History Series / FleshAndBone

* FanDisservice: Claire making herself vomit to avoid being forced to sleep with the company's primary donor, even when she's also naked. Another instance would be [[spoiler:Bryan hog-tying Mia and masturbating on her]]. Claire appears nude [[spoiler: when she wakes up after having sex with Bryan as well.]]

'''''Flesh and Bone''''' is a Creator/{{Starz}} mini-series, consisting of eight episodes. While it was first conceived as a longer-running show, Starz confirmed its re-tooling as a limited series in October 2015.

* DoingItForTheArt: InUniverse. Daphne truly loves dancing, whether as a ballerina or as a stripper. Unfortunately, her rich father sees her passion as a mere distraction and expects her to continue her studies at Oxford.

* BondageIsBad: The audience's suspicion that there is something very wrong with [[spoiler: Bryan]] is proved correct when he hog-ties [[spoiler: Mia]] before [[ADateWithRosiePalms masturbating]] on her. To be fair, the fact that the bondage is non-consensual greatly increases the {{squick}} of it all. However, the event traumatizes her so much that even a drunken hookup couldn't erase that image from her head.

* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: Each episode is taken from an official or slang military phrase. Amusingly, despite the explicit nature of some of the show's scenes, the acronym "FUBAR" is not elaborated on; only stated as a military acronym.

** Claire grew up with a father who was an alcoholic abuser, an absent mother (why's never made clear), had an [[spoiler:incestruous relationship with her brother (by whom she got pregnant), and her father forced Claire to have the baby but then give her up for adoption]]. She is unsurprisingly a bit messed up due to all this.

* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: Each episode is taken from a official or slang military phrase. Amusingly, despite the explicit nature of some of the show's scenes, the acronym "FUBAR" is not elaborated on; only stated as a military acronym.

[[caption-width-right:300:[[{{Tagline}} Take no prisoners]]. [[{{BreakTheCutie}} Just endless abuse]].]]

The series was created by [[Series/{{BreakingBad}} Breaking Bad]] writer Moira Walley-Beckett. It stars real-life ballerina Sarah Hay as Claire Robbins, Ben Daniels as Paul Grayson, Irina Dvorovenko as Kiira, Emily Tyra as Mia, and Josh Helman as Bryan Robbins.

* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:Mia]] attempts suicide after she's diagnosed with MS, since it means she'll be unable to do ballet anymore, though she survives.

* AbusiveParents: Claire's father. Heavily implied and later demonstrated in his treatment of Claire's brother, Bryan. Possibly what drove his children [[spoiler: to seek [[BrotherSisterIncest physical affection]] from one another]].

* AgonyOfTheFeet: Well, it is a show about Ballet.

* BondageIsBad: The audience's suspicion that there is something very wrong with [[spoiler: Bryan]] is proved correct when he hog-ties [[spoiler: Mia]] before [[ADateWithRosiePalms masturbating]] over her. To be fair, the fact that the bondage is non-consensual greatly increases the {{squick}} of it all. However, the event traumatizes her so much that even a drunken hookup couldn't erase that image from her head.

* BreakTheCutie: Seemingly the objective of Claire's [[TraumaCongaLine entire life]], up to and including her employment with the Company. Thankfully, her future seems at least [[EarnYourHappyEnding marginally brighter]] by the end.

* BrotherSisterIncest: Between [[spoiler: Claire and Bryan]]. Alluded to and then confirmed in a scene that likely induced a SickAndWrong moment for most viewers. [[spoiler:To make things worse, they had a daughter which Claire gave up after her birth]].

* CrazyHomelessPeople[=/=]CloudCuckoolander: Romeo.

* DisabilityAsAnExcuseForJerkassery: Once again, Claire's charming father. Although, the show does call bullshit on it around the time [[spoiler: Claire shoves her baby's wristband in his mouth]]. In another instance, one hard look from Bryan after an unwarranted slap to the head causes him to shrink back in utter terror. Judging by the home video we see of him with Bryan in the past, he was already an asshole before getting disabled.

