In Treatment – Season Two (2009/HBO DVD Set)
Picture:
C+ Sound: B- Extras: D Episodes: B-
Gabriel
Byrne plays a therapist with his own set of personal issues in the new hit HBO
series In Treatment, a moderate hit
for the network running for three seasons and counting. This Season
Two set features all 35 half-hour episodes over 7 DVDs and is a smartly
written show, though it also comes with some predictability and other slightly
melodramatic conventions that hold the show back from being as fun as a House or Monk.
However,
Byrne is really good in a subtle performance as Dr. Paul Weston and co-stars
like Hope Davis and Diane Wiest keep this interesting, even when some shows and
some segments of other shows are on the flat side. Turns out this is a remake of a hit from
Israeli TV, but it is in a world of its own that allows it to work on its own
terms. Then it becomes a character study
of the doctor who wonders if he can stay in the business he thought would never
effect him. He is very professional, but
he is also human. We’ll see where the
show goes, but it is not bad and a nice alternative to so much bad TV being
made these days. Byrne is an underrated,
even underappreciated actor, so I hope it lasts as long as he wants to do
it. There is a larger audience for this
show than it has, so hopefully this set will help them find it.
The anamorphically
enhanced 1.78 X 1 image was shot on digital High Definition video and this
comes with plenty of motion blur and other playback issues, as well as weak
Video Black and sometimes limited color, but it is not bad once you get past
that in the way it is edited. The Dolby
Digital 5.1 and 2.0 Stereo mixes are not too far apart from each other, but the
5.1 is a little richer, though sound (especially dialogue) is just too much in
the center channel for its own good, holding the soundfield back. There are sadly no extras.
- Nicholas Sheffo
