It seems that HBO has become so depressed about its lack of inventive programming in recent months that all it wants to do is lay on the couch and have therapy sessions.

Well, that’s how it appears whenever I tune in. This fall Jane Alexander was the analyst (in Tell Me You Love Me) and more recently, it’s been Gabriel Byrne (in In Treatment) listening, listening, and nodding, nodding. It’s kind of interesting how therapy even played a major role in The Sopranos. After all, the series started with and often revolved around Tony’s visits with Dr. Melfi.

Oh, how I miss the way Sunday nights used to be, especially during the spring when The Sopranos were in session. The ritual was that my husband and I would host or go over to our closest friends Meredith & Adam’s house; one of the couples would cook -- lasagna, chicken piccata, caponata, spaghetti and meatballs, anything to keep the Italian vibe going -- and we’d crack open some red wine, chit chat, catch up, watch the show, and then have an after-show group discussion ... I kind of feel like I just described an Olive Garden commercial. But, man, those were good times.

For years I avoided the Sunday night doldrums because of HBO. No matter what time of year there was always a lineup of shows, including some mixture of Sex and The City, Entourage, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Six Feet Under, Big Love and/or Deadwood to keep the night exciting and commercial-free, and to keep me from feeling anxious about my Monday morning office reality.

Both Tell Me You Love Me and In Treatment are quality programs, full of strong acting and solid writing, yet they’re not the kind of shows that you get excited for, that make you want to bake a lasagna. As Tim Goodman put it last month in The San Francisco Chronicle, it's downright boring. (Though people in Israel may disagree with me and Tim on this, as their version of In Treatment, and the original one mind you, is a TV phenomenon, a real tour de force that has received all kinds of awards.)

The way I see it, many, if not most, people pay hundreds of dollars a month for therapy, and they don’t want to relive the excruciating experience of it in their free time. I've certainly been drawn into an episode or two of In Treatment, but I always end up feeling like I'm missing the action that took place to traumatize or depress these people. It's not that the tone is too personal or intimate; it's just that the scenes revolve too much around dialogue, which makes for great theater but not good TV.

This week The Huffington Post reported that In Treatment is getting some of the lowest ratings for any HBO show ever, and in an effort to win over more new viewers the pay cable network is doing what it never has before -- offering the program for free by posting full-length episodes of the show on YouTube. Oh, it's not good to be an HBO subscriber these days.

Sure, The Wire gets rave critical reviews; many a critic has said it's a better show than The Sopranos, but I've never been able to get into it. Maybe because I’m a woman, and I inevitably want women and relationships to be a part of my stories? I'm not sure. I do know I’m waiting for HBO to mean something to me again. I'm not alone on this, of course -- the blogosphere has been ablaze with posts on this very topic for more than year. The New York Times got in on the discussion last August, reporting that some Showtime execs now refer to their competition as "HB-Over." Like so many devout HBO subscribers these days, I admit I’m contemplating making the switch. I often read these days that Showtime is flat-out better now since CEO Les Moonves started his mission to make the network "more commercial," and since such controversial and thoughtful programs like Weeds, The Tudors, Dexter, Californication, and This American Life have taken over.

Things are not totally "HB-Over" though. The network did pick up True Blood, a series created, written, and directed by genius Alan Ball, the mastermind behind Six Feet Under, and starring Anna Paquin. Though production for the show has wrapped, a premiere date (to my knowledge) has not yet been announced for the series, which is a bit fishy. Last year it was also announced that a project helmed by Mark Wahlberg and Martin Scorsese, Boardwalk Empire, is also in the works for HBO. Even though I haven't heard a peep about this in months, I just might hang on for this show. Until then there's always Big Love, Flight of the Conchords, what looks to be a riveting mini-series, John Adams (featuring Laura Linney and Paul Giamatti, no less), Bill Maher, and lots and lots of therapy sessions.

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