Sweet Sweet Laura

This may sound like a stupid question, but is it possible to become romantically infatuated with a character on a t.v. show? Not the actress playing the character, but the character? I used to believe that I was beyond such silliness, but that was before Laura came into my life. Sweet sweet Laura of the new HBO show In Treatment, my latest addiction. The show is 100% dialogue and very well done.

But back to Laura. Let's put aside for the moment Laura's wonderful physical characteristics, her penetrating blue eyes, her thick long hair, her perfectly puffy lips, her Demi Moore-like voice. That's all well and good, and kudos to the fine genetics of the stunning Melissa George in that regard. (Lots and lots and lots of kudos. Lots!) But what's compelling about Laura is that she's complicated. Infuriatingly so. She is, at turns, supremely confident or self-hating; powerful or fragile; sexy as all get out or completely disheveled; soft and sweet or angry and petulant. She knows what she wants, except when she doesn't. When she's pissed, she wields the word "fuck" like a samurai. When she's happy, her smile burns through the television screen. She wants to commit to her fiance, but um, not really.

I can't get enough.

Okay, Laura's got some issues, but who doesn't? At least she realizes it, unlike most people. In fact, she's working them out in therapy. That's honorable, isn't it? Her session is on Monday nights at 9:30, and I, for one, see how much energy she's putting into her personal growth. She's getting to know herself, becoming more self-aware with each passing week. Sure, she's in love with her therapist, Paul, who's played by Gabriel Byrne. Maybe that's holding her back a little. But dang if the sexual tension between the two of them doesn't make for some intense viewing. Two weeks ago, she out and out told Paul that she wanted to fuck him. Right in the middle of her session she says this. (Personal aside: I knew I should have stuck with psychology in college instead of switching to political science. All a poli sci degree has gotten me is useless arguments with right-wingers and a pervasive sense that this world is run by self-interested, power-hungry egomaniacs and oil companies. Then again, if a Laura walked into my office and started talking smack like that, I'd have a major problem on my hands. A career-threatening problem.)

How did Paul handle receiving this piece of news from Laura? Total stoneface. He didn't react, which was the professional way to handle it. But Byrne is a good enough actor that you could see how torn he was, how he just wanted to leap up out of his big old leather chair, take Laura in his arms, and... and.... you know the rest, you dirty birdie. Watching Paul -- whose marriage is in shambles due to his wife's affair with an insurance salesman and his own apathy towards his family -- try to remain calm and professional while dealing with his justifiable attraction to Laura is good eatin'. We learn the depth of his feelings for Laura when he confesses his naughty thoughts to his therapist, played by Dianne Wiest. Poor bastard. I don't know about you, but I think something's going to happen before it's all said and done. The man is flesh and blood. I mean, c'mon!

So here we are. My inventory in the love department has gotten so stale that I'm now infatuated with an indecisive, whiny, self-absorbed, commitment-phobic, and emotionally unavailable character on a t.v. show. I want to be there for her, help her through this difficult time. I keep forgetting she's not real. This has to be a new low.

I wonder if Paul can squeeze me in on Thursday afternoons.