Michael: Every Day (2011) s02e03 Episode Script

1 Are you going to tell Dr.
Storper? Nah.
- You think this was a huge mistake.
- No, I just don't want him to get distracted.
He reads into everything.
That's his job.
- I think you should tell him.
- On schedule.
It's all about flying.
Hi.
I thought I heard voices.
You must be Mr.
and Mrs.
Cooperman.
Are you ready for our confrontation session? Michael, Claire.
I see you've met my new colleague, Dr.
Lawson.
Sorry, I thought you were my first appointment.
I'm sharing the space with Dr.
Lawson.
- You're sharing the space? - Well, there's a wall.
- It's a temporary wall.
- A very sturdy, retractable wall.
It's amazing, actually.
You can barely tell - the difference.
- The real wall will go up in, what? - Two weeks.
- Well, this is amazing, but if you'll excuse me Ah, these must be the Coopermans.
Hi.
Why don't you go in through? It's good to see you.
She's good.
She's a good doctor.
I'm very excited about this partnership.
OK.
Michael's moved in.
- He didn't want to tell you.
- Oh? Well, it's more of a platonic arrangement.
It was my idea.
I needed help with Sophie.
- How's it going? - Well, it's hard Oh my God.
It is so small.
No, it isn't.
Why is it hard? Well, it's weird.
I keep forgetting that he's better.
I mean, even out there I thought he was having a panic attack, but he just had to pee.
Oh my God.
- It is so small.
- No, it isn't.
Look Same old chairs.
Have a seat.
OK, I'm gonna run.
Bye, guys.
Fix that brain.
- I hate this.
- No, no.
It's just different.
You're not used to it.
A lot of things have changed in your life recently, but this is still your place, your sanctuary, a zone of quiet - ref reflection.
- (voices arguing) (voices screaming) (stammering) (loud bang) Gotta get up, gotta get out Gotta get home before the morning comes - So no more airplane pictures? - I had to take them down because of the wall.
Do you want me to put them back up here? No, no, the pictures don't faze me at all.
In fact, neither do the plane crash videos.
- I've watched hours of them.
- I told you you didn't have to watch those anymore.
We've determined that you don't have a fear of planes crashing.
No, I am not afraid of a fiery death.
So what's next? How are things going at Claire's? Oh, she told you.
Well, she mentioned that you moved in.
I don't wanna spend too much time on chitchat, because we've only got a couple of sessions left before I fly.
It's not chitchat.
Tell me about it.
Uh, it's good.
It's great.
Sophie's like, 6, and she talks and runs around a lot, and actually, she kind of hogs the remote.
What's it like sharing a bathroom? - Did Claire say something? - No, no, no, I just noticed that you were a little fidgety when you got here this morning.
I don't know, I just can't go when people are around, so lately I've been kind of blocked.
Do you have trouble going when there are other people in the apartment or when there's someone outside the door I just need to know I'm alone.
There's this Chinese place across from Claire's that I go, and it's fine.
All these Chinese take-out places let you pee as long as you order bubble balls or something.
Can we just focus on the fear of flying? How long have you had this issue? We can't get bogged down by this.
I have to fly in a week.
Michael, there's a reason that this is occurring in the aftermath of the panic attack at the airport.
We have to address it now.
Will you have Claire's apartment to yourself this afternoon? Yeah.
OK, I want you to go there and just start drinking.
And then I want you to experiment with your stream.
Just pee, let it go for a while, and then stop and hold it for, say, ten seconds, then try again and hold it for fifteen seconds.
Seriously, what does this have to do with my fear of flying? Something.
We'll find out.
Trust me.
Beth, I have a lunch appointment.
- I'll be back in an hour.
- Take your time.
Mr.
Ogilvy called.
That is so far from funny, Beth.
His brother.
He needed some information about you and the incident.
He sounded quite distraught.
He's probably trying to make sense of it.
Or he's thinking of suing.
And Visa called, said it was urgent.
You know, I came out of the office happy, and you're chipping away at that happiness.
It's your life, I just report it.
- Hi, David.
