This show is written by people who aren't TV writers, and as such doesn't conform to normal television structure. If you're looking for A plot/B plot/C plot, you're out of luck. This is a novel. You've just read the first chapter. You can talk about the right way to write a TV show until the cows come home, but David Simon found success in this structure with The Wire -- it works. But it's certainly doesn't cater to any lowest common denominator. The writers expect some effort and patience on the part of their viewership, which is perhaps an unreasonable expectation given the distinct attention deficit of the general population.
I'd watch this show for the music alone. But the fact that so many characters from The Wire are in it is distracting as fuck. I completely forgot which show I was watching when Slim Charles walked on screen last night. It's going to take some getting use to to forget that these aren't the same characters.
I enjoyed the hell out of the first two episodes of Treme. No doubt, I am influenced by my love for the Wire. Treme would have to be flat-out bad for me not to watch. I was skeptical about the musical focus at first, but after two episodes I think I am hooked. Cool Lester Smooth is going to drive one hell of a story line. And I will never remember his character's name in this show. Non-Treme aside: Sunday night programming delivers about as much TV as my DVR and I can handle right now.
Beefy I would never neg rep you because 99% of the time I enjoy your posts even if I do not entirely agree with them. I actually watched the second episode of this snooze fest because you said to give it another try. However this is just not up my alley, to slow and I could care less if any of those characters resolve the conflicts presented them in the show. You honestly proved mine and Supertramp's point with the conflicts you so eloquently printed. The most interesting probably is the women trying to find her brother who was lost in Katrina's wrath, and i really don't care about that storyline.......at all. I do appreciate your post because I was getting so frustrated and could not figure out why anyone would actually enjoy the series, you did show me the light in that sense. People out there will identify with some of these characters and enjoy the trials and tribulations of them, I am just not one of them. I am also willing to place a gentleman's bet that this show does not go to a third season.
I've been trying to think of a way to express how/why I like this show. The music is incredible. The acting is well done, some of the characters I like, some I don't care for. Steve Zahn's character needs an asswhupping. John Goodman's character is hilarious, someone that's intelligent and passionate enough to get something accomplished. I think that it's important not to forget that our government could forget and ignore something like this. The story's starting to come together, and I don't see any HBO-watching crackheads taking any tools anytime soon.
Most of the characters are roughly based on actual New Orleanians (Steve Zahn, John Goodman, and the female restaurant owner, for example). Others, obviously, are locals (all the musicians for the most part). The desire to develop these characters properly slows the story down a little, but the show will definitely begin to pick up, and by the second half of the season, I would imagine it will be really moving
I didn't prove your point, I proved mine. Your point was that the show was structurally deficient inasmuch as it lacked a protagonist and/or plot. I laid out nine of them for you. The fact that you, the viewers, don't find those plots or characters satisfying is another, entirely subjective argument altogether. On the odd chance that a) this place exists in two years and b) I'm still posting here, then sure. But let's make it interesting. Avatar bet. Winner picks the loser's avatar for six months. Someone pointed out on the last page or so that they're keeping a detailed list of all the music used in the show. It's been dominating my playlist for the last couple weeks, and I am absolutely buying the soundtrack the day it comes out. Antoine's rendition of the '(I Don't Stand a) Ghost of a Chance' was so fucking cool. Also, I am deeply, deeply in love with Lucia Macarelli, the woman who plays the violinist. She makes me feel all funny inside. Like when we climbed the rope in gym class.
She's so adorable I have to stop myself from molesting my TV during the show. Mike Ness might be right about the show's longevity, although so far I hope he's wrong. I am not sure how long they can drag out the rebuilding of NOLA. At some point, things have to get back to normal and then the crises in this show disappear. Of course, I don't know shit about New Orleans and I could be wrong, things might still be fucked there.
Her name is Lucia Micarelli, and she toured with Jethro Tull. Her boyfriend on the show should be beaten. Especially after... Spoiler Standing there like a dick and watching two fuckhead cops beat the shit outta Bunk. He may gain a little redemption if he saved the trombone. I don't think he did though, he's a dick.
The show is not really about crisis - it's about people and how they react to life altering events and fight for what they love. It's about a way of life that was not destroyed, but easily could have been. It's about the cultural significance of this city. From what I have heard, the plan is to run 5 seasons, with the culmination being the Saints' Superbowl victory.
