The Daily Star - Stay Tuned
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/400360
The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, October 17, 2014 18 By Rory MacDonald- Gauthier TV Media O pening up and expressing your deepest and darkest insecurities to anyone, let alone a stranger, can be an ex- cruciating challenge that some refuse to take. Those who do seek professional help general- ly end up sitting down with a psychologist for hours on end, expressing how they feel and why. While some people may feel the one-on-one interaction is relieving and liberating, others become frustrated and short- tempered at the lengthy and costly process. It appears that the creators of "Web Therapy," which premieres its fourth sea- son Wednesday, Oct. 22, on Showtime, have found a posi- tive — and often comedic — fictional happy medium that can benefit everyone. Lisa Kudrow ("Friends") stars as Fiona Wallice, a thera- pist who veers away from tra- ditional counseling options and focuses on a different, short-and-sweet approach: ad- vice over the Internet. Fiona believes that standard sessions are too long and stretched out, leading to patients discussing irrelevant topics. By shortening the time she spends dispensing advice, she hopes to increase her productivity and her profits, and to promote her alternative techniques to potential busi- ness investors worldwide, she records all of her sessions via webcam. Many will recognize Kudrow from arguably her most fa- mous role as Phoebe Buffay in the '90s sitcom "Friends." For people hoping to see the free- spirited Phoebe in a modern setting, it won't be here. Fiona is a self-interested, short-tem- pered individual who struggles to connect with her patients, but as the seasons progress, she learns to open up and rely on others, causing her to pro- gressively become paranoid and engulfed in the drama her clients approach her with. For a show that's no strang- er to celebrity guests, season 4 continues to gush with Holly- wood's best talents. This sea- son will see stars such as Gw- yneth Paltrow ("Iron Man 3," 2013), Jon Hamm ("Mad Men"), Calista Flockhart ("Ally McBeal"), Allison Janney ("The West Wing"), Christina Apple- gate ("Samantha Who?") and many, many more check in for a session and try to work through their oftentimes hilari- ous problems. There's one more celebrity guest who will be briefly join- ing the cast in season 4, and he conveniently has years of on- set experience with Kudrow. Matthew Perry ("The Whole Nine Yards," 2000) will be re- uniting with Kudrow on the small screen as a character who informs Fiona — rather monotonously — that he doesn't have dreams or feel- ings. Fiona's straightforward attitude lends well to his dead- pan and indifferent personality, and she tells him that he's found the perfect therapist, as she does not have time to waste regarding emotions and feelings. Season 1 featured Courte- ney Cox ("Cougar Town") as Serena Duvall, an Internet psy- chic who seeks Fiona's help af- ter she loses her powers. In season 2, David Schwimmer's ("Madagascar," 2005) charac- ter Newell Miller, a friend of Fiona's from college, enlisted her services after suffering sev- eral disastrous relationships. Lastly, in season 3, Matt LeB- lanc ("Episodes") played the role of Nick Jericho, an obses- sive-compulsive online gam- bler who seeks Fiona's advice in order to help control his ad- diction. All "Friends" connections aside, other familiar faces will be cropping up this sea- son in continuing recurring roles. Dan Bucatinsky ("Scan- dal"), Billy Crystal ("Mon- sters, Inc.," 2001), Lily Tomlin ("Eastbound & Down"), Rashida Jones ("Parks and Recreation") and Victor Gar- ber ("Argo," 2012) will be helping further her new-age therapy approach. Bucatinsky is back as Je- rome Sokoloff, Fiona's hilari- ous personal assistant with a penchant for tinkering in proj- ects without the therapist's consent. Tomlin plays Fiona's mother, Putsy Hodge, who started a competing business called Net Therapy to go up against her daughter. Garber recurs as Kip Wallace, Fiona's attorney and long-suffering soon-to-be-ex-husband who likes to engage in extracurric- ular activities. It can be tough to sit down and spill your guts to a stranger, even if they're trained and paid to listen. Even if you do find it liberat- ing, sometimes it seems like sessions can just drag on for hours. The creators of "Web Therapy" have found a happy medium that can benefit ev- eryone — short-and-sweet Internet webcam therapy. Lisa Kudrow stars as Fiona Wallice in season 4 of "Web Therapy," which premieres Wednesday, Oct. 22, on Showtime. Lisa Kudrow stars in "Web Therapy" Help without hassle Season 4 of 'Web Therapy' kicks off on Showtime Featurestory