- Hi, Dr.
Lawson.
How was your morning? It was lovely, thank you.
And please call me Meredith.
- You seem chipper.
- I'm trying to be.
Finally feel like I'm coming out of a bit of a slump.
- I've been going through a divorce.
- Oh, I had no idea.
- I'm so sorry.
- Thank you.
It's never easy.
But recently, this former patient of mine has turned up and things are looking up.
We've had some success in the past, so it's nice to be on familiar ground, to feel that I can really help this man.
Yeah.
You know, it's times like these - that make it seem worthwhile.
- I was so curious about that, um, what was it, confrontation session? The Coopermans? Oh wow, they really embraced the exercise.
Seems like a very, uh therapeutic - cathartic technique.
- Oh, it is.
I mean, when you encourage people to unleash their passions wholeheartedly, such amazing and exciting things can happen, David.
Actually, I'm writing a paper and I would love to bounce some concepts off you, if you're game.
Of course.
We could grab a drink later in the week maybe? Sure.
Let's go to the singles bar on the corner.
Well, we're both single.
- Arguably.
- Great.
(car chirping) - Nice car, by the way.
- Oh.
(both chuckling) Showtime.
- (door opening) - Michael? Oh shit! Yeah, I'm just - I'm washing up.
- I have to draft up five wills.
Weird, huh? So I thought I'd just work here and we can hang.
Sorry, I was just about to go to the library.
Some work to do too.
- OK, then we'll work together.
- Oh no, I really gotta focus.
I'm not gonna bug you, I'm just gonna be sitting there typing and sighing, - occasionally, yawning.
- No, I'm going a little stir-crazy.
I gotta get out there in the world, you know? Ha ha.
- Hello.
- Hello.
Look at you.
- Aren't you perky? - Yeah, well, you know, things are looking up.
You know, money's been tight lately, so in the spirit of pragmatism, I'm sharing my space with a colleague.
That is impressive.
Good for you.
That is the first positive step you've taken in a long time.
That's good.
You know, you haven't been a real barrel of laughs Well, you know, I think that we have a real rapport.
- Who does? - My new colleague and I.
She has a lot of really interesting techniques that I'm not quite up on.
- She does.
Interesting techniques.
- When I talk to Meredith my new colleague's name is Meredith when I talk to her about her approach, it's like a tonic.
I could really use a tonic myself right now, in the form of a wine list.
But that doesn't look like that's gonna happen, so in the meantime, if you could sign these forms for exposure, I need to get back to set.
Wow, you are seriously stressed.
I am stressed.
I'm actually very stressed, because we're just about to launch the show in China and all you have to do is sign these stupid forms, but I gotta go back and run our show by myself that my co-creator didn't want to do because he had "qualms".
OK.
You know, we're friends now, right? I just wanna make a suggestion.
I think that you would benefit from a little bit of therapy.
First of all, don't need any more friends, and I don't need therapy, but what I do need is a wine list! Jesus Christ, that's not a big ask! Start.
Stop.
Start.
Start.
Start.
Start.
This is the men's room at the National Art Centre - Great acoustics in there.
- So you just took your recorder Wait, wait, this is the Rideau Centre, if I'm not mistaken.
- (urinating sound) - Is that You peeing? No, no, it's other people.
Oh, of course.
That would've been much easier.
[Hey! What are you doing?.]
Yeah, that that was the Rideau Centre.
I'm not sure it's the sound of other people peeing that's the issue.
I think it's more the idea that they're hearing me.
You need to remember that other people are thinking about their own problems.
They're thinking about work, what to make for dinner They don't care what's happening one urinal down.
You should try going in a noisy, frenetic environment - like a train station bathroom.
- Ew.
I just mean somewhere where it's clear that people are busy and distracted.
What is it that worries you about people hearing you pee? Well, I I don't know what they're thinking.
Maybe they're like "Ew, listen to that guy.
" "Listen to his urine hit the bowl, ugh!" What do you think when you hear me pee? (female voices nearby) (laughter) - Yeah.
- (indistinct) Sammy? Hi! - Hi, David! - David.
