TV Hall of Shame #5: Treme

Treme is dull, lecturing and annoyingly elitist. A huge shame for fans of David Simon’s other work I don’t know if you saw the ratings for Treme? 66,000 people watched episode one as it premiered on Sky Atlantic . As a fan of all David Simon’s previous work – from Homicide: A Year On The Killing Streets through to The Wire and Generation Kill – my reaction was one of shock. You would have thought more than 66,000 (a 0.5% audience share) would have watched it by accident. Where were all those smug gits who’d spent the last year or two holding dinner parties so that they could boast about their box sets of The Wire? It was as if David Simon ‘s superb statement of intent – “you know what? Fuck the casual viewer” – had come home to haunt him. Episode one of Treme had almost no viewers, casual or otherwise. I’ve stuck with Treme for five episodes now, and I’m sorry to report that, as the jazz cats in N’Awlins would say: it’s not happening. When it was shown on FX, the word about The Wire spread like rumours of copacetic dope around Hamsterdam. But you’ll wait a long time until you bump into someone raving about this great new series he or she’s been watching called Treme. For a start, they probably won’t know how to pronounce it. This is the first thing wrong with Simon’s latest opus: that title. Sure, it’s a superficial issue and the correct pronunciation is mentioned a couple of times in the show. But it doesn’t exactly draw people in. It’s just annoying and – characteristically of Simon – elitist. (Anyone who knows what’s what is meant to know how to say it.) Even Sky Atlantic’s continuity announcers get it wrong. What else is wrong with Treme? Well, not that much ostensibly. It is well written, nicely shot and directed. All of that. The acting is strong – with characteristically natural performances by David Morse and Melissa Leo, Simon regulars Clarke Peters, Wendell Pierce, and the glorious Khandi Alexander. But all this indicates part of the problem with Treme. It is … OK. And that’s all. You never get the sense that you are watching something that is changing the genre (The Wire), subverting the culture (Generation Kill) or that someone is giving the performance of their lives (Alexander in The Corner or Andre Royo as Bubs). The two biggest performances in Treme epitomise the frustrations it inspires. Although, like The Wire, Treme is an ensemble piece, the two characters who have gradually taken it over are Davis (played by Steve Zahn) and Creighton Bernette (John Goodman). Only someone as principled (pig-headed) as David Simon would base his new 10-part series around two characters as irritating as Davis and Bernette. It’s impossible to say whether Zahn in particular is either a really good actor or just Really Irritating. The breadth of drama The Wire had is just lacking in Treme. What Simon has given us is a selection of characters all moaning about the same thing: the after effects of the storm. The sub plots relating to the effects of the storm are just not that gripping. Bernette and Davis give voice to the least appealing aspect of The Wire – David Simon’s didactic political rhetoric. What George Bush and the successive government has done – or not done – for New Orleans sucks: we get it. The most likeable characters in the show are, once again, played by Clarke and Pierce. But casting them was a mistake. Every time they appear, it’s unavoidable: you think: it’s Freamon or Bunk. Finally, there’s the music. Now I love New Orleans. I support the New Orleans Saints and think Mardi Gras is a sight every one should witness – if their livers can stand it. But the music in Treme is like Chinese water torture. It’s death by jazz. Some of it is great, admittedly. Inspirational. But you can have too much of a good thing. We get the message David. You like jazz. Now can’t we just have a few more storylines? To some viewers, to even think of criticising David Simon is sacrilege. And to a point, they’re right. If it were by someone else, Treme would be a godsend. But, coming from him, it pains me to say it, Treme is dull. As Chris Rock would say: “yeah I said it.” • Jim Shelley is the TV critic of the Mirror Treme Television HBO Drama Jim Shelley guardian.co.uk

Posted by on March 23, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.