jbrotherlove

A blog post, because I started commenting on Latoya’s blog post on Racialicious and got long-winded.

I’m a devout fan of The Wire and admit it’s the main reason I’m tuning into Treme. Like many, I’ve been anxiously awaiting the premiere. Watching the first episode felt like a first visit to the new restaurant everyone’s been buzzing about. It was a good meal; a big meal. Although, the seasoning felt heavy-handed and unfocused last night.

Admittedly, with a cast as large and diverse as Treme, creating an experience in which each ingredient shines while complementing the overall dish is tricky. More intriguing is how Treme will tackle the historic and social relevance of Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans’ strong culture and music history in an hour-long drama.

And about the music.

Music plays a intrinsic role on Treme (it’s New Orleans, after all). As another character (or characters), music will have its own storyline(s). The question is whether music will be the scene-stealer each episode. It felt that way last night. But I’m hoping future episodes will feel more balanced.

Undoubtedly, David Simon and friends will shower us with a variety of twists and subplots by mid-season. And each episode will beg for repeated viewings to extract its subtleties. Also, there’s sure to be a plethora of analysis (Dave Walker’s blog is a great resource).

Thankfully, the colorful characters seem compelling enough to carry the weight. I don’t want to make too many assumptions about them this early (although, Khandi Alexander can do no wrong in my book). I’m just getting to know them. But for now, I’m keeping my Sunday night reservation.