- What's going on? - You mentioned that I was stressed and you went on and on about Meredith, so Which was very kind of you.
So I just called her up, out of the blue, and we gabbed like sisters for, you know, half an hour.
- You were right, she is a tonic.
- A tonic.
Wow.
Thanks for the referral, David.
Oh, it's nothing.
Come on, Sammy.
Interesting development.
No, it isn't.
Buddhists talk about the human need to feel in control.
(Sammy and Meredith talking) The damage we do to ourselves and to others when we try running our relationships with an iron fist.
There is freedom, they say, in in the Buddhist concept of surrender.
Takes much less energy - to release - (Sammy and Meredith talking) our grip than it does to maintain it.
(laughter) And yet, the courage required to Fuck it! (indistinct) (laughter) (indistinct) (TV playing) - Hi, Michael! - Hey, you guys are home early.
Yeah, every second Thursday's a half day, didn't I tell you? Every second Thursday!! Guess what, we're making your favourite comfort meal.
Oh, you don't have to do that.
Kraft Dinner with cut up hotdogs, just to show you how happy we are to have you here.
Right, Sophie? Kraft Dinner! Kraft Dinner! Kraft Dinner! Kraft Dinner! - Kraft Dinner! - Hey honey, isn't it time for your show? It's time for your show, right, baby? - Yeah.
- Go! Dinky, Dinky, Dinky, Dinky, Dinky! Sorry, she inhaled a box of Smarties before I could get to her.
(singing along) - Sorry, life of a Smarties fiend.
- It's fine.
I'll be right back.
It's OK.
Everybody's busy.
No one's listening.
(pounding on door) - Come watch TV with me! - Yeah, one second! - It's OK.
Nobody cares about me going.
- (pounding on door) Are you going pee? Oh God.
(singsong) Michael is peeing! Michael is peeing! Wait, are you going somewhere? Just gonna get some bubble balls for an after dinner snack.
Be right back.
Visa called again, Dr.
Storper.
They're sounding a tad gruff now.
I'll get to it, Beth.
Thank you.
- Oh, you're in the wrong spot.
- I'm just going over some files.
I rearranged everything when Dr.
Lawson started.
That's her shelf.
This is yours.
There's only one file on my shelf.
You have one active patient.
So the upshot of what I've just said, Dr.
Storper, is that file isn't yours.
Well, they're all my files, aren't they, Beth, considering it's my office.
I thought we were sharing an office.
Oh, hi.
I was saying to Beth that, as senior partner - Ooh, senior partner.
- This isn't a law firm.
I know it's not a law firm.
Could I have my file, please, David? (scoffing) - This is wildly unprofessional.
- There was a mixup No, there wasn't.
Because Beth complicated the filing system - She simplified it, actually.
- And yet, somewhat in keeping.
In keeping? In keeping with what? In in keeping? What did you intend to find in her files? Huh? You think she talked about your sex life, - what you're like in the sack? - I don't know.
Maybe.
Nobody wants to talk about having sex with you! You were married, what, 25 years? Elvis left the building a long time ago.
We've been married four years.
Only four years?! That's pretty early for Elvis to have left the building.
Elvis has not left the building.
Elvis is still in the building.
- We don't have a problem like that.
- If you're not worried that she's in there talking with your sexy colleague about how repulsed she is by your penis, - then what are you worried about? - I just wanted to know what she was thinking about about our life together.
I just wanted to know why she was still so angry.
She's not angry, she's bored! You think this stuff is interesting reading? I read this stuff so I can fall asleep at night! After two decades - Four years! - she's over it! She does not care about you at all! And the best thing you can hope for with your colleague is that she doesn't care about you at all either.
So what do you do? You refer your wife to her, then you go snooping through her files.
She probably thinks you intended to do that all along.
I did not refer her.
My God - Did you plan to do it all along? - No, I did not.
Oh my God, you unethical son of a bitch! You're a genius! OK, and stop.
- Have you stopped? - Stopping.
And I've stopped.
And now here I am, a stranger, joining you at the next urinal.
