boilercake, you might want to watch the show. David Simon doesn’t do airy-fairy and romanticized.
Rilchiam, I wonder if one of the writers remembered that cartoon as well. 
Just watched the first episode tonight. Loved it. Loved seeing old “friends” from The Wire. Loved seeing Khandi Alexander from CSI-Miami. Also, loved seeing “Uncle” Lionel Batiste as the drummer in the brass band at the end of the episode.
I’ll be keeping these episodes on my DVR for an extended period.
As a huge fan of The Wire, I really wanted to love this show, but I am finding it pretty boring.
I have only watched the first episode, but I am finding it really difficult for me to actually like any of the characters. That, combined with the lack of a strong plot is causing my mind to wander when I am watching the show.
Also, I am not digging the amount of music in the show. I don’t mind a little music here and there, but it just made certain areas of that first episode drag pretty badly.
I am going to give it a few more episodes and hopefully the characters will start to grow on me.
The only story line that interests me is the character played by Clarke Peters (aka Lester Freamon), and even that’s developing (after episode 2) at an odd pace.
I loved The Wire, I love the music on Treme, but I just can’t get into this show. “Character driven,” as it relates to Treme, appears to be more and more an excuse for poor storytelling - The Wire was nothing if not character driven, but it was also a great story. Here you have some threads pulled at archetypes, revealing little more than cliche.
I’ll be content never to have to see or hear Steve Zahn (or his goatee) ever again, thanks. And the buskers, please, no more… if that’s not “airy fairy” I don’t know what is.
Loving it after two episodes and can’t wait for tonight’s show. I like that it’s a bit lighter in tone in a lot of ways than The Wire…a higher level of humor (count me as a big Steve Zahn fan. I love his role in this, which is based on a real life guy). I guess if you’ve got post-Katrina NOLA as a backdrop, you don’t need to ratchet up the depressing stuff - there’s plenty of that in the background so they don’t have to beat you over the head with it all the time.
I’m finding the story fascinating. “Where to pick up when everything is gone” is a good plot. Some people are rebuilding houses, some are try to keep their businesses open, while some are trying to find their friends or family who have been dispersed to places unknown. From last night’s episode: (paraphrased) “where is he?” “Anywhere in this damn country!”.
I’m not a big music fan, but the music in this show is haunting, soulfull, and beautiful. (Although, like The Wire it’s best to watch with subtitles, especially during the songs)
I did like the discovery of youTube. Very funny to see how far it’s come in its time.
I’ve heard some speculation about the Sonny/Annie couple:
Speculation Spoiler!
The story of Sonny and Annie so far has some loose ties to the tragic story of Zach Bowen and Addie Hall. If you’re not familiar, Zach and Addie were a New Orleans couple who apparently fell in love while riding out Hurricane Katrina. Sometime around 2006, Zach murdered Addie, cooked parts of her body, waited a couple of days, then jumped to his death from the Omni Royal Hotel. There have been a few references in Treme pointing to the real life couple that even I picked up on.
I’m normally a pretty plot-and-action kind of guy. I love me some 24. I have no real interest in jazz music or creole cooking.
And yet I think this is head and shoulders the best show on TV right now. Totally gripping and involving in all ways. I love so many of the small little moments each episode.
It says something that Antoine’s trombone getting kicked was more brutal and touching than a major character dying in most shows?