Doctor Climax is a new Thai comedy-drama series on Netflix that attempts to intrigue, excite, and raise questions through one of the most appealing genres to the common masses—sex comedy. The premise is quite intelligently set in Thailand in the 1970s when the country was not as liberated as in the present, and conversations regarding intimacy were still considered taboo. Nat Muangnon, the protagonist, is a dermatologist by profession whose life goes through a series of changes when he turns into a columnist in a newspaper, answering people’s questions about their sex life. It is Nat’s various adventures amidst threats from the conservative side of society that become the subject of the eight-episode series.
Spoiler Alert
What is the Netflix series about?
Doctor Climax presents the young and reserved dermatologist, Nat Muangnon, who is pursuing the profession as a doctor only because of his familial pressure. An expert in treating venereal diseases, Nat is much more interested in becoming a novelist, as exercising creative prowess is all he has been wanting to do in life. In recent times, he has befriended a popular novelist named Thong Tien in the hopes of getting some entry into the writing profession, for Thong Tien also works as a journalist at the Bangkok Express newspaper. As Nat shows his latest novel manuscript to Thong Tien, he is not impressed with it by any means and instead finds it to be a cheap copy of his own work. The protagonist has to continue treating patients, who also often ask him for sexual advice and help with products like contraceptive pills. After all, the Thailand of the times shown in the series is not open about such matters, and people still feel extremely shy about buying related products from medicine stores.
However, the situation takes a different turn when the Bangkok Express editor, Choosak Jaithon, faces extreme pressure from his boss, the owner of the newspaper. The business has been losing ground against the rival newspaper, Siam Herald, and because of this, the owners want Choosak to implement new and innovative measures. During a meeting among the employees of Bangkok Express, most were of the belief that doing something related to sex would sell the most, since the subject is always popular among the masses. Although a few of the employees, like the art department head, Linda, are not convinced that the newspaper should take such a step only to improve sales, a joint decision is ultimately taken. The Bangkok Express is about to launch a new column on the topic of sexual awareness and education, in which readers will ask questions, and a representative will answer them. It is Thong Tien who suggests that Dr. Nat be made the representative because of his creative capabilities and also for his experience with medicine.
Despite some initial hesitation, Nat agrees to the role, believing that it will help him get closer to his dream of becoming a novelist someday. He does not mind publishing the column by his own name, as Choosak and the others have decided, but Linda comes up with a different idea. Right before the first batch of newspapers with the column titled “The Climax Question” is published, Linda changes the name of the columnist to Doctor Climax, both in order to hide Nat’s identity and also to make the presentation seem more appealing. Bangkok Express experiences an immediate boost in sales, and readers are awed and thrilled by this new phenomenon, finally being able to address intimate queries in an anonymous manner. Nat’s life, however, starts to take a different turn as he faces some pushback against his work, and the protagonist also starts to feel romantically for his colleague, Linda.
Why does MP Pornchai want to stop Nat’s column?
The biggest problem that Nat faces after his column starts to get published is from a politician named Pornchai, who is also a newly appointed member of parliament. Pornchai is extremely vocal against such sexual matters being published in a newspaper for the masses, and he determinately tries to stop the column in whatever manner possible. As soon as the column and the Bangkok Express newspaper start to gain popularity, the politician actively speaks out against them in the media. Pornchai represents the conservative old-school population, for he believes that discussing these matters so openly and publicly is going to ruin the moral fabric of the society. He feels that publishing such a column is almost the same as distributing cheap adult entertainment, which is extremely detrimental to the development of youth.
Doctor Climax does not hide the fact that anything related to intimacy does have a tendency to sell way more comparatively, and the Bangkok Express newspaper’s immediate success is a proof of that. Many scenes depict people of all ages asking for the newspaper only to read the column, which is indeed a form of entertainment for them. However, there are also numerous instances when people are genuinely helped by the advice and suggestions that Nat provides them, and this creates an awareness that the government’s decision to teach sex education in schools also fails to bring. To MP Pornchai, though, these benefits are negligible, and the man does not even address them; he harps on about the supposed negative side of it. This conflict is more like an age-old one between conservatism and modernity, as the politician is extremely opposed to any liberal change.
Despite Pornchai trying to rally the masses against Nat’s column and the Bangkok Express newspaper, he is relatively silent about the rivals at Siam Herald using obscene images even on their front page to gather more sales. When Choosak and the others try to defend their decision by mentioning how they intend to help the masses understand matters of intimacy better, Pornchai simply turns a deaf ear. Although the series does not mention it, there might even be some business understanding between the politician and the rival newspaper. He turns even more vengeful against the publishers and tries to find out more about the real identity of the columnist known as Dr. Climax. Pornchai appoints the help of a corrupt police general, Captain Pao, to carry out this personal investigation for him. Very soon, the workers at the newspaper office realize that the police are unlawfully after their columnists and make every effort to hide Nat’s identity.
