From the creators of
'The Wire', David Simon and Eric Overmyer truly build one of their most
inspirational TV series to date that is set Tremé, a suburb of New
Orleans which revolves around the power of the human spirit. Set in
2005, after the disastrous effects of Hurricane Katrina, the series
is about a group of ordinary individuals, most linked to music
who have been brought together from this disaster and even though the
American government dropped the ball on the efforts to help those
touched by Hurricane Katrina, this HBO series focuses on the resilience
of these fictional characters and how together, they helped rebuild
their lives.
As opposed to The Wire, the cast of characters in Treme are quite
diverse and most are definitely considered ordinary individuals. The
protagonists of the series includes Antoine Batiste (Wendell Pierce) as
a divorced father of three who is a struggling trombonist, ex-wife and
business owner LaDonna Williams, activist and musician David McAlary
(Steve Zahn), homeless Mardis Gras Indian Chief Albert Lambreaux (Clarke
Peters) and his son Delmond Lambreaux (Rob Brown), a trumpet player.
Add
in restaurant owner and Chef Janette Desautel (Kim Dickens), Professor
Creighton Bernette (John Goodman), civil rights attorney Sofia (India
Ennenga), singer and guitarists Sonny (Michiel Huisman) and real-life
trumpet player legend Kermit Ruffins who plays himself and this is truly
a colourful and down to Earth bunch of characters. In relation to
Ruffins, quite a few of the extras in this series are actually local
actors that does add an element of realism to the story and make it
relating to them ever so easy.
As you can see, not only
is it quite a diverse cast but the individuals truly make up a
kaleidoscope of colourful characters that push the boundaries of human
spirit who attempt to normalise their devastated world and move on. The
stories of these individuals are so real that it's almost like watching
on a documentary and very emotional at times which pushes the drama
genre beyond the clichés and stereotypes. Another interesting element
of Tremé is that the story is also of the city itself and even though
mother nature attempted vanquish life here, its heart still beats, even
with all the death, misery and destruction around it because from the
ashes, something truly spectacular has emerged, that of the human
spirit.
Fortunately nothing is ever glamorised in this series and even
the dialogue is quite realistic and humble at the same time. There are however a few twists and
turns along the way but seeing the world from these characters
perspectives is more than just good story telling. Another highlight to
the series is the amazing music as you become entrenched in jazz and
blues which has made New Orleans what it is today and this is used in
conjunction with the various storylines quite well. Of course, not all
the stories work all the time but for the majority, this HBO series aims
high and succeeds in most points.
The video quality of
Treme looks amazing on Blu-ray and once again HBO continues to excel at
their Blu-ray releases. Presented in 1080p/AVC-encoded, the image
quality is very sharp and the colours have some very natural tones that
bring the city of Tremé to life, even with much of the destruction of
Hurricane Katrina around it. Audio is equally as good, thanks to the
DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track that boasts perfect levels, great
dialogue and once again an pumping soundtrack thanks to the music of the
series.
Throw in a plethora of special features from Cast and Crew Audio
Commentaries, Music Commentaries, featurettes that include Down in the
Treme: A Look at the Music and Culture of New Orleans, The Music of
Treme, Treme: Beyond Bourbon Street and a short but enjoyable
documentary entitled The Making of Treme and this is definitely a first
class release. Never have I been so engrossed in the special features
before because it goes into more than just of the series, such as the
real-world problems of New Orleans.
If you missed The Wire,
than I strongly suggest you check out Treme because this is as good as
TV gets. Using the back drop the Hurricane Katrina is emotionally quite
disturbing but seeing these individuals get back up when they’ve been
knocked down is thought provoking and truly inspirational. Even though the
government may have forgotten about those touched by Katrina, David
Simon and Eric Overmyer did not and Treme will hopefully make sure this
never happens again.
Bring on season two!
