So, what have I been doing since my last update? Enjoying my last days of freedom, for my first year of uni starts Tuesday. And I have to get a job. Gulp.
That said, I'm excited. It's gonna be great.
Other thoughts and news:
The Death of iPod: My iPod is currently dead, and I'll be sending it out to get replaced or fixed soon. For now, though, I'm miserable.
TV Show Pickups: Just as last time around I was happy bout the lovely Toni Collette headlining a TV show, this time there's some more good news. Nathan Fillion will be the lead of Castle this Spring, a dramedy series about a mystery writer who helps out the cops, and Veronica Mars creator Rob Thomas (the one not from Matchbox Twenty) will be bringing an old favourite back to TV, Cupid! Though with a new cast, it's still looking good.
In Treatment: Watching S1 with my oldest sister who hasn't seen it yet, starting with what she hadn't seen yet, mid-week 3. I'd complete how utterly irritating Paul was in week 3. This was after the characters had been established and just as they begun to really show their dysfunction, before all that nice character development and resolution later on. I guess it was hard to notice cause usually I burn through the series, beginning to end, quite quickly.
Greek 2x01: Watched the season premiere and enjoyed it very much. Very speecherific, though that seemed to be intentional, and a nice homage to Bring It On and (I believe) Ben Hur. Enjoyed the character development here, and while Cappie/Rebecca seemed like a random idea when it was first conceived, they're quickly becoming the best couple on the show. Also, though Evan has always been an ass, there were times when I didn't hate him. In the latter half of S1, though, his character lost all sympathy, and that trend continues in 2x01. If he continues to be this unredeemable, they may have to write him out before S3 or make him a downright villain.
That's it for now!
Showing posts with label in treatment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label in treatment. Show all posts
Friday, August 29, 2008
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
IN TREATMENT: PLAYING CATCH UP
So, I've become utterly and hopelessly addicted to this HBO show, and rumours of a potential season 2 pickup haunt me. Last time I posted I was elbow deep in week 3, and now I'm just embarking on week 8. A lot has happened!
(MAJOR SPOILERS for up to Monday, March 17's episode.)
Laura/Paul - Way back in week one, Laura confessed to being in love with Paul, a plot that sort of dragged in the first few weeks. Since we left off in week three, though,, Laura has quit therapy, which actually looks pretty good on her; since she quit, she's seemed a lot more mature and relateable. She quit therapy back in week five, and she came back for a one-shot in week six after her father began having health problems. Paul then confessed he "has very deep feelings" toward her, but refused to initiate a sexual relationship like Laura wanted - she has some deep sexual and relationship issues that she needs to get over before she can have a real relationship with any man. there have been some intense revelations regarding the loss of her virginity at 16 and how it left wounds that never really healed. Week six was a turning point in the character, as she's been much more sympathetic since then. She didn't appear in week seven, but she reappeared in week eight for Alex's funeral. For once, stripped of the office and their weighty patient-doctor relationship, we got a chance to see how Paul and Laura would be as friends and potential lovers, and I have to say for the first time in eight weeks, I really felt some chemistry between them. I must confess to feeling complicated about this.
Alex - Since we left off in week 3, some big things happened with Alex. First in week 5 he dug into Paul's life and threw Kate's affair and other tidbits of his life in his face, and Paul lost it. He returned the next week and begun to open up about his past, and about how an incident in his youth with a tougher boy mugging him led to his obsession with becoming 'perfect'. Just as he begun to make some real progress into his issues with his life and his father, he turned his back on Paul and therapy to go back to flying, and it killed him. Paul and Laura attended his funeral in week eight.
Now, this is the penultimate week, and next week we're losing both Monday and Tuesday episodes (as I'm assuming the Laura and Alex stories will be completely closed by then). So, sadly, season one is drawing to a close. Luckily we still have the rest of this week and most of next!