* {{Fanservice}}: Daphne's stripper dance, along with Claire's, in which the latter takes her top off. She views herself topless in the mirror another time too.

* HatesBeingTouched: Claire - for increasingly obvious reasons. This is also what makes Toni Cannava's more intimate choreography difficult for her.
** Spotlighted when Claire smashes a bottle over a man's head because he [[BerserkButton touches her pony-tail]]. [[spoiler:It's later revealed that Bryan tended to do this to her whenever they slept together]].
** And again when she flinches away from Toni's compassion.

* IncestSubtext: The incest between [[spoiler: Claire]] and [[spoiler: Bryan]] is pretty blatantly implied before [[TheReveal the big reveal]]. One notably [[{{Squick}} icky]] example is when [[spoiler: Bryan calls Claire while masturbating on her childhood bed]].

* WarIsHell: It is implied that [[ShellShockedVeteran Bryan]] was even further twisted by his tour in Afghanistan than he was before. This is particularly frightening considering he [[spoiler: impregnated his sister]] before he enlisted.
* WeightWoe: Another common [[{{Ballet}} Ballet]] trope.

* DCupDistress: Several other dancers snark about Claire as she practices--"Her tits are two steps behind". She's far from this size, but in the world of ballet, she may as well be by having breasts at all.

* FanDisservice: Claire making herself vomit to avoid being forced to sleep with the company's primary donor, even when she's also naked. Another instance would be [[spoiler:Bryan hog-tying Mia and masturbating on her]]. Claire appearing nude [[spoiler: when she wakes up after having sex with Bryan as well.]]

* NoPeriodsPeriod: Averted, as right before Claire's first practice another ballerina complains she just got her period, and Claire hands over a tampon for her.

* {{Fanservice}}: Daphne's stripper dance.
** FanDisservice: Claire making herself vomit to avoid being forced to sleep with the company's primary donor. Another instance would be [[spoiler:Bryan hog-tying Mia and masturbating on her]].

* ParentalFavoritism: While her father is a straight-up bastard to both his children, Claire is not quite the [[{{Unfavorite}} Unfavorite]] that [[spoiler: Bryan]] is.

* DisabilityAsAnExcuseForJerkassery: Once again, Claire's charming father. Although, the show does call bullshit on it around the time [[spoiler: Claire shoves her baby's wristband in his mouth]]. In another instance, one hard look from Bryan after an unwarranted slap to the head causes him to shrink back in utter terror.

* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: Each episode is taken from an official or slang military phrase. Amusingly, despite the explicit nature of some of the show's scenes, the acronym "FUBAR" is not elaborated on; only stated as a military acronym.

* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: Each episode is taken from a official or slang military phrase. Amusingly, despite the explicit nature of some of the show's scenes, the acronym "FUBAR" is not elaborated on; only stated as a military acronym.

* BrotherSisterIncest: Between [[spoiler: Claire and Bryan]]. Alluded to and then confirmed in a scene that likely induced a SickAndWrong moment for most viewers. [[spoiler:To make things worse, they had a daughter which Claire immediately gave away without a second thought]].

The series was created by [[Series/{{BreakingBad}} Breaking Bad]] writer Moira Walley-Beckett. It stars real-life ballerina Sarah Hay as Claire Robbins, Ben Daniels as Paul Grayson, Irina Dvorovenko as Kiira, and Josh Helman as Bryan Robbins.

** Spotlighted when Claire smashes a bottle over a man's head because he [[BerserkButton touches her pony-tail]]. [[spoiiler:It's later revealed that Bryan tended to do this to her whenever they slept together]].

->''"Ballet is the ultimate optical illusion. We make effort appear effortless. We make difficult divine."''

