it's not hbo, it's tv! (tell me you love me - a review)

so the first season of hbo's new show "tell me you love me" is over and since i've been talking about the show for months now trying to get people to watch, i figured i'd write a review of the its inaugural season.

the show revolves around four relationship dynamics. all of the characters are attractive (but not overly attractive), white, heterosexual and successful. in addition, they all have problems. first you have the young, pretty girl who can't seem to be alone and must resort to sex in order to cover up the problems in her relationship. second, you have the 30-something year old couple who have been married for a few years and are now trying very hard, but very unsuccessfully to have their first child. third, you have the middle-aged couple who are married with two kids and are trying to figure out where all the passion has gone. finally, you have the relationship therapist, an elderly woman, who all the other couples go to for advice, but is still dealing with her own issues of a past affair.

recently, over the last couple of years, hbo has seen many of its shows come to a conclusion either through cancellation of retirement... great shows like six feet under, the sopranos, deadwood and rome ended either because of production costs or simply to move on. other shows like carnivale and john from cincinnati just didn't have the viewers to justify more episodes. hbo was left with the wire and big love as the only hour-long dramas left on its schedule. this fall, however, hbo hit the jackpot with one of the most original shows to hit television in a long time - tell me you love me.

the producers of 'tell me you love me' started the season off with some of the more shocking things a person can see on television. let's just say that i've never seen a cumshot on camera before. the show comes at you fast and it doesn't apologize for any of it. if you're not ready for raw, real and therefore unattractive sex then change the channel. this is not porn... sex has never looked this bad. oh, and as a disclaimer, be prepared for old people doing things that you never wanted to think of old people doing.

but in the midst of all the sex (and there's a lot of sex) there's something incredibly engrossing about this show or i guess disturbing, depending on how you look at it. this show attempts to tackle the issues that come with intimacy. when you watch it you're either drawn in because it's so real or bothered by it because it's so real. either way, you've got to hand it to them, they've captured the craziness that is relationships. from the resentment issues to the lies to the things you can never take back, this show puts the viewer on center stage.

if you've ever been in a relationship, you've encountered many of the same problems. take, for example, the 30-something couple trying to have a baby. have you ever been in a relationship where people eventually want different things? the person you chose to be with in the beginning is no longer the person they are now. as a result you follow them down a path that leads to resentment which leads to emotional distance and eventually the intimacy you once had is now dead.

why do people watch tv shows... be it heroes or lost, curb or weeds, boston legal or law and order? there is always some sort of escape, be it a mere distraction or some fantasy world we can lose ourselves in. this escape, however, doesn't exist in hbo's new show... the problems are just too real and delve too deep into our own insecurities and our personal limitations.

i can tell you that i don't watch this show because it brings me any particular enjoyment. rather, it's more amazement than anything else. it's like watching a magic show and being like, 'wow, you got me'... 'now, how did you do that trick'. it's uncomfortable to watch. it's like when you watch a horror movie and scream at the main character not to go into the woods to check out that scary noise. you always say how you would never do that if you were in that situation. but when you watch 'tell me' you can't say these things because you've done them and you'll probably do them again.

i don't know why exactly i watch this show, but it definitely makes you confront your own issues at intimacy and that can be very scary at times. people like to ignore their limitations or insecurities, instead posing as models of perfection. in actuality, i think we're all a little neurotic and we all have the ability to be hurt and to hurt others. this show makes you take a look in the mirror and for those of us who can bear to look, it's a worthwhile hour of television. i mean, it's gotta be better than kid nation.