Sophie: Since my last post, Sophie keeps breaking my heart. She confessed that her accident was indeed a suicide attempt, and she tried it again right in Paul's office. (This ties in with the Kate storyline - he's been sleeping in the office, and some of his pills were in the office bathroom.) Paul (and we) got a chance to witness the vicious relationship between Sophie and her mother first hand, as she joined Sophie in therapy and Sophie refused to hold back. Sophie's mother tried to make peace, but she's vulnerable as well after Sophie's suicide attempt, and the two fought in Paul's presence. Paul tried to make Sophie see that her hatred of her mother and her idealism of her father might not be genuine feelings but reactions to her father's affairs and their divorce. Two weeks left, in which Paul has to sort out the complicated emotions Sophie still has.
Jake/Amy: Probably my least favourite thread initially, these two have really drawn me into their story in recent weeks. A few weeks ago, Paul finally forced them to communicate: Amy said she wanted a divorce, and Jake begged her to not leave him. Since, his gentle turn (yes, gentle and polite Jake is a possibility, despite his constant anger and frustration in earlier weeks) has gotten under Amy's skin, and she came to Paul in week seven with a worry that she was on the usp of adultery. The 'old Jake' was revealed to be potentially the product of Amy purposely angering him in order to get him angry at her. Paul got her to see herself in a new light by digging into her relationships with her mother, sister and father, but it wasn't enough to stop her from cheating on Jake - and hating every moment of it. Last week, she came clean, and Jake's relief was a surprise. He pitied her, and the sadness at the core of last week's session was palpable. It ended on a cliffhanger, with Amy mentioning that her mother 'never forgave' her for her father's death, and realising that she still needed to be forgiven or else she would continue to punish herself - and asked Jake if he would forgive her. He didn't answer before that final fade out.
Paul/Kate/Gina: A lot on this front since week three, where we left off. Kate ended her affair, Rosie (their daughter) revealed she knew about it and demanded Paul 'fix it', while revelations about Rosie's lifestyle and her closeness with her mother from Kate left her father feeling stung. These revelations were made in couple's therapy, in fact, which occurred when Kate began joining Paul on Fridays. After the Paul/Gina sessions just left be perturbed, this was a great turn, as it's really dug into the core of these characters and their relationship. Kate learned about Laura, and there's been a lot of back-and-forth as to whether Paul's long-term emotional affair or Kate's short-term physical one was more damaging, and Gina has finally got them to see that both are just symptoms of a bigger cause in their marriage. They've uncovered the dependence Kate had on Paul for much of their relationship in terms of the attention he provided her, and how both have grown out of that phase and pulled apart instead of adapting to their new needs from one another. Both want to save their marriage, but I'm starting to feel they've both given up. It's sad, because recently we've begun to see how good they can be with one another. After rooting for neither in recent weeks and hoping Laura/Paul/Kate could all go their separate ways after season one, I've begun to think that despite the deep, deep issues in both relationships, each would also have some great positives. It's difficult.
So, loving this show to death and afraid of a potential lack of season 2. Anyone who can, try and catch up via the net. C'est excellente.
(MAJOR SPOILERS for up to Monday, March 17's episode.)
Laura/Paul - Way back in week one, Laura confessed to being in love with Paul, a plot that sort of dragged in the first few weeks. Since we left off in week three, though,, Laura has quit therapy, which actually looks pretty good on her; since she quit, she's seemed a lot more mature and relateable. She quit therapy back in week five, and she came back for a one-shot in week six after her father began having health problems. Paul then confessed he "has very deep feelings" toward her, but refused to initiate a sexual relationship like Laura wanted - she has some deep sexual and relationship issues that she needs to get over before she can have a real relationship with any man. there have been some intense revelations regarding the loss of her virginity at 16 and how it left wounds that never really healed. Week six was a turning point in the character, as she's been much more sympathetic since then. She didn't appear in week seven, but she reappeared in week eight for Alex's funeral. For once, stripped of the office and their weighty patient-doctor relationship, we got a chance to see how Paul and Laura would be as friends and potential lovers, and I have to say for the first time in eight weeks, I really felt some chemistry between them. I must confess to feeling complicated about this.
