In Treatment is a new show that launched this week on HBO. I'm really into the format - there are episodes every day where Paul sees different patients. Then on Friday, we'll see his own session with his therapist, Gina (Dianne Wiest). Produced by M&M (marky-mark?) Wahlberg, it's an American version of an Israeli show (Think of pitch people saying 'Well, The Office crossed the Atlantic just fine...).
Each episode uses a single session as it's narrative structure. It's like the ultimate psycho-drama. Character-arc is everything here and it works because the writing is tight and the acting is great. Gabriel Byrne, in particular, is a totally convincing therapist. Not only that, but he's a good therapist - he's making the connections for his patients and helping them uncover them for themselves whenever possible.
The first week had a few first visits and just one long-time customer (Laura). You get the raw feeling of a duel from a few of the sessions which feels authentic. Everyone approaches him with so many defenses (or by going on the offensive). In the end, when he sits down with Gina, he gives what he gets. They do such a good job of showing how engaging with the process of therapy is engaging the therapist.
Maybe the fun here is the fact that we get to play both shrink and patient. We're getting Paul's help but we're also yelling at the screen like "don't go up the stairs" when we see something before he does. Then on Friday there's the big reveal of what he thinks.
While they're not archetypes, each of the four patients is likely to appeal to different audiences to varying degrees. I wonder if different people will watch on different nights - or if HBO is trying to hit different demographics this way.
It could be vicarious therapy for people who can't/don't want to go to therapy themselves. They can pick their character and transfer the process of exploration onto themselves. But then, everyone should watch Friday's episode to see what Paul thinks of them.
Worth noting is that HBO has allowed us to watch the full streaming episodes for this first week online. (This is what execs would tell screen writers is a 'promotion'). I'm not sure if they'll keep that up, but I hope so. HBO's online viewer has no full-screen, but it's totally uninterupted by commercials.
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Oh god, you're so right. I have been sucked in incredibly by this show. I'm watching it (or rather, listening to it) right now. I identify very strongly with Laura (probably because I am a straight woman with a strong attraction to Gabriel Byrne) which makes me sad that many dislike her plotline. But the fact remains is that sexual dysfunction is everywhere in America and the idea of her having a "straight" occupation as an anesthesiologist is very intriguing and I hope they explore that more. At least in Week Two she was wearing her uniform. Lets hear more about her job is affected by her lifestyle--I mean, getting drunk on a Sunday night? Double shifts? Gray's Anatomy writ a lot more real , I think, for such a stressed sector of humanity. She has that in common with Paul, actually, in a way. I'm worried--there are free episodes but now I'm going to have to go to my boyfriends and mooch his OnDemand to see the rest! Thanks for this post, I came here via HBO's official forum.
You can watch all of week two online also. I have to say, Laura basically makes me uncomfortable. I mean - she's supposed to. That's obviously the fodder that makes the Friday episode tick. She challenges Paul. She makes him define where he will draw the bounds in his therapy with patients. That can't be a bad thing in the end because obviously he has trouble making room for his real life in there.
My only other complaint might be about casting, but I just don't see him ignoring Kate in favor of Laura. I know we tend to take for granted that which we have at hand, but really - Kate seems wonderful and she's hot. I find Laura kind of annoying and a little bit fish-faced.
Thanks for leaving a comment, Aurorasbored.
Hehe I like Kate a lot but the writers did put her in rather abruptly with a huge amount of anger, though to the actress's credit, she made me really believe her frustration and rage.
Yes, I've seen the second week as well. I love this possible OTC medication problem Paul might be slipping into, (which is much more realistic than an affair, honestly). I must be the only one that thinks Gina is trying to MAKE Paul want to have an affair with Laura? I really think she has her own motivations for stirring up a hornets' nest in his brain. Who knows. She's a goddess.
You're kinda right about injecting Kate with too much anger all-o-sudden. We might have seen her interact with Paul one other time in the other seven episodes. They show her as compassionate and perceptive with Sophie. Then BANG - she's having an affair.
Same pattern with Paul's pill popping. All of a sudden he's throwing in three pills of nyquil with no buildup?
That's the limitation with this format. They're going to have to be pretty consistent across different days. Shit can't creep up on one day's notice without sewing the seeds.
Looks to me like they have different writers for the different episodes, which makes sense, but it's going to require some better hand-offs for the characters who play every night (Paul and Kate so far).
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