** Mia's mother isn't winning any parenting awards either.
* AgonyOfTheFeet: Well, it is a show about Ballet.

* BondageIsBad: The audience's suspicion that there is something very wrong with [[spoiler: Bryan]] is proved correct when he hog-ties [[spoiler: Mia]] before [[ADateWithRosiePalms masturbating]] over her. To be fair, the fact that the bondage is non-consensual greatly increases the [[{{Squick}} squick]] of it all.

* BrotherSisterIncest: Between [[spoiler: Claire and Bryan]]. Alluded to and then confirmed in a scene that likely induced a [[SickAndWrong Sick and Wrong]] moment for most viewers.

* CastingCouch: The other dancers assume Claire has made use of this, given her rapid ascent in the company and Paul's interest in her. In another episode, Paul not-so-subtly implies that he wants her to sleep with the company's benefactor in order to keep funds for the company coming in (when the night goes badly, the man withdraws his funding, and Paul is enraged). And in yet another episode, Paul embarrasses his boyfriend Trey by revealing their relationship--by claiming that it is ''not'' the reason Trey has been given a prominent role in an upcoming performance.
* CrazyHomelessPeople: Romeo
* CripplingTheCompetition: What someone attempts to do to [[spoiler: Claire]] before her opening performance. Also acting as [[ParanoiaFuel Paranoia Fuel]] for [[spoiler: Claire]]. As if she didn't have enough reason to [[DeusAngstMachina distrust mankind]] already. WordOfGod says it was Paul. Ironically, NOT to cripple her, but to get a terrific performance.
* DCupDistress: Several other dancers snark about Claire as she practices--"Her tits are two steps behind". She's far from this zie, but in the world of ballet, she may as well be by having breasts at all.
* DepravedBisexual: Paul
* DisabilityAsAnExcuseForJerkassery: Once again, Claire's charming father. Although, the show does call bullshit on it around the time [[spoiler: Claire shoves her baby's wristband in his mouth]].

* ForcefulKiss: Paul plants one of these on Trey. It borders on a sexual assault, as Trey is clearly struggling to get away from him at one point, and it seems Paul's sole purpose in doing this is not out of affection, but to humiliate him by revealing their relationship to everyone else in the company.
* GoodGirlsAvoidAbortion: Averted. [[spoiler: Claire]] did not abort her child [[spoiler: of incest]], but reveals she used to punch herself in the stomach in the hopes of a miscarriage. This suggests she would have had an abortion, had her [[AbusiveParents father]] permitted it.

** Spotlighted when Claire smashes a bottle over a man's head because he [[BerserkButton touches her pony-tail]].

* HighClassCallGirl: Sergei has a thing for ballerina strippers.
* HomelessPigeonPerson: Subverted. Romeo hates and fears the pigeons for unspecified reasons. He goes as far as to drive them away with [[DeadGuyOnDisplay the corpses of their own]].

* IncestSubtext: the incest between [[spoiler: Claire]] and [[spoiler: Bryan]] is pretty blatantly implied before [[TheReveal the big reveal]].
** One notably [[{{Squick}} icky]] example is when [[spoiler: Bryan calls Claire while masturbating on her childhood bed]].
** Also, the awfully revealing ''I have a boyfriend'' line has the potential for a [[DelayedOhCrap Delayed Oh Crap!]] moment from the viewer.

* [[SexSlave Sex Slaves]]: The underage waitresses on Sergei's yacht are revealed to be these. Claire even spotlights the fact when arguing about the incident with Daphne.
* SoundtrackDissonance: Beautiful classical music (intercut with scenes of Claire's performance plays [[spoiler: as Romeo murders Bryan]]

* WisdomFromTheGutter: Romeo is a self-proclaimed "seer of things".

* CaptainErstaz: The American Ballet Company, presumably based on the real-life American Ballet Theatre.

* CareerEndingInjury: [[spoiler: Kiira's]] stress-fracture to the ankle. It proves to be career-ending [[ContrivedCoincidence conveniently]] in time for [[spoiler: Claire to take her part]].