At first glance, Laura might seem like a typical therapy patient. Weepy-eyed, neurotic and obsessed over semantic relationship issues, (a certain "ultimatum") she's enough to make the level-headed majority roll their eyes.

However, by the end of episode one, Laura has revealed she's in love with her therapist Dr. Paul Weston, (Gabriel Byrne, "Vanity Fair") and HBO's new series "In Treatment" has revealed itself as not just a one-sided doctor-patient catharsis but a therapeutic soap opera.

Alex (Blair Underwood, "Dirty Sexy Money") is Weston's regular Tuesday patient. He was a fighter pilot in the Iraq War, traumatized by both the death of his mother and the 16 children he knows he's killed - the latter bothers him enough that after week one, he vows to take the next flight after therapy to visit the death site.

Clearly these conflicts contain a heady mix of national, moral and interpersonal issues capable of intriguing the same crowd that delights when skeletons come out of closets on "Desperate Housewives" and other soap operas.

But is it interesting when a show does what good programs are taught never to do, namely, tell rather than show? Viewers sat rapt when Tony Soprano and Dr. Melfi locked horns on "The Sopranos," but those static therapy scenes only enhanced Tony's already dynamic character - a show with this much frank talking has never been done.

Surprisingly, "In Therapy," which is essentially two people talking back-and-forth, is interesting enough to keep watching. The variety helps. The show is on five days a week for seven weeks, and each day is a different patient: After Laura and Alex, Wednesday is precocious gymnast Mia, Thursday is a bickering couple Amy and Jake and on Friday, Dr. Weston sees his own shrink, Gina (Dianne Wiest, "Dan in Real Life").

But the show benefits from more than its logistical set up. The writing is vivid enough that when Laura describes a failed sexual encounter in a bathroom stall, she describes it in lurid detail, and when Alex recounts his near-death experience you really get inside his head. These sorts of descriptions may be enough to satisfy the viewer in lieu of real action.

The show draws the most interest from its varied cast of characters, most notably Dr. Weston himself. Television and film therapists seem to fit two categories: the hypocritically neurotic (Dr. Sobel in "Analyze This") and the cool, detached authority (Dr. Melfi in "The Sopranos").

Weston, however, is one of the most complex television therapists in years. Sure, he sees his own therapist, but only over frustrations involving his own clients. Besides serving as a nice bookend to the series, Weston's session with Gina reveals his character as one who struggles to stay reasonable when confronted with one unreasonable patient after another.

"In Treatment" is ultimately less about the patients themselves than Weston and the struggles of being a professional therapist.

Each session, besides adding to its own particular story, adds another layer of depth to Weston's character. The result is a seven-week journey with the potential to be as compelling as anything on television right now.

Ratings: 4 out of 5 stars

In Treatment
Monday through Friday 9:30 p.m.
HBO