On Treme: “Shallow Water, Oh Mama” (S1E6)
Posted on 17. 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:
Anupa
- I loved seeing the opposite of characters this episode: Davis being unslackerly through his political campaign, Janette contemplating less-than-fair business practices but eventually choosing to suspend her restaurant, Antoine benevolent instead of bartering. This is where characters start to get interesting and three dimensional.
- We’re used to seeing Creighton in a position of sometimes-pretentious power, but when his New York agent comes in and acts all New York-y, we realize he’s kinda at the mercy of a cheque. His Youtube rants have earned him pseudo-celeb status, but they’re also biting him in the ass: he’d rather write about the ’27 flood, remember?
- God, that storyline with his wife Toni is boring as sheeeeeit though.
Simon
- Seven episodes in, I still wonder: what the fuck is Toni’s job? She goes to extraordinary lengths for her clients, who by and large seem to be of the pro bono requiring sorts. How does she get paid outside of suspect piano lessons for her daughter? How is it she spends most of her time battling the government or tracking down trombones? How can she afford to be driving all around the Southern United States to ask questions about one lost black dude amongst what must be at least hundreds of missing persons? They certainly don’t teach that stuff in law school from what I’ve heard.
- If somebody told me they were going to stop watching Treme because it was boring, I probably won’t blame them at this point. I think it’s clear the show is what it is now: the Seinfeld of serialized dramas. Treme is about nothing, but I’ll be damned if the characters aren’t worth following week to week.
- That scene with Davis’ family is kind of hilarious. Wealthy white-southern family, sitting in a parlour that looks like it was stolen from the set of “A Streetcar Named Desire,” talking about their distant relation to Jefferson Davis and the political milieu of post-disaster New Orleans. “Black Jack, on the Track”. If any candidate for municipal office was really as hot for puns as Davis is, he or she would have my vote in a heartbeat.
