Movie Specs: Genres: Reality, Competition, TV Series Run Time: 236 minutes Rated: XXX Release Year: 2016 Director: uncredited Written by: Buddy Ruben (created by) Cast: Keiran Lee, Asa Akira, Tori Black, Remy LaCroix, Lexi Belle, Paige Jennings (as Veronica Vain), Khaya Peake, Allie Knox (as Allie Eve Knox), Blair Williams, Sharon Perrine (as Adrian Lee Ray), Sydney Gilmour, Kaelin Blake, Dani Darko, Buddy Hollywood, Johnny Black, Donnie Rock, Hero D. Protagonist, Sonny Keegan, David Caspian, William McDonald (as The Colonel), Barry Newport, Holly Randall, Ecstasy, Manuel Ferrara, Kayden Kross, James Deen, Minx Mayhem, Ramon Nomar, Dana DeArmond, Dahlia Sky, Mr. Pete, Tommy Gunn, Penny Pax, Buddy Ruben Release Specs: Audio: English Stereo Subtitles: none Video: Widescreen, 1.78:1 (anamorphic) Video Format: NTSC Format: Streaming Regional Code (for DVD/Blu-ray): N/A Number of discs: N/A

The Sex Factor season one is a porn reality show where contestants, who have not appeared in a professional adult movie before, compete for a $1 million prize — awarded as $500,000 to one female contestant and $500,000 to one male contestant — and to become a porn star. There are 16 competitors, eight males and eight females competing for the coveted prize. While at first, the hardcore show sounds like one of the parodies that the adult industry has been churning out as of late, the viewer quickly finds out that it is, in fact, a well done hardcore reality show.

The Sex Factor season one originally ran on SexFactor.com from May 20, 2016 through July 22, 2016 and is the brainchild of Buddy Ruben. Reportedly an unnamed Hollywood, not adult, director directed the series, which might be possible. The Sex Factor season one consists of 10 episodes that range from 17 minutes and 10 seconds in duration to 28 minutes and two seconds in duration. The episodes are “Battle of the Sexes,” “Hustler Hodgepodge,” “Back to the Basics,” “Fuck Me in the Video Village,” “Fuck in Video Village 2,” “Virgin Producers,” “Virgin Producers 2,” “Playing with the Pros,” “Playing with the Pros 2,” and “Who's got the Sex Factor?” In each episode, zero to four contestants are eliminated from the competition (Some are two part episodes where no one is eliminated.).

Wicked contract star Asa Akira serves as host of the series and one of the five judges. The other judges are composed of Keiran Lee, Tori Black, Remy LaCroix, and Lexi Belle. The eight female contestants are Veronica Vain, Khaya Peake, Allie Knox, Blair Williams, Sharon Perrine, Sydney Gilmour, Kaelin Blake, and Dani Darko. The eight male contestants are Buddy Hollywood, Johnny Black, Donnie Rock, Hero D. Protagonist, Sonny Keegan, David Caspian, William McDonald, and Barry Newport. While none of the cast is supposed to have performed in a professional adult movie prior to competing on The Sex Factor season one, not all of the cast will be complete unknowns to viewers. William McDonald, who goes by The Colonel on The Sex Factor season one, was on The CW's Beauty and the Geek season four and Sharon Perrine, who goes by Adrian Lee Ray on The Sex Factor season one, is also known as SuicideGirl Medusa.

Overall, The Sex Factor season one is a well done hardcore reality show. The program does have some issues but the positive aspects well outweigh the negative aspects. The show actually gives a decent look at how hard being a sex performer can be and how it isn't just the easy job that everyone thinks it is. The Sex Factor season one manages to draw the viewer in rather fast. Some of the contestants one will like and root for, others viewers will hate and they will be counting off the eliminations until the contestants are told they “don't have the sex factor.” The Sex Factor season one manages to have some funny and some touching moments as well rounding out all the necessities for a reality show.

The five judges do a good job with their roles as the judges but one of the mistakes that this reviewer thinks the show makes is by having the judges to double duty as mentors (with Asa doing triple duty as host as well). This reviewer thinks the program would have been better with separate judges and mentors. Having the mentors be bonafide porn stars was a great idea since they are in the best position to coach the contestants. The mentors picked have good personalities and come across well on screen, especially Keiran Lee, who seems natural at judging and mentoring. However, this reviewer thinks the judges should have consisted of directors, photographers, and cinematographers. Renown photographer Holly Randall guest starred on one of the episodes and, in this reviewer's opinion, served far better judge-wise than the mentors did (which shouldn't be taken as a knock against them). Those who carry on the tasks of directing and shooting the movies or pictorials are in a much better position to be the overall judge.

