TV: In Treatment

Joe and I have been watching In Treatment, the new HBO series that's on now. We are both enjoying it. There is a new 30 minute episode each day M-F and the same persons session is shown on the same day week to week. You really feel like you are going through their therapy. Gabriel Byrne is the therapist. I don't remember seeing him in much since The Usual Suspects...he's perfect for this role. The Monday appointment is a woman who played Vaughns wife on Alias...actually I just realized she was Lauren on Alias and Laura on In Treatment...weird. Anyway, she is great - totally insecure, playing on her sexuality, baiting the therapist, etc. Blair Underwood is the Tuesday appt, the Wed appt is a high school gymnast, Thursday is a couple played by Josh Charles from Sports Night (a great show cancelled too early) and the woman who played the new wife in Junebug. Friday the therapist sees his own therapist, the lady DA from Law and Order. The casting is excellent. You are almost uncomfortable watching and sometimes you want to slap one of them. All of the patients are just doing an incredible job showing themselves and exposing their characters. It would seem like a lot to watch a show every night, but honestly there isn't much else on and it's only 25 minutes or so and we will wait and watch 2 at a time sometimes.

HBO also put out Tell Me You Love Me which was a show about 3 different couples in therapy who were in different stages of their marriages (1 new couple, 1 married with 2 kids losing some luster, and 1 couple unable to conceive). I watched this and thought it was also really well done. It was hard to watch b/c I think it was more raw. Also, it had a LOT of gratuitous sex. Some sex you'd expect, but it was a bit too much and too much zooming in on all the parts, if you know what I mean. Plus, they had the older therapist having sex with her husband. I'm thrilled for older people if they are still having and enjoying sex, but it's TOUGH to watch! I suppose that's part of the reason why the show was good...seeing the unexpected.

I will watch any original series that HBO puts on. While I haven't loved all of them, I can say that all of them are more unique and well written than 90% of what the networks put on. I'll do a separate post on the HBO series and my opinions on those.