I loved "The Wire" and Simon has delivered superior TV again. He must have loved Dickens as a kid because no-one else on TV does character development, or sinuous story lines better. I'm not sure just why he's so good at examining the "Black" culture in all it's rich complexities, it comes across as authentic, helped by rich dialog, and fantastic actors. Khandi Alexander blows me away! What a powerful performer. I read it was a slow mover but I was hooked early, having learned from "The Wire" that the delight comes in watching diverse characters develop. The music throws in an essential flavor that suffuses the show with energy.… Expand

I tried to watch this show wanting to lke it but just could not. I was bored and finally just gave up. I am wondering who gave it 10's and wrote the reviews. Doesn't seem like an average television watcher to me..too well written. Maybe people that work for the show?? They have been known to do that.

As always with HBO shows, my expectations were very high. The setting was exiting, so was the cast; with a lot of familiar faces from "The Wire", possibly the best TV series ever. The pace of the show is very slow, which is always a high risk. It requires not only patience from the viewer, but also very high quality acting, writing and aesthetics. You cannot hide behind thrill and suspense, to cover other weaknesses. But on the other hand, the ones that have succeeded with this formula, are the best of TV history, in my opinion ("The Wire", "Sopranos", "Six Feet Under"). I was willing to give it some time, as I needed to get into "The Wire" or "Six Feet Under". And I did watch the entire first season, still undecided on whether I liked it or not. Because the show has great, believable portraits of the city of New Orleans, it's unique culture, and how it's people struggle to get their city back on it's feet; but there seemed to something not quite right. Four episodes into the second season, I've finally had it. Half of the show now, is pretty much live concerts. We got it, New Orleans has a vibrant flair and a great music scene. Give us the stories! You got a show with great actors, and good writers too. The characters have the complexity I'm looking for in a show like this, the stories seem authentic and believable. So why are you wasting our time with never-ending music sessions? As it is now, one might as well watch a travel channel special on New Orleans. I don't need to see endless scenes from bar-room concerts, or marching bands. Give me stories, and the development of them! It's really a pity, because there is enough potential here to make a great series. Maybe the episodes should be cut down to 30-40 minutes?… Expand

Finally, an artwork that captures the incredible musical, mystical quality of this great city.

New Orleans needs more attention than it is getting and I appreciate that critics feel obliged to give this show a pity thumbs-up. Unfortunately this show is boring as hell, I cant believe how dull it is.

