In Treatment's Mia Wasikowska In Alice In Wonderland

While we here at DVR Life do like watching movies, we obviously have TV in our hearts. This is a television blog, obviously, but an exception can be made every once in a while, though, especially when a film project is related to television in some way and if ever there were to be an exception, here it is:



Mia Wasikowska starred as Sophie in season one of HBO's In Treatment. When season two premiered with a new lineup of patients, we wondered when we'd see her next. Pretty rad to see her turn up in what is pretty much guaranteed to be a hit.

Read more...

In Treatment Mid-Season Review

We're nearly half way through season 2 of In Treatment, so I thought I'd give some thoughts. We'll begin by saying that I was a great fan of season 1 and had pretty high hopes for season 2. Thankfully, they've been far exceeded thus far.

The week starts off with Mia, our middle-aged lawyer who has a past history with Doc Paul. As I mentioned in this earlier post at the beginning of the season, she reminds me of Laura from the first season with 20 years added to her. Her main goal in these sessions seems to be getting a rise out of Paul. She's jealous and angry and tries her hardest to hurt him or make him jealous. Mondays are certainly my least favorite day of the week.


Tuesdays are April's heartbreaking turn. She's progressively getting sicker and it shows. Allison Pill is stunning as the exhausted, lonely, frustrated girl. Facing death alone and still worrying about her brother. I'm glad Dr. Paul is breaking professional conduct by escorting her to the hospital.

Oliver and his parents take over Wednesdays. I have to say that of all the characters this season Oliver is the one that hits me the hardest. This kid is going through what millions all over the world are, yet it hurts to watch. He's not overly emotional, but he's smart for his age and tends to over think everything, taking the world upon his shoulders.

Walter is another stunner. There's so much anger in this man, yet he tries so damn hard to keep composed. His two worlds are crashing down around him, his daughter in Rwanda and being ousted from his high-profile job. He's afraid of being useless and John Mahoney's baggy eyes and creased face shows so much sorrow. You feel bad for a corporate titan - someone you usually do not care for.

Fridays, as with last season, are Paul and Gina talking through his life. This year they're digging deep into the traumas of Paul's childhood and while the anger and mistrust between the two seem to have subsided, they're still a bit on the edge.

The move to Brooklyn has suited the show well and I'm sure New Yorkers get a small kick out of hearing little local bits like stories about drinking at Warsaw and what not. The view of snow falling in the two windows behind the confessional patients is a beautiful backdrop for so much pain.

The season, as I said, has really lived up to expectations and I'm glad that there is no storyline taking over the whole show. The lawsuit story had the potential to do so but thankfully producers have kept the story going without turning the whole show over to it.

Read more...

In Coming! What's On This Weekend

Most people's DVR's will betting quite a rest this weekend. Believe it or not, the only new drama for Friday night is Fox's doomed Prison Break. NBC has that new episode of Kings I mentioned Saturday at 8pm and The Best of Amy Poehler should be good for some laughs at 11:30. Sunday sees the return of Law & Order: Criminal Intent and In Plain Sight on USA, Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters return to ABC after a small break and AMC has a new Breaking Bad.

When we last saw Desperate Housewives, Gabrielle was horny, Lynette was overworked but got some revenge, Orson was on the run, Bree refused to give up her company, Dave got found out and Edie was shocked to learn the truth and then shocked again.

Jesse hit the jackpot and Walt's money excuse was cut off of Breaking Bad.

Brothers & Sisters left off with Ryan being a jerk, Tommy still on the run, though not aware that Holly has gotten him off the hook. Rebecca and Justin are still on the outs, Sarah has returned to Ojai and Kitty and Robert are having some big marital problems.

And of course, don't forget the pay cablers: HBO airs Grey Gardens on Saturday. It's a movie adaptation of the 1975 documentary following the black sheep of the Kennedy family. On Sunday HBO has new In Treatment and Number 1 Ladies Detective Agency while Showtime has new The Tudors.

Catch up at The iTunes TV store..

Read more...

In Treatment Season 2

I am very happy to have HBO's In Treatment return this past Sunday. Intrigued by the premise, I was a bit hesitant after watching the pilot last year but by the third episode I was absolutely hooked. I was working graveyard shift at that time, so I would race the sun home each morning, breathlessly awaiting twenty-something more minutes of sometimes brutal, sometimes cringe-worthy, sometimes tear-inducing drama, all dumped in the lap of poor Dr. Paul.

Warning: Spoiler alert if you haven't started watching Season 2 yet!

I was a bit confused for the first few seconds of episode 1, but then greatly surprised to learn Paul had moved! Obviously there were new patients on the way, but of course they had to create some drama to get things kick started! I'm not sure if such story lines make their way into the Israeli original, but I'm glad they toss em into the U.S. version. I don't think enough people would watch, otherwise.

Upon realizing Paul was now in Brooklyn I panicked for a minute or two. Granted Alex was dead and there was no way Paul could possibly treat Laura any longer, but I would have liked to see Jake and Amy merge from couples counseling to post-divorce solo sessions and what had become of Sophie? I wanted to see how she would mature, face her high school graduation, et al.

After calming down, though, I realized that this opened a whole new avenue for the show. I gripped the remote tight and hunkered down to bear witness to Paul's new punishing lineup. First came Mia, a sick of life power attorney with a link to his past. It didn't take more than a few minutes to start seeing the similarities between Amy and Mia. Then we were introduced to sickly, overly defensive April and things started to click. While being a wholly other person, I felt as if I was watching Sophie five years in the future. Who would have a thought a well publicised 60-something corporate CEO (Walter) would remind us of an African American pilot half his age (Alex)? Of course, this seasons divorcing couple (Luke and Bess) will mimic and vary from last seasons (Jake and Amy), but throwing in their 12 year old child (innocent, guilt ridden Oliver) this time could lead to some great situations.

The patients and situations had changed but the neurosis and personality traits were all still there. Was it a comment on society? Is the whole world really suffering the same inflictions? Is it possible that nature really does reign over nurture? According to the writers: yes. Our pain may seem like our own, but it's really shared by all. Or something like that.

And let's not forget the returning characters. There's grieving, pissed-off Alex Sr.. Do you think he's right to sue Paul, or just flailing around in the dark for someone other than his own deceased son to blame? And Gina. I'm looking forward to her caring but challenging approach to treating Paul again.

Finally, I was very surprised at the locations. Throughout the entirety of season 1 they managed to not let the location be known, other than it was in the northeast somewhere. In one episode they made mention of some areas in upstate in New York when talking about real estate, which lead an early draft of the shows wikipedia entry to speculate they were based somewhere just north of New York City, perhaps the northern Hudson Valley or White Plains areas.

In the very first episode of season two, though, we are immediately informed (and then reminded numerous times) that Paul has moved to Brooklyn. A bit later we learn he's relocated from Maryland! This fact then plays a part in the show. Quite a shift on the writers part.

The new format of two episodes Sunday and three Monday is pretty great, too. It's a little less interesting than the five nights a week idea put forth in Israel and season one in the states, but it means less waiting, so I'm all for it.

In Treatment on iTunes.




     
 

Read more...