Tube Steak: The Return of "In Treatment"

Seeing the previews for the newest season of "In Treatment" has gotten my interest piqued.

I really liked the first season, although its format* made it difficult to see in total. I'd imagine I saw about 85% of season one.

*Its first season was broadcast five nights a week in half-hour installments, a la soap operas.

Now, I am not necessarily one who touts the virtues of being in therapy. I certainly think that there are people who have problems that warrant therapy, but I think there are too many people who have turned to therapy in the hopes of having someone else fix their problems for them while bypassing self-reliance and self-sufficiency. Sure, there are very legitimate reasons for going into therapy, but there is also a portion of society that sits in therapy that could fix their problems without therapy.

Oh, someone just stole my soapbox out from under me. Sorry.

Anyway, while I may not be the most strident supporter of therapy, when someone lays bare their deep-seeded issues, it makes for some pretty great television, and watching Gabriel Byrne command the screen as the therapist is something unusual in the medium of television*.

*I am a staunch believer in television, as the opportunity to tell a truly complex story is greater in television than pretty much any other medium. Its format enables writers to tell stories that span stretches of time that allows for a much broader scope. The only thing that tends to hold television back (aside from networks bailing on shows that they didn't get behind in the first place) is the acting that is almost always slightly below the standards of film acting.

The second season of "In Treatment" comes back April 5th, and now HBO is set to air the five installments in two nights, two episodes on Sunday and three the following night. This makes the show much more accessible. Granted, HBO rebroadcasts everything it airs about 15 times a week, but now I don't have to wait until Sunday to catch the one I missed when I missed the Monday and Tuesday broadcasts.