Treme

Goodman being cast as a blowhard fat guy living in New Orleans is a no-brainer on one level I suppose. He's lived there for years.

Steve Zahn as Davis I wonder about, too, though. I guess they wanted someone who was actually a capable musician. I know Zahn learned to play guitar for "That Thing You Do" (and the other cast members learned their instruments as well), but I'm not sure if he already played piano before "Treme."

I will say that few things irritate me more than watching a movie/TV show where someone is supposed to be playing an instrument and they're obviously faking, or if they're supposed to be a baseball player and they throw like a girl.

 

Not only that, they are playing the "Hey wasn't that?" card a lot, and mostly with people the vast, vast majority of viewers don't know. I keep hearing how people familiar with the New Orlans scene are impressed with Simon's inclusion of real icons, but they are not iconic to the greater audience and no context or explanation is offered.

If there were some kind of companion show where they say, "This is who this is and why they are important musically and culturally," I would absolutely watch it. But as it is, I find myself seeing these shots that linger a little long and thinking, "OK, I guess I'm supposed to know who that is" and it makes me, as a viewer, feel left out of the cool kids club.

 

I thought they did a nice job of dropping a few hints toward who some of these people are. I didn't know what Dr. John looked like, but they had "Right Place Wrong Time" playing in the background in one of the scenes that he was in, so I was able to figure that out.

Both Sepinwall and Walker's writeups have been of great help.

 

That's a good link, Ragu. I flipped when I saw that was Steve Earle's son sitting next to him while talking to the violinist. I knew his son was a musician, but didn't know what he looked like. I thought it was Cillian Murphy.

 

The girl who plays the violin is mesmerizing. A bit player, but I can't take my eyes off her.

And I would watch Khandi Alexander recite the phone book while wearing a HAZMAT suit.

The show is interesting. I think comparing it to "The Wire" is unfair to both. "Wire" is in its own stratosphere, while "Treme" is very good, but is no "Wire."

 

I'm in agreement there. Definitely the best episode of the season jam-packed with developing storylines. I also agree about the Davis character, and I still have an issue with him. Good to see the real Davis Rogan making a much longer appearance in this episode (playing the piano on the fake Davis' song).

I thought the second line scenes were done well, right down to the shooting. They didn't overly dramatize it, which I think would have ruined it. They kept it very festive right up until the shooting, so as to not clue the audience into what was about to happen. Too many times in scenes like that, they show the shooter loading the gun, or pulling it out, or a fight escalating. I thought the way they did it provided a great element of surprise.

The one thing I don't really care for so far is all the "read between the lines" that are put out there. I didn't watch The Wire, so maybe that's the way the writer writes. Stuff like: I guess we have to assume Big Chief took care of business in the bedroom; we have to assume the violin player and Mr. Bouncer had a little sexcapade, etc. I mean, it's not going to make me stop watching, and maybe I'm being impatient and they will tie up those loose ends.

Oh and I agree with crusoes. Man, that violin player is something. And she's not like over-the-top attractive or sexy, but she's just got a look.

I did enjoy the scene with all the chefs coming in to eat. Being a big Top Chef and Food Network fan, it was nice seeing those guys in that setting.

 

Not only that, it got to show us a positive side of Janette, gave us a glimpse of what really makes her tick. For so much of the show, she's so worried about the finances, the troubles with the equipment. She almost always looks overwhelmed. But when those chefs came in, she simply got to throw down and do what she does best. I thought it was a great touch.

 

Also, I never got the impression that Annie was boffing the bouncer. For one, it wouldn't be feasible. Sonny is always around and we never see a scene where either Sonny isn't with Arnie or that Sonny isn't with Annie. Sonny was pissed off that Arnie jumped to Annie's aid during the gunfire on the second line, and that's why Arnie bounced. I doubt Sonny would be sitting there consoling her if she just admitted she'd banged the bouncer.

 

There are theories out there that Sonny and Annie are based on two specific New Orleans street performers, and so far the storyline is following theirs very similarly. Hopefully they won't go the same direction as the real-life Sonny and Annie; let's just say things don't turn out very well. If you're interested in how that turned out, you can find it here: http://www.nolafugees.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=345:really-knowing-what-it-means&catid=24:from-us&Itemid=10030

After watching the show again, it's pretty clear that Mr. Bouncer and Annie didn't have an affair, but Sonny is definitely developing a severe case of paranoia. That, and he's back to using again.

 

Just getting around to posting about last week's episode. I thought it was a so-so episode. A few things that stood out to me:

Loved the Lake Charles police officer's dialogue with the lawyer. I think it served as a subtle reminder that the other side of the state went through a similar thing with Rita (though not nearly as catastrophic in terms of financial loss).

Liked the cameo (sorta) of blogger Ashley Morris, whose John Goodman character is loosely based. In case you missed it, he was the mime on the "Buy us back, Chirac" floats. I think Davis yells out something like "Ashley Morris rules!" or something.

I still have a very bad feeling about Sonny and Annie. Hopefully if they follow the aforementioned storyline, they don't go all the way with it.

Davis' character irked me again this week. Just annoying as all hell.