So I spent an hour and a half of my life watching Treme yesterday. In retrospect, there are a million ways I could have better spent my time. I’ll get straight to the point: The reason I didn’t like Treme was that it had no substance to it...It was like being preached to for an hour and a half about how good New Orleans is...It has that pro-USA ‘us against the world’ mentality running right through it (personified at the point where a snooty English reporter is looking down his nose with a sneer on his face badmouthing New Orleans during an interview with John Goodman (like they’d ever do that after what had just happened there...) so, in good old ‘stars and stripes’ fashion, John Goodman goes off on him and starts shouting about how good a place New Orleans is, calls him a ‘Limey’ and throws his microphone into the river - No doubt whipping up a bit of American national pride in the process...However, the scene was so low brow I almost turned it off at that point...I was literally cringing while I was watching it...But, in the spirit of making sure I had all the information, I thought I’d give it a chance and endured (yes) the rest of the episode-Just to make sure I could make a sound judgement on the show. I honestly wish I hadn’t bothered... I’ve just spoken about John Goodman’s role...Well, if you’ve ever seen him in Arachnophobia (he plays an exterminator who acts like he has ADHD or something...) then you’ve seen him in this...He’s exactly the same character (except he’s meant to be ‘upper class’ with a passion for New Orleans in this...It doesn't work - At all...). The man has not got an ounce of the likeability factor...Shouting his way from scene to scene...A terrible, terrible actor and very bad casting. Now please don’t get me wrong here: I fully appreciate that New Orleans has a deep, rich musical heritage...I really do...Coming from Liverpool myself with the Beatles being such a massive part of our own history and heritage that their music almost runs through our veins, I honestly do get it...But the way the show forces Jazz down your throat is far too much. It’s just constant all the way through...Trumpets, trombones, fancy dress...It’s all just far too much and totally overdone. I know it’s a massive part of the New Orleans heartbeat...But there are more subtle ways to get that across than to have Jazz blasting through every scene. In one scene, a man dresses up in feathers in the middle of the night and goes singing down the dark streets on his own...Why he did it, I don’t really know – At first I though he was drunk or something but, alas, it wasn’t that interesting. He just ‘did it’. No reason. I do like a good TV series and I really wanted to enjoy Treme – I was literally willing it to be good...But after an hour and a half, I couldn’t tell you one single thing that happened...Because, as hard as it is to believe, nothing at all happened...Literally...It was a montage of disjointed scenes with no trace of a storyline in any of them. The characters were believable in that they were mundane. That’s the best thing I can say about it...Oh, and there was a cameo from Elvis Costello who was sat in a bar watching a band. He didn’t say a word...and then left in a car without doing anything. I was expecting something to happen but, again, it failed to deliver. That’s the biggest problem...You kept expecting at least something...But it didn’t give you anything from start to finish. The faux-intellectuals will try to tell you that the show has an undercurrent that only the erudite can pick up on – Decide for yourself. But please don’t be fooled by these people calling it 'art' and shouting about the ‘Emperor’s New Clothes’. Just because a few critics will tell you that this has the feeling of being ‘real’, that doesn’t mean its good T.V...The Wire had characters that were ‘real’ but that really worked as it also had a storyline...Drug dealers, conspiracy at city hall etc...Treme has nothing at all to offer. The Wire wrote out a big cheque that Treme cannot, and never will be able to cash. Such a disappointment and such a pity as, with even the faint outline of a story, this could have been a half-decent show as the basic premise of a 'post-Katrina city struggling to get back on it's feet' is really good – That’s what got me to watch in the first place. I know I only watched the first episode but surely that should have been the hook? Even if something amazing happens in the later episodes, a lot of people will never know about it as I doubt very many people will carry on watching such a soul draining bore of a show. Rest assured, I won’t be wasting any more of my time on Treme. In the New Orelans spirit of ‘joie de vivre’ which roughly translates as the ‘joy of life’, I would suggest that you do the same.… Expand

I love this show. It talks about real people, real music and real life. It teaches about New Orleans. It shows the mingle of art and life in New Orleans. Well done.

Viewing only the first episode so far, I can say that I am more excited about this show than any other right now. I have a feeling this could be just as good as 'The Wire" if not better.

Excellent show, highly recommended!!

David Simon and Co. have another potential winner on their hands with 'Treme'. On the basis of the pilot this series has a LOT of potential. And like 'The Wire's' Baltimore, 'Treme's' NOLA will prove to be as fascinating a 'character' in its own right. Perhaps an even greater one. I look forward to spending time with this show.

This show is so boring, acting is horrible, hbo needs to give me a reason why i want to pay for a network like this.

One of the best shows on TV. The characters and storylines are perfect and the music is exceptional. Khandi Alexander deserved an Emmy for her portrayal of LaDonna, and the rest of the cast is terrific. Absolutely cannot wait for Season 2, I miss hearing that great jazz already.

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Season One of Treme combines the weaknesses of Season 5 of the Wire (in the words of Seth Bullock: David Simon succumbs to his "goddamn temper" and settles political grudges) with the pretentiousness of ...well...a variety of boring and self-important shows. I'm a liberal. But I find Simon's moralizing about Katrina to be annoying and (worst of all) old news. The political dialogue on this show might have been torn from a liberal blog....from 2006. In other words: anyone who was paying attention has heard this song and dance before. The only redeeming feature of the first season was John Goodman's suicide. I guess I could give this show points for killing off the most cartoonish character? The worst part of this season was it's overbearing way of shoving New Orleans down our throat. Yes. We get it. Despite our best attempts, we will never love New Orleans the way that a broke hipster doofus white guy loves it. One final point: the music is pretty good. It would be the saving grace of this show, but the way they use it is actually a negative. It doesn't drive the plot forward. It almost seems ancillary. In other words: this show feels like a musical. During the musical numbers, the plot doesn't move forward. All and all, this show is as bad as it gets. I say that as someone who doesn't bother to even rate stupid network procedurals...though they're probably a bit more watchable than this trash.… Expand