Treme

I'm hugely excited about this television show.

          

  

Those who don't know me very well probably aren't surprised to hear that.  Even those who don't know me very well know how much I love New Orleans.  Those who do know me pretty well are probably shocked to hear how excited I am about this television show.  My firm anti-televison stance is well known among my friends and family.  I don't even own a television.  TV is the devil.  It's true.  If less people were watching American Idol, maybe more people would pay attention to things that are going on in this country, and maybe more people would actually give a fuck about those things and try to change them.

I'm not going to turn this into a "kill your television" rant, or even a "this is what's wrong with this fucking country" rant.  I'll keep my soap-box handy for a later date.  To be honest, TV isn't one-hundred percent evil.  There's some good shit out there, I can't lie, and every once in a while, something brilliant.  Of course, no matter what, my love of New Orleans always overrules my distaste for television.  I'll give anything related to New Orleans a chance.  That's why I'm looking forward to Treme.

I can't call it brilliant yet, because I haven't seen it yet.  But I can say this, of all the TV shows and movies that try to capture what we've got going on down here and get it disastrously wrong, this show looks like it might actually be as close to getting it right as anyone is going to get.  The third trailer was the one that got me hooked in.  It still hits me emotionally, no matter how much I watch it:

          


It's the same feeling I got the first time I read Confederacy of Dunces in 1997, and the second time I read it, and especially the third time I read it in 2006.  I thought to myself, "I know those people.  Those are my people.  I've worked with those people.  I've seen those people around town, on the streetcar, at the grocery, in the local bars.  Those people are my neighbors, my best friends and lovers.  Those people are my family..."

I think this is going to be a really good fucking TV show.