Alex - Since we left off in week 3, some big things happened with Alex. First in week 5 he dug into Paul's life and threw Kate's affair and other tidbits of his life in his face, and Paul lost it. He returned the next week and begun to open up about his past, and about how an incident in his youth with a tougher boy mugging him led to his obsession with becoming 'perfect'. Just as he begun to make some real progress into his issues with his life and his father, he turned his back on Paul and therapy to go back to flying, and it killed him. Paul and Laura attended his funeral in week eight.
Now, this is the penultimate week, and next week we're losing both Monday and Tuesday episodes (as I'm assuming the Laura and Alex stories will be completely closed by then). So, sadly, season one is drawing to a close. Luckily we still have the rest of this week and most of next!
Sophie: Since my last post, Sophie keeps breaking my heart. She confessed that her accident was indeed a suicide attempt, and she tried it again right in Paul's office. (This ties in with the Kate storyline - he's been sleeping in the office, and some of his pills were in the office bathroom.) Paul (and we) got a chance to witness the vicious relationship between Sophie and her mother first hand, as she joined Sophie in therapy and Sophie refused to hold back. Sophie's mother tried to make peace, but she's vulnerable as well after Sophie's suicide attempt, and the two fought in Paul's presence. Paul tried to make Sophie see that her hatred of her mother and her idealism of her father might not be genuine feelings but reactions to her father's affairs and their divorce. Two weeks left, in which Paul has to sort out the complicated emotions Sophie still has.
Jake/Amy: Probably my least favourite thread initially, these two have really drawn me into their story in recent weeks. A few weeks ago, Paul finally forced them to communicate: Amy said she wanted a divorce, and Jake begged her to not leave him. Since, his gentle turn (yes, gentle and polite Jake is a possibility, despite his constant anger and frustration in earlier weeks) has gotten under Amy's skin, and she came to Paul in week seven with a worry that she was on the usp of adultery. The 'old Jake' was revealed to be potentially the product of Amy purposely angering him in order to get him angry at her. Paul got her to see herself in a new light by digging into her relationships with her mother, sister and father, but it wasn't enough to stop her from cheating on Jake - and hating every moment of it. Last week, she came clean, and Jake's relief was a surprise. He pitied her, and the sadness at the core of last week's session was palpable. It ended on a cliffhanger, with Amy mentioning that her mother 'never forgave' her for her father's death, and realising that she still needed to be forgiven or else she would continue to punish herself - and asked Jake if he would forgive her. He didn't answer before that final fade out.
Paul/Kate/Gina: A lot on this front since week three, where we left off. Kate ended her affair, Rosie (their daughter) revealed she knew about it and demanded Paul 'fix it', while revelations about Rosie's lifestyle and her closeness with her mother from Kate left her father feeling stung. These revelations were made in couple's therapy, in fact, which occurred when Kate began joining Paul on Fridays. After the Paul/Gina sessions just left be perturbed, this was a great turn, as it's really dug into the core of these characters and their relationship. Kate learned about Laura, and there's been a lot of back-and-forth as to whether Paul's long-term emotional affair or Kate's short-term physical one was more damaging, and Gina has finally got them to see that both are just symptoms of a bigger cause in their marriage. They've uncovered the dependence Kate had on Paul for much of their relationship in terms of the attention he provided her, and how both have grown out of that phase and pulled apart instead of adapting to their new needs from one another. Both want to save their marriage, but I'm starting to feel they've both given up. It's sad, because recently we've begun to see how good they can be with one another. After rooting for neither in recent weeks and hoping Laura/Paul/Kate could all go their separate ways after season one, I've begun to think that despite the deep, deep issues in both relationships, each would also have some great positives. It's difficult.