One of the issues that keeps hitting The Sex Factor season one is that there isn't much for hardcore sex at the beginning of the series. As the program goes on, the amount of sex in each episode does as well. This reviewer understands that the show had to progress from easier to harder tasks all the while slowly wading the contestants into the world of being a porn performer, however, the wealth of extras shows that there was sex going on, even back in the beginning. This reviewer is glad the show wasn't filled with 45-minute sex scenes, however, the earlier episodes definitely needed more hardcore footage. The beginning of the series offers scenes that seem more like clips. Some of the sex scenes seem to be cut a little too heavily as well. As for the quality of the sex scenes, well, that, which is to be expected, is a mixed bag. Since one is not seeing seasoned porn performers, there are times that the sex scenes look awkward as hell and times that the male talent can't get or keep their erection. Mixed in are some really nice looking sex scenes as well. However, the unevenness of the sex scenes does add to the production, not detract from it since if all the sex scenes looked amazing it wouldn't look like an amateur competition.

The end product isn't as polished as this reviewer would have liked, especially considering that supposedly a mainstream director helmed the series. Some faces are blurred in the production mansion, which always just looks poor. Cameras, microphones, and booms show up in the visible frame way too often for this reviewer's liking. The crew can be seen in shots and there is noticeable, and distracting, talking in the background at times.

The format of the episodes was a little problematic. This reviewer understands that there is hope that this show will air on some channel, somewhere in the world (and may very well have at this point), however, the hardcore version released on the web still has spacers for commercials that aren't there and has a “cumming” up that runs before the episode. Obviously the spacers and “cumming” up could, and probably should, have been removed from the web version.

The other issue with the format is that the producers have tried to cram a lot into a slightly less than half hour block. The show often feels rushed, with the first episode eliminating two contestants prior to even really getting to know them. Plus there is clearly missing footage since the contestants talk about discussing their scenes prior to performing them but there is never any footage of that. Had the show been an hour this reviewer thinks it would have been less crammed and overall better. Especially since there were several two-part episodes.

There are two participants that drop out off camera, and viewers are informed at the beginning of an episode they have dropped out. It would have been nice if there were video pieces of each of them explaining why they opted to drop out. This reviewer recognizes that the show was shot over different time periods, so likely they dropped out in between shootings. However, something, even if they had done it over Skype and recorded it would have been better than nothing.

Overall, The Sex Factor season one is not without its faults. However, despite all of them, the show is still very enjoyable and well worth watching. The Sex Factor season one is a unique show and manages to pull off what titles such as Platinum X's Porn Star Idol have tried but never quite managed to properly pull off. Unfortunately, as of the time of writing a second season of The Sex Factor has not yet been confirmed nor has there been a DVD or Blu-ray release of the first season. Hopefully, both will occur in the near future.

The edition of The Sex Factor season one that was screened is the streaming only version available at SexFactor.com. The Sex Factor season one consists of ten roughly half-hour episodes. There were hardcore and softcore versions of the show produced. The version screened is the hardcore version of The Sex Factor season one.

The Sex Factor season one is presented in the anamorphic widescreen aspect ratio of 1.78:1 in 720p, 480p, and 240p. The Sex Factor season one appears to have been shot digitally and xHamster has done a decent job with their release of the series. The video quality is decent with a nice, clean, clear, and crisp picture. The issues come in with the colors. In some shots the color is vibrant and beautiful; in other shots, the color is flat and muted. This reviewer is not sure if there was a problem with one of the cameras used or if there was a problem with the mastering for The Sex Factor season one. There is a SexFactor.com bug in red and white located in the top right corner of the screen. The positioning makes the bug more noticeable than usual since it isn't in the standard bug location of the screen.

The Sex Factor season one is presented with an English Stereo audio track. As with the video, there are some issues with the audio quality in the presentation. The audio is very inconsistent when it comes to the volume level. Some scenes are much softer than others. The dialog is clear and able to be understood throughout the show, however, one does have to change the volume level a few times during most of the episodes.

xHamster has included a mass of extras for their release of The Sex Factor season one on SexFactor.com. However, despite the exhaustive list of extras, many are short — several running for a minute or less — and could have easily been combined to create less but longer pieces. The extras are located, for the most part, on the individual episode screens. On the main screen, there are text and image profiles for the contestants and the judges.

