Treme - Thoughts on the Pilot

We finally watched Treme last night. I had to wait from Sunday for two reasons. First, prior to Monday, we weren't subscribers to HBO. I fixed that Monday afternoon by calling Cox and having them flip the switch. Second, I told my 15yo that I'd wait for him to watch it. With homework and such, it had to wait for the weekend. In case anybody's curious, "HBO On Demand" works.

(click "Read More" below to continue - don't want to spoil the show for anyone)

I've never been one for picking a lot of nits when it comes to movies-versus-novels, or even movies set in New Orleans. Geographic disconnects, like car chases that start on the west bank and end up in the CBD, or streetcar rides that start near Carrollton Station and end up in a part of Mid City where streetcars don't run, amuse me. When the cinematography is good, what the heck. Little things aren't going to be noticed by the majority of a national/international audience, so it's the big things that need to be right for Treme to be the next The Wire.

In that respect, Treme gets it right. The basic setting, New Orleans in late November, 2005, is captured well. The city post-storm was pretty surreal, and the show imparts some of that other-worldly feel to the viewer. The Sunday afternoon second-line parade that includes armed National Guardsmen as spectators was at once familiar and strange. It's easier for writers to work in an alternate universe, and that's what NOLA in the fall of 2005 was to the rest of the world.

In an NPR interview with the producers of Treme, one of the guys made a comment, "What else would you make in New Orleans but a cop show?" Up to now, that's pretty much true, and pretty much why none of the shows, from "K-ville" to "The Big Easy" all the way back to "Longstreet" had no staying power. Treme, on the other hand, makes the city itself the show's antagonist. From the Tulane professor who rails about government failure to the Indian chief who wants to re-form his tribe, to the up-and-coming chef whose Mid City house was badly flooded, the characters are all fighting against the environment. They're not plane crash survivors trying to get out of the mountains or Tom Hanks on a desert island, but they're still fighting for survival. With second lines and good food. Selling how we think here in New Orleans is tough, particularly in the Wonder-bread heartland of America, and that's where the storm actually helps the show. People from good, strong, Puritan/Lutheran/English/Scottish stock don't get "the city that care forgot" thing, but are able to comprehend the need for escapism. When the floor of your home is covered in two inches of mud and goo, it's not such a stretch to put on a big Indian costume, take up a tambourine, and raise a little hell.

Treme has an ensemble cast that is a good cross-section of the city, and is going to be why the show will develop and not fizzle out after ten episodes. A show about musicians, or a show about a restaurant, or a show about a university professor would be too focused and eventually would force writers into boring corners. An ensemble containing all these elements (and more) can work. Trombone player Antoine Batiste (played by Wendell Pierce) has already established the hard work a journeyman musician must put in to make a living. Albert Lambreaux (played by Clarke Peters), patriarch of not only a family but chief of an Indian tribe, introduces some solid family interaction. Where Antoine's personal/family life is wicked dysfunctional, Albert's relationships with his children is strong and connected. They don't agree with him about "coming back," and that's going to be good stuff for the story.

You have to have a chef and restaurant in a New Orleans show, and Janette Desautel (played by Kim Dickens) has it going. With her place set as an Uptown restaurant, Janette's got an interesting intersection going on, between uptown white folks, erratic kitchen staff, and what could turn out to be a hilariously crazy relationship with a musician (and WWOZ DJ).

There's a bit of geographic compression in Treme, as the story shifts out of its namesake neighborhood into other parts of town. Albert Lambreaux's home appears to be in Gentilly (Pontchartrain Park), which fits--middle class black families moved to Gentilly in droves in the 1960s, the kids grow up and move to other cities, dad stayed behind. Albert's Indian roots pull him back to Treme. Janette's restaurant Uptown is patronized by the Bernettes, Tulane professor Creighton (John Goodman) and his activist-lawyer wife Toni (Melissa Leo). There are regular references to Janette's house in Mid City as well as locations outside the city in Jefferson and St. Bernard. So far, no major editing sins, though.

Other random thoughts...

The Lambreauxs are interesting. Delmond Lambreaux (Albert's son, played by Rob Brown) reminds me a lot of Wynton Marsalis, in that Delmond is enjoying a successful career as a jazz musician outside New Orleans. The sister clearly hates the notion that her dad is coming back to New Orleans. She lives in Houston, and like many, abandoned New Orleans for what they see are greener pastures.

Sofie Burnette, teenage daughter of Creighton and Toni, is a hoot. A conversation between Sofi and Toni is quite revealing. The girl is attending school in Baton Rouge, which is exactly what my son did in the fall of 2005. Toni is displeased with the language her daughter uses, and Sofie dismisses it as the influence of Catholic school. That's been a joke of mine for years.

Davis McAlary (played by Steve Zahn) is just feckin crazy. He's a white musician and DJ on WWOZ who lives in Treme but has no real visible means of support. He's sort-of dating Janette, although he's already managed to piss her off in a huge way. Davis is going to be hilarious comic relief, contributing to that other-world feeling of post-storm life.

Musical interludes are clearly going to be a fundamental part of Treme. I'd like to see the show break out past the jazz musicians featured in the pilot and explore other genres. For example, place Sofie Bernette in a venue where Cowboy Mouth is playing.

Streetcars - they're not cliches in a New Orleans context, particularly the Canal line. Let's see Janette on a red streetcar, riding up to her Mid City house.

Opening credits - there's a photo in the opening from the mid-late 1920s that caught my eye. The men are wearing straw boaters as they board a Perley A. Thomas style streetcar. The streetcar has the top vents installed, which was an early-on feature of that style. A single-truck streetcar crosses behind the Perley Thomas car, probably a Ford, Bacon and Davis model.

Hubig's pies - that scene worked! I know a lot of folks who pick up a Hubig's pie for a snack/dessert.

Looking forward to episode two.