So, loving this show to death and afraid of a potential lack of season 2. Anyone who can, try and catch up via the net. C'est excellente.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
In Treatment: Sophie, Week Three
"I don't have a heart."
(Spoilers for Wednesday, February 13's episode.)
Welcome back, Sophie!
So, a very interesting episode this week, with Sophie revealing she did indeed had a too-intimate relationship with her coach that involved their having sex once. A lot of interesting details shade her story - she doesn't remember ever not knowing Cy, he discovered her, his wife 'didn't trust' him when she left but trusted Sophie, he initiated it with his looks and holding his breath... This Cy guy seems like quite a character, and not in a good way.
Also wondering what mother-related issues Sophie has, considering her disgust with her mother. Her mother's lack of support for gymnastics seems to make sense now that we know about the bulimia, anorexia and now inappropriate Coach-Sophie interaction. The way she spoke about Darlene and how guilty she felt, along with her 'shades-of-transference' hugging Kate last week all seem connected to me. Last week's comment about gossip was also followed through on here, as Sophie reveals everyone thought they were "doing it" long before it actually occurred.
Also of note is how Sophie made steps toward therapy - asking to use the chair for a bit, asking him to pretend they were in therapy, before delving into her relationship with Cy. Interesting that this occurs just after Alex begins official 'therapy'.
I feel very much for Sophie and her ill-taken belief that she 'breaks everything'. Since a big problem with divorces is the children blaming themselves, this rings true with what I've heard, and I'm wondering whether her parents even addressed the issue at all. Sophie did skip from their scary grins to her father moving out, after all. In relation to this, when Paul tells her it isn't her fault, I could almost imagine he was feeling a little connected to it, as he may have to say the same to his children if he and Kate divorce.
I'm starting to want to meet these peripheral characters - Andrew, Michaela, Cy. They really do have an influence on the patients' lives. I doubt we will, but its still an idea that intrigues me.
(Spoilers for Wednesday, February 13's episode.)
Welcome back, Sophie!
So, a very interesting episode this week, with Sophie revealing she did indeed had a too-intimate relationship with her coach that involved their having sex once. A lot of interesting details shade her story - she doesn't remember ever not knowing Cy, he discovered her, his wife 'didn't trust' him when she left but trusted Sophie, he initiated it with his looks and holding his breath... This Cy guy seems like quite a character, and not in a good way.
Also wondering what mother-related issues Sophie has, considering her disgust with her mother. Her mother's lack of support for gymnastics seems to make sense now that we know about the bulimia, anorexia and now inappropriate Coach-Sophie interaction. The way she spoke about Darlene and how guilty she felt, along with her 'shades-of-transference' hugging Kate last week all seem connected to me. Last week's comment about gossip was also followed through on here, as Sophie reveals everyone thought they were "doing it" long before it actually occurred.
Also of note is how Sophie made steps toward therapy - asking to use the chair for a bit, asking him to pretend they were in therapy, before delving into her relationship with Cy. Interesting that this occurs just after Alex begins official 'therapy'.
I feel very much for Sophie and her ill-taken belief that she 'breaks everything'. Since a big problem with divorces is the children blaming themselves, this rings true with what I've heard, and I'm wondering whether her parents even addressed the issue at all. Sophie did skip from their scary grins to her father moving out, after all. In relation to this, when Paul tells her it isn't her fault, I could almost imagine he was feeling a little connected to it, as he may have to say the same to his children if he and Kate divorce.
I'm starting to want to meet these peripheral characters - Andrew, Michaela, Cy. They really do have an influence on the patients' lives. I doubt we will, but its still an idea that intrigues me.
In Treatment
"The customer is always wrong."
What is In Treatment?
It's a half-hour drama that airs each weekday on American network HBO, following a therapist, Paul (Gabriel Byrne, pictured above) and his Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday patients, while on Friday he himself goes to see another therapist. It's extremely well done, with the psychological analysis and the complex characters making each episode a treat. I'm a few days behind - currently downloading 1x13 and the show's up to 1x15 - but I've loved every episode so far.
