In Treatment Review

As my wife will most surely attest, I will watch anything on the small screen at least once. But if it fails to entertain, the program is history.  Recently HBO started airing a nightly program called In Treatment, which is based on a Israeli program utilizing the same format.  In Treatment as the name implies is about a people seeing, well, a Therapist.  Each night (Monday - Friday) In Treatment brings us a different patient until Friday night, when Paul (Gabriel Byrne) the Therapist himself is in therapy with his shrink Gina (Dianne Wiest). 

Monday nights are devoted to Laura (Melissa George), a doctor who has been seeing Paul for a year and has just proclaimed her love for him.  Tuesday nights belong to Alex (Blair Underwood) a Navy fighter pilot who is currently recovering from a heart attack and an unhealthy dose of self-doubt and loathing.  Wednesday nights are filled with Sophie (Mia Wasikowska) a teenaged gymnast who may or may not have tried to commit suicide by running into a car after ending an affair with her coach.  And Thursday night are given over to a dysfunctional couple Amy (Embeth Davidtz), and Jake (Josh Charles), who originally came to Paul to gain advice about obtaining an abortion, but now are airing much dirtier laundry. 

But, as mentioned above, Paul himself is "in treatment" mainly because he and his wife Kate (Michelle Forbes) are having major problems, like she is having an open affair with a college professor.  And Paul's two children are in crisis, but he pretends not to notice.  Lastly he is seeking Gina's approval to explore deeper feelings for Laura. 

Slow to start at first, In Treatment get progressively better as the week crawl by.  Most of us think of Therapist as this infallible Demi-God dispensing wisdom and advice from a higher plain, but in truth as In Treatment shows all too vividly, they are human just like you and I.  This is drama at its best and I look forward to each show with a mixture of hurried anticipation and eager trepidation.  Yes the show is that good!