In a desperate attempt, they decide to fake Thong Tien as the columnist, Dr. Climax, and Pao’s goons start to believe this lie. Matters get more serious, though, when Tien befriends one of the readers of the column and gets romantically involved with her, which also includes regularly visiting an adult club. MP Pornchai and Captain Pao see this as a great opportunity to expose the identity of the columnist and prepare a grand plan to catch Tien in some immoral act.
Why does Nat avoid the questions about homosexuality?
Another proof of the immense popularity of Nat’s column is the large number of letters that people write to the newspaper office, asking questions of all sorts to the man they consider to be an expert on the topic. Such is the response that Nat has to sort the letters into three categories, with the immediacy required to respond to them being the main differentiator. But as Linda notices, he specifically keeps away all the questions with regards to homosexuality, never indulging them at all. She reminds him of how the team had originally started the column with the intention of helping people with their queries. According to Linda, they must also help people get over the prejudice against homosexuality, for it is still seen as a disease in society, and break down the taboo regarding that as well. Nat, however, remains unchanged and keeps stowing these letters away, for it is later revealed that he himself faces confusion regarding the matter.
It is mentioned very early in the series that Nat belongs to a wealthy and prestigious family, which even holds the Mom Luang title, meaning that they have connections with the royal family. But he is only seen with his mother, who lives in the same house and is constantly pushing him and his wife, Tukta, to try for a baby. Nat’s father is completely out of the picture, even though he is mentioned to have been one of the most revered and skilled medical surgeons in Thailand. Although it seems possible that the man had passed away, MP Pornchai mentions that nobody actually knew what had happened to the surgeon in recent times, as he had simply vanished from the public eye. Later in Doctor Climax, it is revealed that Nat’s father, ML Kruwait, is actually alive and well, and he has only been staying away from the family for so long, with no contact between them.
The reason for this absence is that the doctor is gay, and he had come to terms with his identity many years after he got married and even had a son. After a certain age, Kruwait refused to hide the fact from his family, which resulted in the separation, but Nat had accidentally witnessed a scarring incident long before. When he was a teenage boy, Nat saw his father with another man, and this made him feel confused, scared, and hateful towards him all at the same time. Growing up, Nat’s prejudice increased, and he had an unexplained sense of dislike towards his father. The times and the social taboo meant that Kruwait could not tell him much about homosexuality either, and the veteran doctor instead just moved away from society, living a fringe existence.
Thus, Nat’s reunion with his father helps heal his scars and confusion, as he truly understands the need for acceptance and inclusivity. He also realizes his mother’s constant demand for a grandchild stems from her fear that Nat is gay as well. Such is the lack of awareness regarding the matter that she believes, just like many others in society, that homosexuality might be a genetic trait passed on from father to son. Eventually, Nat does provide support to gay readers, even though society is just not ready for it, and further complications arise. Nonetheless, the protagonist is at peace internally, knowing that he has done the right thing.
How does Nat save Thong Tien from slander?
When MP Pornchai and Captain Pao find out about Thong Tien’s affair with the woman named Plern, they come up with a plan to catch him in the act at an illegal adult club. They bring Plern over to their side, possibly offering her a financial reward or maybe assuring her that she will not be persecuted in any police investigation since their plan is to technically raid the club. However, the men still fail to realize that Thong Tien is not the anonymous columnist they are after, and it is only because of Permpol’s warning that Nat and Choosak arrive at the club to save their colleague. While they manage to get Tien out of the club and into the back alleys, the escape does not ultimately work out, as Pornchai and his men catch the novelist wearing objectionable clothes and wearing adult toys. Tien is initially freed from police custody because of the politician’s unlawful involvement in the matter; but he is still at the risk of facing serious slander.
Pornchai gathers all the photographs his men had taken during the raid and mails it to the Siam Herald newspaper, who immediately print a report on it. Thong Tien’s involvement in the adult club raid is mentioned, along with the possibility of him being the columnist, Dr. Climax. As a result of this, the Bangkok Express is forced to lay off the novelist from their team temporarily, but Nat promises to help the man avoid slander. Sometime earlier, Nat’s mother had hired a private detective to find out what he had been up to, and this man had also extensively tailed Tien. During his investigation, he had taken photographs of MP Pornchai and Captain Pao following the novelist.
In Doctor Climax‘s ending, Nat buys off these photographs from the detective and presents them to his colleagues at Bangkok Express. Finally, Choosak calls a press conference as the editor of the newspaper, during which he reveals a detailed report that his team has prepared about the corrupt actions of the politician. After all, Pornchai had involved a police captain in a personal investigation, technically wasting public resources. The two had then also hired decoys to create trouble at the club, and colluded with Plern unlawfully, in order to stage the sting operation which finds Tien guilty of immoral acts. The Bangkok Express report is about this very corruption, and it easily clears the name of Tien from any slander, as the very sting operation was fake. Instead, MP Pornchai and Captain Pao are escorted away by the police, suggesting that they will be charged for gross corruption and face legal consequences. Thus, during Doctor Climax‘s ending, Nat’s column continues, and he reveals his identity as Dr. Climax as well, although he learns the difficult complications that come along with such a responsibility.
