Red Shoe Diaries: Double Dare

 The second episode of season 1 has Duchovny and his dog Stella exiting a diner where his PO Box is located, picking up a coffee before opening a folder to reveal another letter, this time from an ad exec, Diane (Laura Johnson) near an isolated industrial area of Los Angeles near train tracks. Diane discusses a period of time where she was working late in her office, noticing who she thought might be an investment banker or lawyer (Arnold Vosloo of "The Mummy"!!!). They lock eyes and this mysterious man sends her a fax, daring her to tell him her name. During the course of the episode, the nights they trade faxes, they dare each other to do some naughty things like remove clothing, all the while tempting a potential hookup. While Diane certainly plays her part, it is the mystery man across the street in an adjacent building who proposes they meet in person to fuck. Vosloo even fucks a woman on his desk in his office with the shades open, looking right at Johnson, hoping this inspires her burgeoning desire, perhaps encouraging her to take him up on his offer. This was directed by Tibor Takács ("The Gate")! I was stunned by that, but a director's gotta work. This is about the allure of voyeurism, and since that is something I have a curiosity and interest in, the episode kept my attention even though the plotting doesn't really commit to anything surprising. It is about temptation and whether or not Diane succumbs to her yearnings to follow through with agreeing to fuck the man she knows really nothing about. When he actually proposes to fuck in the backseat of her car, Diane's anxiety is palpable...she has to drive away fast in order to extinguish that burning fire inside her.

So does it have sex? Yeah, a little, but nothing as softcore as the later Showtime series, "Beverly Hills Bordello". Diane and her husband get hot and heavy, but she only fantasizes about Vosloo touching her in the shower. Johnson does remove her bra for Vosloo's mystery man while he strips down to his undies. But, again, she is able to withstand a desire to actually meet him for a physical romp.

I don't know why but I was happy Duchovny had more dialogue, mainly just talking to his dog about whether Diane actually cheated or if not going all the way kept her in the clear. I think the location of where Duchovny goes to read the letters was an interesting spot in LA. I still need to see the movie Duchovny was in before the series in order to learn more about him.