Very Cool!!!

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

I'm sorry, but I could not disagree with you more, Filmjack3. Your film and director references seem only present in your review to afford you some amount of "credibility" or capital as for those readers who don't know the works of Cassavetes or Bertolucci, your meaning may be lost on them. Of greater concern to me is the fact that your review falls into the all too easy trap of being comprised mostly of plot summary in lieu of more critical analysis (though not for lack of trying). However, you do give credit where credit is due: to the performances. In addition, I would actually like to thank you for taking the time to write as much as you did for at the very least you made a contribution and started a dialogue. I mean hey, you got me to sit down and take the time to write this! So kudos for that, but should you choose to write more reviews in the future, I urge you to take the time and think about your audience and engage with your material in such a way that it not only properly analyzes the text, but can speak to everyone.

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.

Thanks to On Demand, I've gotten to watch the first 8 episodes of this series in the last 2 days. The sex is really tame and unimaginative, but I appreciate the therapy sessions with Dr. May Foster, who is played by the great Jane Alexander, in a role she is perfectly suited for. Very believable, although for the most part they too (the sessions) have been a tad on the tame side thus far.I think the problems encountered in the relationships are completely valid, if not a little predictable (not giving any spoilers for people who haven't seen 1-8 yet), and it's excellent to have a show which focuses on the interaction between these characters, making their jobs and the rest of their lives secondary. That's cool. I also do appreciate how the show is done on sort of a lowkey level, so it's not a soap opera with unnecessary dramatics, but a little more imagination in the sex scenes and deeper probing in the therapy scenes would make the show infinitely more meaningful.10/30: Caught episode 9 last night and I'm pleased to report: NO sex at all in this one, boring or otherwise, and more concentration on the therapy. Hopefully it will continue along these lines.11/6: Last night, I caught the last episode of this show for the year; not sure it's being renewed but I have to say it was a decent finale one way or the other. The issues that had been plaguing the 3 couples got resolved well enough to where if the show didn't come back next year, it would be fine. If it were to return, I'd watch.

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.