Treme is Back!

[paxpinnae]

So I know everyone and their mother are flipping their collective shit over Doctor Who, but - I don't really feel like I have much to say about that. I mean, without getting spoilery, the new villains are super-duper creepy, Mark Sheppard is awesome, and River Song is a BAMF, but this was the first half of a two-parter, and it felt like it. There were a lot of great moments that really didn't gel into an episode, but might, given another hour, do so. So I plan to wait until next week to see how it turns out.

However, Doctor Who comprised only one half of the premieres I was excited about this weekend! Treme is back, and continues to hit me where I live. Not quite literally, since the Texans who show up continue to be all Dallasites (Seriously, show? Y'all know that I-10 runs right to Houston, right? Can you just not forgive us for the whole Astrodome thing?) but close enough. If the themes that showed up in this episode propagate, I think I'm gonna like season 2 a lot. Some moments that stuck out:

• Delbert dealing with the New Yorkers. Everyone in that scene played it PERFECTLY, Delbert building from irritation to full-out anger as the New Yorkers press on with clueless, well-meaning condescension towards New Orleans culture and prospects for rebirth. The follow-up scene, where Delbert actually comes out and says “I get to say that. They don't.” really nailed the n-word mentality of the ones who get away, the expats of the South.
• Davis knocking dishes into the trash one by one. OH DAVIS, BB. WE HAVE ALL BEEN THERE, OR AT LEAST I HAVE. Just let them soak overnight, and that crust'lll scrape right off.
• Catholic schmoozing! I cracked up when they started talking about the capital campaign, because let me tell you, those things are appropriately named. After planning those, I think most parish ladies qualify as two-star generals.
• LaDonna's sexy times. GET SOME, GIRL.
• SURPRISE JAMES RANSONE IS SURPRISING. I honestly had no idea he was gonna be in this episode, which is strange because I normally follow his appearances like a bloodhound. I am not hopeful about his getting more episodes, because showing up uncredited as a roommate in a secondary location smells like a cameo, but hey, shirtless James Ransone. Not a whole lot to complain about there.
  
• Antoine dancing onstage. For all the set jams in this episode (and there were a lot, to the point where I was like, yes, I could listen to Annie play violin all day long too, but can we please have some plot now), that was the one that really hit home. We've seen a lot of Antoine sleazing around New Orleans doing morally questionable things to keep playing, and this was the reminder why. To Antoine, when you've got dozens – not even hundreds, just dozens – of people hanging on every note from your lips and swivel from your hips, it's worth having your baby-mama holler at you about being broke.
• In the same vein: the kid with the trumpet. It's nice to see some acknowledgement that musicians don't emerge fully formed from the head of Dizzy Gillespie playing perfect blues runs, but rather spend a year or so making sounds that resemble those of a dying cat. Makes the whole music-making process less intimidating.

Are any of you watching Treme? What did y'all think? And if you are not watching Treme, what are you waiting for?

Also, I am still doing drabbles for 3w4dw, but I only have one prompt! This makes me sad. If you want to, go here and leave a prompt!

Comments

[travels_in_time]

I have never heard of Treme! Where and when does it air? It sounds like something that might be right up my alley. Is it set in New Orleans, though? Louisiana accents on TV mostly make my ears bleed.

[paxpinnae]

Treme airs Sundays at 10 PM on HBO, and covers a large number of New Orleans natives, residents, and interlopers with loosely interlocking lives as they deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. A lot of the series deals with the music and culture of the city, but not in a fetishistic way. Some of the musicians are talented. Others are deluded. The struggle to honor tradition without stagnating is addressed. Last season dealt a lot with the immediate problems of recovery; this season seems like it's gonna deal more with the long-term consequences, including the post-K crime boom. I definitely recommend it.

(I understand your apprehensions about the whole accent thing ("BEEELL!" "SOOKEH!" UGH.), but Treme definitely doesn't have that problem. Some characters have accents! Most don't! Older characters have slightly thicker accents! Young kids don't have accents at all! It's almost like they went out and listened to people talk for a while.)