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Sharon Horgan: "Catastrophe"

 In "Catastrophe," a husband, Rob, returns to his wife, Sharon, after an intercontinental trip. Sharon asks, "Did you masturbate?"


"Definitely," Rob says. "But I held a little pillow to my chest and pretended I was hugging you."

"I have a hard time masturbating now," says Sharon, who is pregnant. "I have to crane my neck around the fetus-bump--and then, well, I'm reminded that the baby is right there...."

Rob and Sharon have married after a one-night stand. They're forty; they seem to like each other. Why not "give it a shot"? The problem is that Rob isn't really an adult; he wants to abandon his soulless corporate job to "work with large animals." Also, he has an alluring colleague who says, "You've been looking at me recently. Why don't we find a spot off-site--a spot where you could *really* look at me?" Finally, Rob has a problematic approach to sex; on the verge of an orgasm, he hears his wife asking for a pause, because the baby is crying. At this point, Rob covers Sharon's ears and quickly "lands the plane." Pleased to note that the baby is now silent, Rob says, "I'm teaching our child to self-soothe." And the baby resumes crying.

Sharon has her own struggles. She has unprotected sex, then immediately realizes that she truly, truly hates the thought of having a third child. So she twists her body and "encourages" the semen to spill out. ("I know what I'm doing. I learned this in convent school.") She is on a massage table when she discovers that her professional is groping her--and, against her own better judgment, she has an orgasm. She then tips the professional. Later, she wonders if she can make a complaint. "Can you do that--once you've tipped the person in question?"

I think it's not news to praise this show; it was a big deal around the world for four years, the length of its run. I'm late to the party. 

But--if you haven't seen it, and you liked "Bad Sisters," or "Better Things," or "Fleabag"--then I really recommend this one.

Smart, fearless writing; strong title; therapeutic impact, if you happen to have a body, or a sense of inner conflict (if you happen to just be a living human being).
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