Okay, let’s just get this out of the way: I’m not delusional. Here are the facts: In April 2009, I made a strong request (in this very blog) for more television programming like HBO’s The Wire. In April 2010, HBO, David Simon and other members of The Wire’s team, premiered Treme. Coincidence? Unlikely.
This unambiguously causal relationship has left me with a nagging sense of responsibility: TREME WAS MY REQUEST AND I COULDN’T MAKE IT PAST EPISODE 5. I’m a disappointment to myself. Go ahead. Judge me.
The show started off so strong. It had all the hallmarks of Simon’s work: (1) location as a main character; (2) the people, dialogue and situations were brutally authentic; (3) the connections among characters were tenuous, but clearly promising; and (4) it was gorgeous to look at. Truth be told, I was almost in tears at the end of Episode 1. I had a David Simon show again; my life would return to its natural order (that is to say, I would be obsessed with “good television” once again). Additionally, and this can’t be overstated, Elvis Costello was in the first episode. I’d watch Elvis Costello read the phone book. (And for the amount I’ve paid for his concert tickets over the years, he should offer to do it for me. Another topic for another blog.)
And so I watched…
Episode 2: Not much progress in the plot, but there were promising narrative threads. I just had to wait for Simon to pull them.
Episode 3: Not much progress. Just pull the thread, David. Pull it!
Episode 4: Pull the stinking thread! Give me something. Please. Just hint at a narrative arc.
Episode 5: Seriously? Where is this going? Jazz is important. I get it. Sheesh.
Episode 6: Didn’t watch it. I just stopped caring.
I turn to you now, readers. Did anyone stick with Treme? If so, please make an argument for me to go back and pick it up On Demand. After all, I MADE this happen. I should see it through, right?
Karen:
My wife is as much a fan of HBO and David Simon as you and watched until the very sad end. It’ll be interesting to see if it has another season. It certainly could with NOLA’s current problems. Will the city survive? Given the spirit of the natives, I think so. But stay tuned.
Tom
Hi Tom,
Season Two is an open question, for sure. Yet, a sweet prayer for NOLA and her coastal sisters is always in order. Thanks for reminding me what it’s really about…there’s still work to be done. Now more than ever.
Sincere thanks,
Karen
Oh Karen, come back! I agree — the pace is a little plodding, but the medium is the message. Recovering and rebuilding consists of relentless baby stepping, not search/voyage–>epiphany–>resolution. Treme demands that we walk in these characters’ shoes, experience the false starts and dead-ends as well as the breakthroughs.
And actually, as I think about it, quest is the mainstay of any good narrative, and there’s a whole lot of that going on in Treme — the quest for the missing brother, for hope, for renewal. There’s also a lot of failure going on, and I wonder if part of the lukewarm response to Treme (as I know many Simon fans who feel as you do) is simply that as Americans, we’re not used to seeing that in prime time.
Or maybe my senseless love for the music simply guarantees that I’ll love this show, no matter what.
Although I agree with Julie’s comment, I totally understand where you are coming from, Karen. My advice: Jump to the season finale. I actually stumbled into Treme because I was too lazy to move my couch-potato bottom off the couch after the season premier of True Blood.–the finale of Treme followed and I was sold. The next day I started watching from the beginning and have loved every minute of it.
I hear that they are releasing the soundtrack in conjunction with the premier of the second season, so it looks like the stories will continue…