Anticipating Treme aka "Tremé" - David Simon and his buddies do post-Katrina N.O.

the english reporter wasn't the problem, it was the way the whole scene was just a setup for a really didactic rant by john goodman, which i suppose was supposed to telegraph the writers' political slant.

if i recall there were some similarly didactic scenes in the first season of the wire. in a way i think those scenes, as cringeworthy as they might seem, were kind of necessary to position the show in a certain way. once that was done, the show didn't have to be so broadly didactic. we'll see what happens.

funny thing -- i made bank off of selling that selfsame dave bartholomew boxed set that steve zahn's character goes apeshit over in episode 1. when that became a major plot motif i was like o_O.

the english reporter wasn't the problem, it was the way the whole scene was just a setup for a really didactic rant by john goodman

totes.

The Christian tourists were so dorky but I'm glad they ended up having fun.

really loving the feel of this. just like to roll with it.

also genuinely laughing at the steady stream of 'no shame. there's pride on bourbon street'

oh, and Slim Charles

I loved the Wire, and I love the music in this, but I am still waiting for some kind of conflict to hook me.

iirc, The Wire didn't fully hook me until episode 3 and I was addicted from then on. I'm not at all concerned about Treme doing the same, I mean, hell, the music sequences are already enough to keep me coming back. Plus it is surprisingly funny at times.

Funny thing about the English reporter was that the actor was obviously Irish, you could hear his accent slipping occasionally. John Goodman's ranting (and dress sense) also reminded me a little too much of Walter Sobchak. Other than that, first two episodes have been pretty pleasing.

was there a second line in ep 2?

This feels a lot more dispersed than The Wire initially did - the characters were pretty much grouped into police and Barksdale dudes and we knew immediately where that season was going, the story arc was pretty obvious.

There don't seem to be that many links between the Treme characters as yet, it's like a very spread out soap opera and, with the exception of the woman looking for her brother, I still can't tell what sort of arc is going to play out. Enjoying it immensely though.

Did the Lester Freamon guy kill that dude or just beat him really badly?

Did the Lester Freamon guy kill that dude or just beat him really badly?

Was kind of wondering that myself. Didn't see it coming and trying to figure where the writers would go with that development if it was murder.

Funny thing about the English reporter was that the actor was obviously Irish, you could hear his accent slipping occasionally. John Goodman's ranting (and dress sense) also reminded me a little too much of Walter Sobchak. Other than that, first two episodes have been pretty pleasing.

― Number None, Tuesday, April 20, 2010 8:05 AM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

lol came here to say how Walter-esque his character is.

but yeah this is definitely enjoyable without being super compelling so far. i mean obviously setting the whole story well after the big catastrophic event and the nastiest immediate aftermath is kind of deliberate, but i don't really know where they go from here, or if they'll be able to pull off the kind of slowly mounting tension and dread over the course of the season that made The Wire so watchable.

i don't think they're going to try for that

Has anyone British ever had the misfortune to see Spectator editor Fraser Nelson interviewed? He is exactly like that smarmy British guy.

Actually "why should the American taxpayer pay to clear up your city that was destroyed through no fault of your own?" is exactly the sort of question that any number of public school right-wing British broadsheet journalists would ask.

Yeah, watching any high-profile English journo would confirm that. That said, the whole scene is really stagey and there to establish the locals' sense of outrage. It's a fun scene but it doesn't feel natural at all, even if Goodman and the journo are speaking entirely in character. But The Wire also suffered from 'here is our editorial position' monologues on occasion.

It's amazing how quickly I've forgotten that Clark Peters and Wendell Pierce played Wire characters. In a lot of ways the characters they're portraying now are more interesting (maybe it's because we've seen just about every cop imaginable on TV?) so I don't think 'Lester' for even a second when Peters is on screen.

yeah those guys are both fucking beasts and it's exciting to see them both get lots of screentime here to create whole new characters that are hopefully even half as classic as their Wire characters

i have trouble with clark peters with no mustache, his upper lip looks so empty

Now that it was already spoiled above, that scene with him beating down the kid who stole his tools completely broke me of thinking of him as "Lester Freamon" any longer.

wonder if a British reporter will ask Simon if we're supposed to be glad to watch a show about a bunch of music-loving jerks just because its set in New Orleans (only have seen the pilot, and i'm hoping for the best - just sayin').

pretty sure i'd be glad to watch a show about kim dickens, john goodman, clark peters, wendell pierce and melissa leo playing gin rummy in Pierre, South Dakota, so yeah.

basically

i have trouble with clark peters with no mustache, his upper lip looks so empty

― max, Tuesday, April 20, 2010 6:23 PM

lol i was trying to figure out what was so different about him its totally the stache missing

LOL @ madison, wisconsin carpetbaggers! jordan, did you catch that?

that scene was uncomfortable and weirdly played, perhaps on purpose. not sure if we were supposed to like the music, or if the version of "when the saints" was supposed to be a pisstake. all the reaction shots of "locals" bobbing their heads was supposed to indicate that it was good music or something. or maybe it didn't matter? also not sure if filmmakers wanted us to be sympathetic to slightly naive midwesterners or to think they were drips.

second episode slightly more pedestrian (read: boring) than first but still enjoyable.

I thought the locals were being sarcastic.

The locals were obviously ripping the shit out of the tourists.

i have trouble with clark peters with no mustache, his upper lip looks so empty

It helps him look sad though, which he's done a lot of so far.

local definitely being a douche to the tourists in that scene. and it was feeling like some smug bullshit similar to Goodman v. British, but it kind of backed off of that and made the dude seem kind of an ass. the show definitely veers close to Rockist New Orleans. crass wording, but kinda apt.

clark peters looks miserable

LOL @ madison, wisconsin carpetbaggers! jordan, did you catch that?

haha, no, i'm watching the show at a friend's house so i can only catch up every couple of weeks. what happens???

