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David Simon of The Wire fame has a new series on HBO dealing with living and rebuilding in New Orleans post-Katrina.
I've seen the first two episodes and am hooked. I was on board anyway because of Khandi Alexander, but I am really enjoying the characters, and the way the story arcs are slowly unfolding, and the real cross-section of people represented. And I love LaDonna and Albert; they feel like family already. Anybody else watching?
HBO: About the Show
I'm watching! I've seen the first two episodes but have yet to catch the third. Tad ironic on that...last night was the 3rd episode and my French Quarter hotel room didn't have HBO. I watched Party Down streaming on Netflix instead. (I was in NOLA for an irretrievably long meeting today for work. Meanwhile, those tourists in cowboy boots in Ep. 2..."they" rode the elevator with me and it was all I could do not to laugh.)
I'm giving it time, like with any other Simon/Overmyer show, to build up to the plot. (I hated Homicide when it started, and couldn't get enough of it by the time it ended, so I know I have to put in my time with this.) I've heard the 3rd episode picks up on plot points, which will help. I'm still perplexed (and maybe it becomes clearer in the later eps) whether or not Lambreaux killed the copper miner. Of all the characters, I'm the most unsure about where his is going.
Actually, I like most of what I've seen. The only thing that I really and truly miss is in the music scenes--you get the sonic but miss the bodily experience of the music. Take for instance the scene in the first episode where Zahn's character sees Kermit play (and Elvis Costello is at the show). I have grown up hearing that kind of music live. Not to feel the horns and percussion resonating through your chest and body....it just feels like I'm missing half the performance. But, OTOH, half is better than none and I know the creators have taken great care to make most things accurate. (Aside from live music in a strip club and the Bourbon Street stripper looking good and healthy.)
On silly note, my friends & I did have a discussion about the second ep, where several characters complained about Entergy. We all wondered if people from elsewhere may thought that the denizens of NOLA just had a weird accent on "energy" too.Those of us of the southeast Louisiana persuasion regularly complain about Entergy, whether we be from New Orleans or the "mean girls" area of Baton Rouge. (Goodman's daughter cracked me up with that...she wasn't wrong as that school transition did not go all that smoothly.)
I caught up with the whole season a little behind the airing schedule. The music really makes the show. I feel a bit like an outsider who turns into a New Orleansophile watching this show, so it makes me wonder if you didn't enjoy the music and atmosphere and the idea that the city itself is a character in the story, would you watch?
It is a little jarring that it's only months after Katrina and everything is green and healthy even in the flood areas. That was one of the more shocking aspects of post-Katrina in the flooded areas - all the greenery was killed. I can see why they didn't try to recreate that. I did not expect to see a flashback to Katrina and it made the finale so powerful. The penultimate episode was so depressing with Creighton's storyline, I almost didn't tune into the finale. I know his character was inspired by a couple of real people which makes it even worse.
I only caught the last 3 episodes! I can't wait until it's repeated.
I have visited and stayed in N.O. many times, both pre- and post- Katrina. I never heard of the Treme neighborhood. After researching it, I am just enthralled and amazed. Can't wait to go back and visit!!!!
It's great to see HBO hitting it out of the park with a series again, isn't it?
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