March 13th 2008 05:14 am
In Treatment in need of viewers
I did write about HBO’s new show In Treatment. Now a good few episodes later I’m hooked.
On Mondays you have Laura, the young manipulative anesthesiologist who defines her life through sex and has a severe case of sexual transference on the good old doc.
Then on Tuesdays there is a cocky, self assured Alex the pilot, on Wednesdays the young gymnist Sophie with Daddy issues, Mummy issues and eating disorder issues, on Thursdays Jake and Amy who are in for couple’s therapy but really need UN peacekeeping forces to mitigate their arguments and then on Fridays Paul visit his own shrink Gina (played by absolutely brilliant Diane Wiest).
In Treatment does require some dedication (it is on 5 times a week after all), but then again it is only 30 minutes long. And as it is after all a show about a shrink and each of his patients the plot can sometimes be a bit slower then what we the viewing public have grown accustomed to. Not to mention it is quite reminiscent of real therapy episodes do not end all tied up with a pretty bow on top. And that is not what we are used to.
But what it is not is boring. Layer upon layer of lies, deceits and good old fashioned delusions are peeled off episode after episode. Paul loose his Zen like calm, cock sure Alex has a panic attack, Jake unravels, Sophie tries to commit suicide and Laura finally hears what she wanted to hear all along – the characters are so complex and riveting (although that does not mean you do not want to slap them silly sometimes), the dialogue and even the pauses are timed so well I cannot help but admire the work of the cast and especially the writers.
And while I might think it is brilliant and intriguing TV and quite unlike anything we have seen in a long while In Treatment has managed to pull in mere 2 million viewers. And being a smart network (unlike some I might mention cough CW and cough CBS) HBO is streaming episodes of In Treatment for free on both their website and YouTube.
So go ahead and check it out, In Treatment does deserve a few more viewers and I promise you will not be disappointed. If by some chance you are, you can come back here and call me a silly cow.
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