Final Treme doesn’t do series justice

I finally got around to seeing the final season of Treme this past week. Treme aired on HBO from 2010 until December 2013 but the show covered the time period from 2005-2009. (So we’re all a bit behind the times here.)

I don’t think Treme ever caught on or was even meant to catch on as The Wire or The Sopranos did from the same station (indeed, much of the cast and crew was taken from previous HBO efforts). I think Treme played to a niche market from day one. Luckily, I was in that niche. I’ve never seen a show before that illustrated the real life of a real musician. Jazz, in fact, or really, New Orleans. Most of the characters on the show were musicians of some ability or another (it varied greatly), and indeed, many of the guests on the show were real-life and/or famous musicians. More than the life of a musician it showed the life of a hustler, as The Wire did with pushers and The Sopranos with mobsters. This was real-life New Orleans, just after Katrina when the place wasn’t necessarily too pretty.

Thirty-five episodes in I was ready for some big news from the finale. Well, I’m still waiting. The end didn’t do it justice. By the end of the series I guess there was just too much going on, too many characters, from musicians to real estate developers to cops to restaurateurs… too much to sew together nicely. The end was more or less a continuation of what everyone was doing previously. At least it didn’t cut to black in the middle of a Journey song.

I recommend highly Treme if you’re looking for some quality TV this fall and you haven’t seen it. Or if you have, watch it again. At least you won’t be disappointed by the final episode.

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About moc

My name is Mike O'Connell. I am 41 years old and live in Northern Virginia. I am a teacher, a musician, and an enthusiast of all things American.

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