Tell Me You Love Me

I've watched the first two episodes of this series and I truly enjoyed it, and not for the explicit scenes. The drastically different couples all have very deep character profiles that seem to parallel in unexpected ways. If you can look below the surface of being a "glorified porno" like jrpk1964 thinks it is, the true intentions of the show will become apparent. To portray the lives of these couples each with unique situations that all seem to share commonalities which you can relate to.

Overall I wouldn't call this show ground-breaking but it is definitely a well executed drama.

Some people will have heard about this show because of its controversy. I did myself. Admittedly, I was intrigued because of the promise of sexual content on TV - HBO, nonetheless. Having now seen the first episode of "Tell Me You Love Me", I know what the show is actually about.

If you're expecting "porn TV", think again. Yes, the show does have several moments of sexual contact, both oral and intercourse, but when they occur it is anything but arousing - instead it's uncomfortably realistic - down to moments of climax, the show does not flinch from showing the explicit.

But soon enough, if you actually watch the show, you'll realise that this isn't what the show is about. Many people will make the mistake of thinking this show is about sex, but it's about relationships, and how sex is used to shield us from the problems of our relationships.

Three different couples are the focus each dealing with different problems; one tries desperately for a baby, one's physical relationship is intense but unreliable in terms of commitment, and one married couple struggles to deal with the lack of sex in their lives. Both the issues raised in the show and the dialogue are uncannily realistic, to the point that you can't help but compare the relationships in the show with your own, and this can sometimes make for uncomfortable viewing - I'd strongly advise against watching this with your partner.

HBO has finally won me over after canceling Six Feet Under and Deadwood. "Tell Me You Love Me" is a one hour show on the lives of three women and their significant others: Meet Jaime (Michelle Borth), a young chef with commitment fears and trust issues. She has ended her engagement to Hugo and tries to move on with her life. Now meet, Katie (Ally Walker, who is amazing) and Dave (Tim DeKay), a suburban married couple with two children and the passion has run out of their marriage. And then there is Carolyn and Palek, a yuppie married couple with no children and plenty of passion in their marriage and trying to have a baby. In fact, Carolyn (Sonya Walger) obsesses about getting pregnant to the point that Palek (Adam Scott) is now doubtful of his ability to be good husband and a good father. The show is very graphic in sexuality, but that is the point. It is often times painful to watch because (for myself especially) there are moments in the show that you can actually relate. From the desperation of bringing passion, joy, and fulfillment into the lives of our characters to emptiness and loneliness they feel. It is heartbreaking to see Katie and Dave become so faraway when they do love each other still. What these people have in common? They are seeing therapist, Dr. May Foster (the formidable and incredible Jane Alexander), who has issues of her own with her long time marriage to her husband but still is adult enough and knows better. The show is honest, raw, and real with amazing performances from the cast. Truly the best dramatic series HBO has put out.

If you are uncomfortable about therapy, this show is not for you. The marriages depicted here are all broken - as 99% of relationships are - and they're broken enough that therapy is the only way to rescue them. The characters are interesting and deep, and their problems are realistic and almost scary in their accuracy. My favorite is the comments I've seen on some boards and even in HBO's little viewer comment section after each episode - when one of the reviewers said they couldn't imagine sex becoming annoying just because you have to have a lot of it to conceive, my wife and I laughed uproariously and yelled at the screen. Clearly some people just don't understand what it's like to be married! Fortunately, the writers of this show apparently do. There's good and bad, and sometimes you need help figuring out which is which. The show presents a fascinating view of modern marriage without any of the romantic crap and idealism that underlies most of TV today. Bravo, HBO! We're addicted.

You see, many couples in Australia would never dream of seeing a therapist. The mere stigma of owning up to issues, issues most couples experience, is just too confronting. The worry that friends or family might find out may lead too more sleepless nights, a more important consequence than the actual saving of the marriage. Well in the privacy of ones own home comes "Tell Me You Love Me". A riveting drama more akin to a self - help DVD. We meet a therapist confronting her own problems, deal with the contrasting issues of three couples. The clever positioning of the drama is that the ages of each couple ranges from early 20's to early sixties (the therapist and her past) and the challenges faced by each reflect their stage of life. Sex becomes the key to the healing for each partnership. The sex scenes are explicit and may be confronting but that adds to the spice of the series. The sex experienced by all of the characters helps them to reveal where they are at emotionally. The therapist encourages sexual communication for all her clients but under prescription,and each of her prescriptions are modeled with precision. An important piece of television ...... if you have a partner, sit and watch this together. If the themes bring fresh thoughts and dialogue in your union then maybe you've saved two things. Therapist fees not covered by Medicare or maybe, but more importantly, your relationship.