Episode 1 contains the most extras. There are several get to know the cast members featurettes. “Get to Know Allie Eve Knox,” that runs for fifty-seven seconds, “Get to Know David Caspian,” that runs for a minute and four seconds, “Get to Know Hero D. Protagonist,” that runs for one minute and thirteen seconds, “Get to Know Blair Williams,” that runs for one minute and six seconds, “Get to Know The Colonel,” that runs for one minute and eight seconds, “Get to Know Donnie Rock,” that runs for one minute and nine seconds, “Get to Know Johnny Black,” that runs for fifty-seven seconds, “Get to Know Kaelin Blake,” that runs for fifty-nine seconds, “Get to Know Khaya Peake,” that runs for one minute, “Get to Know Sonny Keegan,” that runs for one minute, “Get to Know Sydney Gilmour,” that runs for one minute, “Get to Know Buddy Hollywood,” that runs for fifty-eight seconds, “Get to Know Barry Newport,” that runs for one minute and three seconds, “Get to Know Veronica Vain,” that runs for one minute and twenty-nine seconds, “Get to Know Dani Darko,” that runs for one minute and twelve seconds, “Get to Know Adrian Lee Ray,” that runs for one minute and two seconds, “Get to Know Keiran Lee,” that runs for two minutes and fifteen seconds, “Get to Know Asa Akira,” that runs for one minute and fifty-five seconds, “Get to Know Lexi Belle,” that runs for two minutes and fifty-seven seconds, “Get to Know Tori Black,” that runs for two minutes and eighteen seconds, and “Get to Know Remy LaCroix,” that runs for two minutes and fifty seconds.

There are also a series of blooper reels. “Bloopers — Asa messes up her lines,” that runs for one minute and twenty seconds, “Bloopers — Keiran Messes up his lines,” that runs for twenty seconds, “Bloopers — Asa Messes up her lines,” that runs for fifteen seconds, “Bloopers — Drone Crash,” that runs for twelve seconds, and “Blooper — Remy forgets her lines,” that runs for two minutes and thirteen seconds.

There is a series of what appears to be deleted scenes. “Hero extended Fip-Sync,” that runs for thirty-nine seconds, “Colonel killing it on the red carpet,” that runs for twenty-five seconds, “Judges decide whether The Colonel is a virgin,” that runs for one minute and five seconds, and “Keiran witnesses Colonel enjoying a finger up his bum,” that runs for twenty-five seconds.

And finally under episode one, is a collection of full-length sex scenes, several of which are the audition reels for The Sex Factor season one. “Full Length Sex Scene — Buddy and Khaya Audition,” that features Buddy Hollywood and Khaya Peake and runs for 23 minutes, “Full Length Sex Scene — Donnie, Khaya, Sydney,” that features Donnie Rock, Khaya Peake, and Sydney Gilmour and runs for 20 minutes, “Full Length Sex Scene — Donnie and Blair Audition Fail,” which features Donnie Rock and Blair Williams and runs for seven minutes, “Full Length Sex Scene — Blair Solo Audition,” which is the second part of the Blair Williams audition footage and runs for seven minutes and “Full Length Sex Scene — Allie and Johnny Audition,” which features Allie Knox and Johnny Black and runs for 13 minutes.

Episode two contains a series of features on how the judges think of each other. “The judges talk” runs for three minutes and eight seconds, “What do the judges think of Tori Black” runs for two minutes and forty-three seconds, “What do the judges think of Lexi Belle” runs for three minutes and seven seconds, “What do the judges think of Keiran Lee” runs for three minutes and eleven seconds, “What do the judges think of Remy LaCroix” runs for two minutes and seventeen seconds, and “What do the judges think of Asa Akira” runs for two minutes and fifteen seconds.

There are some complete sex scenes. “Full Length Sex Scene Hero, Colonel, & Minx DP,” with Hero D. Protagonist, William McDonald, and Minx Mayhem, runs for 17 minutes, “Full Length Sex Scene Buddy and Blair Shower Fuck,” with Buddy Hollywood and Blair Williams, runs for four minutes and thirty-nine seconds, “Full Length Sex Scene Vinnie and Kaelin,” with Vinnie Shaphts and Kaelin Blake, runs for 12 minutes, and “Full Length Sex Scene — David Caspian and Star Knipps,” with David Caspian and Star Knipps, runs for 11 minutes.

