In Treatment Series 1

A TV show about psychotheapy. Two people. In a room. Talking. The simple and unanthralling basis of the show may put off some, but this same simplicity is where the true beauty of this show comes in.

Paul Weston's (the incomparable Gabriel Byrne) nerves are breaking. His patients are growing more and more demanding and breaking the key indifference that makes him such a high quality therapist. Throughout the week, he is confronted by the lusting Laura; the hard core fighter pilot Alex; Sophie, a 16 year old olympic hopeful who may or may not have attempted suicide and Jake and Amy, a couple on the brink of divorce who see no reason that being in the marriage counsellors office should put an end to their fighting and looking for advice on whether to abort the baby it took their entire 4 year relationship to conceive. Alienated from his family and suspicious of his wife's frequent disapperances, Paul gets into contact with Gina, his own ex-therapist, to talk things through.

Each episode is one session on a corresponding day of the week, allowing access to Paul's struggle with the heavy wear of routine. Not to say this is repetitve. In fact, the opposite, with each new angle or perspective a patient takes revealing more about themselves and attempting to manipulate Paul into some reaction, positive or negative to get some solid advice instead of the constant implications and faseesious questioning that is offered them.

Paul's office becomes a chamber of pent up emotion, bleeding through the screen and creating fluent empathy with all characters, with even the simplest movement or sound (a blink, a change in seating, a dog barking outside) shifting the entire balance between patient and therapist to explosive degrees, countered masterfully with pauses and heavy silences creating a kind of delicate, lyrical power struggle between the two.

The heavenly writing literally brings tears to the eye, with the relay of events becoming yet richer coming from the character's perspective, incorporating their thought processes and emotions.

You'd need the worlds largest Venn diagram to explain how all of Paul's patients, possesions and relationships present his personality, but, early on, this is what is needed to gain anything from the therapist until all his underlying inadequacies and rage boil over his calm exterior and shape events to come. The result is a flawed God figure, who we see at near omnipotent power and soul crushing weakness throughout the series.

All these factors contribute to the tension and addictivness of the show, a poetic thriller.