Josh Levin's generally positive review in Slate last week:

In Treme's opening episodes, the series' New Orleans residents are realistic, complex, and sympathetic. The show's outsiders, by contrast, are cartoonish, mere foils for the musicians and activists we're supposed to commiserate with.

haha, no, i'm watching the show at a friend's house so i can only catch up every couple of weeks. what happens???
― emotional radiohead whatever (Jordan), Wednesday, April 21, 2010 9:56 AM (4 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

not much, just one motif in the episode are a bunch of cheesehead blonde tourists ("with our church group") from madison.

i agree w/ that last assessment; so far only the locals are painted with two dimensions.

another thing that's already beginning to grate: i get the emphasis on new orleans music, but it seems (with small exception of steve zahn blasting mystikal in 1st episode) almost bizarrely focused on jazz/r&b/horn groups. every single scene has someone listening to an album, the radio, or at a show playing those genres of music. it's as if, not just other forms of new orleans music, but other forms of music period, don't exist. as if the kim dickens and john goodman characters might not be listening to the same stuff people their ages would be listening to anywhere else.

ok, it's a tv show, a work of art, and i get the function of the music in helping to keep it formally unified--to provide a unifying motif. but it's still a bit much and begins to detract from the show's vaunted realism.

i mean this is exactly where you could criticize the show for having a sort of fetishistic outsider perspective on the city, imagining dave bartholomew tunes blasting out of every window, as opposed to, you know, lil wayne and taylor swift and the same stuff everybody listens to.

not much, just one motif in the episode are a bunch of cheesehead blonde tourists ("with our church group") from madison.

aw, i was hoping there for a reference to some brass band musicians playing rebirth tunes in wisconsin or something.

another thing that's already beginning to grate: i get the emphasis on new orleans music, but it seems (with small exception of steve zahn blasting mystikal in 1st episode) almost bizarrely focused on jazz/r&b/horn groups. every single scene has someone listening to an album, the radio, or at a show playing those genres of music. it's as if, not just other forms of new orleans music, but other forms of music period, don't exist

mystikal and lil wayne are both new orleans rappers!

also you really do hear people blasting brass band music out of cars all the time, and i think second line culture is something that most people are aware and proud of (even if they don't actively participate in it). obv. new orleanians listen to what everybody else does, i don't think that's a point that needs to be made. it's a lot more interesting that certain kinds of music thrive there, when the rest of the world couldn't really give a shit about it.

i don't feel like the presence of music and what kind pops up in what scenes has stuck out or grated for me yet -- most of the music in scenes has been in featured characters who are jazz/R&B/etc. musicians or aficionados, haven't been a lot of opportunities to shoehorn other kinds of music in just as something someone might be listening to. The Wire had a tricky relationship with this kind of thing because in early seasons there'd be kind of random/unlikely backpacker rap selections, and then in later seasons, as great as it was to have more local music being used, it was sadly not really any more realistic to hear local rap bumping out of cars/radios in Baltimore as often as they depicted that happening. but if they're gonna bend plausibility a little, i'd prefer it be in the direction of slathering on more local flavor.

Also, many of the main characters are involved in some way or another with the brass band scene, so it's always going to have a major role in the show.

checking out ep 2 now...love the roll-off into the credits

the only hot music in this one was wendell/stafford playing for the stripper and indian shit at the end, imo. the second indian dude was playing some serious tambourine.

i know lil wayne and mystikal are NO rappers, just pointing out how seldom we've heard any hip hop at all compared to e.g. ernie k-doe records. not that this is a BAD thing. just defies credulity a little after a while.

but yeah minor complaint all told. more troubled by how they can't find anything for john goodman character to do except pontificate to some interlocutor who is barely a character.

don't think i even caught in episode one that he's an english professor.

Simon's been going to New Orleans for years and had a brass band play his kid's Bar Mitzvah so he's clearly obsessed with that sound. Not justifying it btw (not that brass band and old-school New Orleans r'n'b fan me minds, although the hiphop the town is also known for should get some attention).

But there's more sad news. Simon's 89 year-old Dad just died-

David Simon's father died Tuesday. Here is the initial article, an obit is to follow:

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postmortem/2010/04/bernard-simon-former-pr-direct.html?wprss=postmortem

just pointing out how seldom we've heard any hip hop at all compared to e.g. ernie k-doe records

yeah, that makes sense after seeing ep 2. i'd kinda expect wendell to be listening to frankie beverly at home.

just watched the first two eps last night. i actually have yet to watch THE WIRE, which is weird, i guess, cause im from baltimore, but i anticipate it being frustrating how much people are gonna wanna substitute WIRE-circle-jerks for actual talk about TREME. i mean, i get it, but im enjoying coming in cold so far.

so far this thread is pretty light on Wire talk aside from referencing what actors from it are here (and i'll take the blame for some of the Wire comparisons that are on this thread, heh). 69 do you still live here?

god please no more "authentic" scenes...that busking scene is fucking tragic. this show needs to cut back on the "soul" asap. oh those damn tourists seeking "authenticity", they can never feel the soul of new orleans like the real new orleans natives goddamn do!

I think maybe you're misinterpeting those scenes? It's the righteous keyboard player that comes off as a dick (as does Steve Zahn's character for similar reasons in most of his scenes).

yeah he does come across as a dick, but don't believe for a second that he's meant to be a dick in relation to the tourists. couple that with the "we used to build shit in this country" part 2 "now we teach digital media" rant...

you think people are watching and the majority think "what a dick" at these scenes?