(humming) Ready? Now let it go.
Release.
OK.
Oh! I'm doing it, look! - That's amazing! Do you see that? - Yes, that's tremendous, Michael! It was weirdly helpful when you told me to think of you as a stranger.
I thought, "Oh boy, I hope this guy leaves soon so I can finish peeing for Dr.
Storper.
" I was so focused on the exercise I didn't care about him.
And I realised he didn't care about me either.
What about people you do care about, like me and Claire? Well, with strangers I'm not gonna worry what they think about, because they're strangers, and with loved ones, well, they're loved ones.
- They're not gonna judge me, right? - Right! It was thrilling to see you finally lose your inhibitions.
Gentlemen.
I'm afraid I'm gonna have to ask you to leave the library.
We've had some complaints.
Oh, it's OK, I'm a doctor.
It's fine.
OK, Sammy, look, I'm glad you texted.
I don't know what Meredith has told you You were right.
Meredith is great.
She's good.
I wouldn't say she's great.
Look I cannot tell you how much more grounded I feel after speaking to her.
It's like she shines this flashlight in the dark, fuzzy parts of your brain, like cleaning out an old closet.
Anyway, I know that all my problems aren't gonna be solved after two sessions - Because that's not possible.
- David She has a kind of freight train approach that I don't agree with.
She just sort of barrels in there with her confrontations - and it's destructive.
- She said you'd do that.
- Do what? - Undermine me.
- No, I'm undermining her.
- No, you're undermining my therapist who I had just been praising.
(sighing) OK, I'm really sorry, but I have to do something.
Meredith advised me and I wasn't sure, but I think for my own peace of mind, we can't have any more contact.
What? Claire? Where are you? I'm in here, Michael.
Claire, what's wrong? Are we friends? Yeah, of course we are.
OK, because how come you never wanna spend any time here? Are you worried that we'll end up fooling around again? Because I thought that we were both pretty clear - No, no, no, that's not it.
- Well, does it gross you out, Sophie and me and all of our mom and kid stuff? - No, I love your stuff.
- So then how come you can't spend - like five minutes with us? - Because I don't want you to judge me.
Storper was right.
I thought he was wasting my time, but it's just like the fear of flying: I don't wanna be judged! - I don't understand.
What - Come with me.
I need to show you something.
It's really important to me.
OK.
I think I've I think I've already seen it.
No, no, no.
(urinating) (sighing contentedly) An awareness that we are often judged by others is a necessary component of a healthy and integrated adult life.
But a preoccupation with that kind of judgment can be paralysing.
At those times, we must muster every ounce of faith we have in ourselves - and put our best foot forward.
- Hi, David.
Hi.
- Been waiting long? - No, I came early because I had some work to do.
Meredith I want to apologise for the misunderstanding yesterday.
I'm with you absolutely, but I have to take exception to the word 'misunderstanding'.
- Disagreement.
- It wasn't a disagreement.
Agreement to disagree.
You were looking at your ex wife's file.
I don't think we disagree on that point.
I disagree with your characterization of me I haven't characterized you.
as some kind of an obsessive, stalking, - control freak of an ex-husband.
- That is some characterization, but it hasn't come from me.
I just care about Sammy.
And I know I was indulgent of your techniques when we spoke earlier - Indulgent? - But I think your particular brand of therapy is not right for Sammy.
Telling her to cut off contact with me, for instance, - is reckless.
- Reckless? You and I have different approaches to therapy.
You have your your short term, goal-oriented stuff.
Right.
Efficiency.
Goal setting.
You know, you would be amazed how effective these things can be when you have more than one patient.
- I'll I'll have another one.
- Coming right up.
The judgment of others, it can ground us or it can diminish us.
Make us feel small.
Repulsive, even.
(TV playing) Still, we need other people around us.
Peers, colleagues, loved ones, friends.
We need a safety net for when things get tough.
(cell phone ringing) Dr.
David Storper.
[Dr.
Storper, this is Myriam at Visa customer services.
.]
[I'm afraid we have a not so slight problem.
.]
Uh huh?