This statement couldn't be any more false. Eric Overmeyer, David Simon, and David Mills (God rest his soul) all have extensive television writing backgrounds, on very impressive shows at that. I just caught up and I'm glad the stories are progressing. Much like "Battlestar Galactica" bought "Caprica" some leeway (it paid off), "The Wire" has ensured that I'll see this through the season as well. Still, after the third hour I find most of the characters unbearably annoying; Cool Lester Smooth (I don't care to learn his name in this series) is the lone character that doesn't make me groan when he's on the screen. And yet...I find the show very well crafted and enjoyable in spite of itself. Go figure.
For those who read TelevisionWithoutPity.com, this passage came from one of the best "The Wire" recaps ever: Anyone notice Albert laying the charm on for the single mom that had him over for dinner this past episode? Even though Clarke Peters' call sheet says Albert instead of Lester, the Cool and the Smooth remain the same.
I'm kind of hoping they find a way to kill off this whiny Dutch piano player. I'm getting awfully tired of watching him sulk like a fucking 12-year-old because no one understands his pain. Just let him mouth off to the wrong person in the wrong part of town and get dumped in an abandoned house or something. Anyone know anything about this Mardi Gras Indian business and, specifically, why the mother of the guy who died under his boat found the whole thing "disreputable"? I figured it was a respected, long-standing tradition. Why was she so opposed to it?
Is anyone still watching this? I'd love to hear some opinions about it. I'm losing interest and I'm not sure why. I just don't feel very invested in any of it anymore. Stuff is happening, but I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to care about. I liked the storyline of Big Chief's housing showdown, but that was pretty much dropped in the last episode. I'll probably keep watching, but that's just out of faith for David Simon. And if he doesn't lead me to the promise land soon I will probably jump ship.
I think the entire episode was a departure from larger storylines and a chance to shine the spotlight on Mardi Gras. Chief Lester Smooth spent the whole hour in jail, but the previews made clear his troubles are going to pick up right where they left off.
I love it and I'm not sure why. "Stuff is happening" is probably the best description of the show: no clear storyline or protagonist or direction. Yet I still find it absolutely fascinating. If I were to guess, I'd say it's due to the fact that every single line in this show is believable and deeply personal. The grandeur of everything on a screen nowadays is getting a bit annoying.
Ok, I didn't see it coming. This is a real spoiler, don't read if you didn't see the last episode. Spoiler If John Goodmans character commited suicide, I'm gonna be so pissed. Why can't they get the piano playing dickhead to throw himself off a ferry? Motherfuck I'm mad. Excellent show tonight, followed by preceded by some awfully gay True Blood.
Wow. The last episode completely assuaged any major concerns and misgivings I had about this show. Spoiler Sad to see Creighton Bernette go. I just can't believe he went for the Edna Pontellier drowning though. That's one thing I never was able to fully comprehend about that book and I guess even this show. I could never purposefully swim myself to death. Alan Sepinwall linked to this blog by Dave Walker that explains a lot of the more specific details and holy shit is this show intricate. I definitely recommend checking it out especially if you are curious about what the cop and Chief Lambreaux were talking about. At some point I'm going to go back and read what he wrote about past episodes.
Spoiler Man, John Goodman was one of my favorite characters on the show. I hope he isn't really dead. I haven't found anything saying he left the show or anything. But, I bet he's really gone. This show seems to be slowly building steam and by the end of the season, I bet it is fully on. Now that the characters are starting to be defined I can see them start to really lay out some story. I just generally like most of the characters. That douche piano player though, I hope he meets an untimely end......PAINFULLY! Just a horrible character.
This may be a spoiler, but it's just a rumor. Still, if you don't like the douchebag keyboardist: Spoiler The rumor is that he is based off a musician involved in an infamous murder-suicide. Of course, if it's true, that doesn't bode well for Annie. Sorry I'm late to the party here. I've been following Treme religiously since it started. It started off slow, but revealed enough quality at the start to let me know this wasn't going to be another "K-Ville." It didn't occur to me to check the Idiot Board for a discussion. I was an out-of-state college student down in New Orleans during this whole time. I actually lived near the Treme (in the Bywater) for a short time. I'm no expert, but this show is dense with references to real people, real events, and incredible amounts of cultural trivia. For those of you worried about the longevity of this show -- don't. The shit-show is still going on till this day. The thing is -- even as the show moves away from the storm, it's entering the phase where pretty much everybody in the city went insane. I'm useless when it comes to the music references, but if you have any random questions about stuff going on, I could try to answer 'em. But I definitely second that you read the NOLA.com "Treme explained" blog.