Week One: In Treatment

In Treatment: Season 1, Episode 1 "Laura - Week One" (D-)
In Treatment: Season 1, Episode 2 "Alex - Week One" (C+)
In Treatment: Season 1, Episode 3 "Sophie - Week One" (C)
In Treatment: Season 1, Episode 4 "Jake & Amy - Week One" (F)
In Treatment: Season 1, Episode 5 "Paul & Gina - Week One" (F)

This innovative HBO series is based on a popular Israeli television show which I have not seen, but apparently works well. I cannot say the same for this show. First of all, I really wish that Paul had an office. His house is just too casual a setting for this. It would be nice if Gabriel Byrne had ditched his native accent and put on a less grating voice, like the one he used in "The Usual Suspects". I realize that sounds harsh, but if he is going to be talking every single episode, then I would hope he would have a less obnoxious voice. The reverse goes for Melissa George, whose Laura would have been slightly interesting had she kept her Australian accent. All the patients find it far too easy to talk, and Paul is always reluctant to speak and then says exactly what his patients want to hear. Without the presence of flashbacks, these stories are going to be pretty boring. The only mildly interesting patients are Alex and Sophie. Blair Underwood's Alex is so cocky and confident in how he structures everything in his life. Mia Wasikowska brings an intriguing kind of energy to her sessions but she seems way too mature for her age. I cannot stand the couple, and Paul vents his own issues far too angrily with his own therapist. Week-to-week, I do not think I can take this show. If I can get ahold of this week's episodes somehow, perhaps I will give them a glance but otherwise, I think I am all but finished with this show.