There are some deleted scenes. “Minx Mayhem, The Colonel, and Hero fucking in the hot tub,” with Minx Mayhem, William McDonald, and Hero D. Protagonist, runs for one minute and two seconds, “The Contestants get dressed for the AVN red carpet” runs for two minutes and forty-seven seconds, and “Deleted Scene — AVN POD (Expo & Red Carpet)” runs for two minutes and forty seconds.

There is some judge commentary. “Asa talks her first AVN experience” runs for one minute and “Keiran talks — AVN Experience” runs for forty-three seconds.

There is also a best of reel “Keiran's Best One Liners” that runs for one minute and forty-six seconds.

Episode three has a collection of interview tapes for some of the featured contestants trying to get onto The Sex Factor season one. “Sydney Gilmour Audition” runs for two minutes and thirty-two seconds, “Sonny Keegan Audition” runs for four minutes and nine seconds, “Khaya Peake Audition” runs for three minutes and twenty-five seconds, “Buddy Hollywood Audition” runs for three minutes and eleven seconds, and “Allie Eve Knox Audition” runs for three minutes and twenty-one seconds.

Episode four has a collection of judge commentary. “Asa talks about society's low expectations for porn stars” runs for fifty-eight minutes, “Asa talks about the first time she fucked a girl with a strap-on” runs for one minute and eighteen seconds, “Asa and Keiran talk about their first AVN” runs for one minute and thirty-three seconds, “Asa talks about the two different types of good performers” runs for one minute and fifteen seconds, “Tori talks about over-confident guys who think they can do porn” runs for forty-five seconds, “Tori talks about how AVN has changed for her over the years” runs for one minute and six seconds, and “Tori talks about making out and kicking off a scene the right way” runs for fifty-five seconds.

There are also some deleted scenes. “Tori gives AVN advice to new performers” runs for one minute and one second and “Keiran and Asa hang out with the contestants and talk about the industry” runs for four minutes and five seconds.

There is also one full-length sex scene. “Sydney Gilmour / Cassidy Klein Full Length Scene” runs for 12 minutes.

Episode five brings more assorted commentary from the judges. “Lexi talks about why the show is unique” runs for two minutes and twenty minutes, “Lexi talks about The Colonel's fake orgasm in the Battle of the Sexes” runs for a minute and thirty-three seconds, “Lexi talks about making out with Blair in the Battle of the Sexes” runs for a minute and forty-nine seconds, “Remy talks about her AVN experience” runs for a minute, “Remy talks about the contestants' first experience being on such a big set” runs for a minute and sixteen seconds, “Remy talks about the contestant AVN experience” runs for a minute, “Tori talks about what it takes to be a porn star” runs for a minute and twenty nine seconds, “The judges talk about what a group scene with all of them would be like” runs for a minute and thirty-seven seconds, “Asa talks about why she joined The Sex Factor” runs for forty-eight seconds, “Asa talks about which contestants she'd fuck” runs for forty-eight seconds, “Asa talks about the pros and cons of being a porn star” runs for one minute and forty-six seconds, and “Lexi and Tori talk about Kaelin” runs for a minute and thirty one seconds.

There is also an “Ode to the Colonel” that runs for five minutes and forty-six seconds.

For episode six, there are some deleted scenes. “Contestants & judges hang out in the kitchen,” which runs for one minute and fifteen seconds, “Donnie shreds the air guitar,” which runs for one minute and sixteen seconds, and “Blair deep throats Buddy on the couch,” which runs for five minutes and fifteen seconds.

There are also two extended interview sequences. “Blair extended interview about plumber scene,” which runs for three minutes and “Donnie extended interview about plumber scene,” which runs for one minute and forty-seven seconds.

Under episode seven is the bonus web scene “Hollywood In Brazil” that runs for 16 minutes and features Buddy Hollywood and Abby Lee Brazil. There aren't any extras for any of the remaining episodes.

The Sex Factor season one is an adult reality show. Eight male and eight female contestants compete for $1 million dollars and the chance to be a porn star. Over the course of ten episodes, the contestants are whittled down to one female and one male winner. The Sex Factor season one is an enjoyable hardcore reality show that is well worth watching. xHamster has loaded their release with more extras than one could ever imagine with good video and audio.

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