On Treme: “Shame, Shame, Shame” (S1E5)
Posted on 10. May, 2010 by theashcan in Television
Because it’s not easy to write a TV recap, but gosh do we love them, every week Simon and Anupa will be discussing HBO’s latest drama venture Treme. Highly anticipated due to the critical success of creator David Simon’s The Wire, we’re leaving the egghead essays on the New Orleans-set show following musicians and people dealing, post-Katrina, to the experts and bringing you our favourite (or least favourite) moments in convenient list form. Think of the highbrow content and easy delivery like being able to grab a steak via drive thru—just because you want that shit on demand, doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice your good taste. Onward, sweet savants, to Treme:
Simon
- AHHHHHHHH FOOD NERD ALERT. I think I was actually more excited than Janette when the Top Chef Fab Four walked into her restaurant. David Chang might make a delicious pig’s head torchon but he is an awful, awful fake laugher.
- One thing I’m finding about the show is that I’m losing interest in some of the slow building macro stories (Ladonna finding her brother, anything Sonny related) but I’m completely loving the nuanced episodic bits. This week’s Japanese-Jazz-Fan-Sponsors-A-Poor-New-Orleans-Musician story was contrived, and frankly wouldn’t have been entertaining if it was anyone but Antoine, but I still found it successfully heartwarming in a pay-it-forward kind of way. It was like a 10-minute Ron Howard movie.
- I really enjoyed the police captain’s speech to Toni. Coupled with the second line shooting and Davis getting punched in the face for thinking “I live in the neighbourhood” is a valid excuse for being himself, it’s nice that Treme delved back into the grey areas of reality to balance out its incessant romanticizing of the Big Easy.
Anupa
- Not sure if this happened to everyone, but the show started with no audio. I’m kidding, I had sound on every other channel except HBO meaning I missed the first three or five minutes. The good news, HBO restarted the show with audio. While I was marvelling at their exemplary customer service on Twitter (I mean, they coulda just turned the audio back on and kept the show going, but they didn’t!) I missed the whole beginning anyway. Lesson: HBO Sunday nights are designated no-Tweet zones.
- Didn’t you love that no one yelled at Antoine for blowing his ‘bone in the middle of the night for Japanese Jazz Fan? (Fruitlessly resisting the urge to PAUSE). My neighbours do laundry at like 1 a.m. and that shit gets me riled up. Regardless, I loved that mini storyline like I love me some Kyoto Jazz Massive. Does anyone know who played the jazz fan? And, this raises the question: if Treme is supposed to be documenting a post-Katrina NOLA, did cultural benefactors actually descend on the city?
- This from Davis’ recording session is TRUTH.COM: “And right now y’all are stuck listenin’ to this messed-up white boy, because whichever 14-year-old from Lafitte is the next Siley Lewis, he’s stuck out there in East Bumfuck, Texas! HE CAN’T GET HOME TO SING THIS FUCKING SONG!”
Simon
May 10th, 2010
The more I thought about that Antoine storyline, the more I enjoyed it. It’s deeper than first blush, down to someone from Japan appreciating the City more than it’s own police officers and own federal government do. The show has spent a lot of energy making sure viewers feel alienated yet in awe of “the real New Orleans,” that we are outsiders respectfully looking in. Yet here is an absolute foreigner redefining authenticity on every level. Love it.