And the cast is excellent. I never saw Melissa George on Alias, but here she works well as Laura on Mondays, whose big secret revealed in the pilot sets off pretty much all the arcs for Paul that make his reactions to the sessions interesting to see in his own Friday sessions. Tuesdays bring Blair Underwood as Alex (my favourite patient by far), a navy pilot who quickly builds up an antagonism with Paul and has a lot bubbling underneath. Wednesdays bring Mia Wasikowska as Sophie, whose teenage angst is player perfectly as we peer into the life of a talented and damaged young gymnast. Thursdays bring Embeth Davidtz and Josh Charles as couple Amy and Jake, whose couples therapy sessions are my least favourite but still hold a lot of drama.
However, the series is about Paul, and Fridays are where it all culminates - his struggles with his patients and his family all move towards a climax as we, after interpreting a week of hints and expressions, finally get to see what's going on in his head. His sessions with Gina, played by the excellent Dianne Wiest, are revelatory both in their (non-romanitic) backstory and their dynamic. We see that, despite being a therapist Paul will never be able to properly analyse himself, and routinely falls into the same holes his patients do while when facing a therapist.
Another favourite is Michelle Forbes as his wife, Kate. She appears with less regularity, but her character is full of fire and Forbes brings it full force every time we see her. She gets a great showcase in 1x09, one that made me fall in love with the character and hope she comes back with much more regularity.
The writing, acting, directing of this series all get top marks from me. There's something about this series, and how it's avoided more buzz and notice I don't understand. It's challenging to keep up with, but wholly rewarding. I have half a mind to track down Betipul, the Isreali series it's based on, just because waiting 1-2 days in between episodes is agony.
What is In Treatment?
It's a half-hour drama that airs each weekday on American network HBO, following a therapist, Paul (Gabriel Byrne, pictured above) and his Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday patients, while on Friday he himself goes to see another therapist. It's extremely well done, with the psychological analysis and the complex characters making each episode a treat. I'm a few days behind - currently downloading 1x13 and the show's up to 1x15 - but I've loved every episode so far.
And the cast is excellent. I never saw Melissa George on Alias, but here she works well as Laura on Mondays, whose big secret revealed in the pilot sets off pretty much all the arcs for Paul that make his reactions to the sessions interesting to see in his own Friday sessions. Tuesdays bring Blair Underwood as Alex (my favourite patient by far), a navy pilot who quickly builds up an antagonism with Paul and has a lot bubbling underneath. Wednesdays bring Mia Wasikowska as Sophie, whose teenage angst is player perfectly as we peer into the life of a talented and damaged young gymnast. Thursdays bring Embeth Davidtz and Josh Charles as couple Amy and Jake, whose couples therapy sessions are my least favourite but still hold a lot of drama.
However, the series is about Paul, and Fridays are where it all culminates - his struggles with his patients and his family all move towards a climax as we, after interpreting a week of hints and expressions, finally get to see what's going on in his head. His sessions with Gina, played by the excellent Dianne Wiest, are revelatory both in their (non-romanitic) backstory and their dynamic. We see that, despite being a therapist Paul will never be able to properly analyse himself, and routinely falls into the same holes his patients do while when facing a therapist.
Another favourite is Michelle Forbes as his wife, Kate. She appears with less regularity, but her character is full of fire and Forbes brings it full force every time we see her. She gets a great showcase in 1x09, one that made me fall in love with the character and hope she comes back with much more regularity.
The writing, acting, directing of this series all get top marks from me. There's something about this series, and how it's avoided more buzz and notice I don't understand. It's challenging to keep up with, but wholly rewarding. I have half a mind to track down Betipul, the Isreali series it's based on, just because waiting 1-2 days in between episodes is agony.
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