Kill your own f*cking television! Vol. 1

I admit it, I watch too much television. As a society we watch too much television. Television has, in many ways, had a pernicious influence on the way we live, what we believe and even how we think. That being said, do you realize how much really great work is being produced for TV these days? We're in a golden age of storytelling the like of which has not been seen since the early days of live broadcasting.

Of course you wouldn't guess it looking at the antiquated rating system currently dominated by mediocre sitcoms, boring police procedurals and so-called "reality" shows. It's this crap (combined with the shallow circus tactics of 24 hour cable news) that still makes it easy for lazy cultural commentators to smugly dismiss television as a vapid wasteland for non-thinkers. Well, if you think that, you're not paying attention, and haven't been for some time.

The cable boom has produced, since the late nineties up to the present, a meteoric rise in the quality of scripted programming that has even had an effect on the networks, forcing them to at least occasionally, take a chance on something risky. HBO would be the primary leader with shows like "Six Feet Under", "Deadwood", the magnificent "The Wire" and of course "The Sopranos", each one innovative, challenging and original in it's own way and in the case of "The Sopranos" a genuine cultural phenomenon. Of course, other cable networks took the hint with shows like "The Shield" (FX) or"Battlestar Galactica" (Sci-Fi) and even the networks produced some quality innovative programming like "Arrested Development" (Fox) or (whatever you think of it) "Lost" (ABC).

The good news is, the trend continues, and what I want to do with this series of posts is celebrate what I think are some of the best shows currently in production. Some of them are already very popular and don't really need any help from me, but I'd like to talk about them anyway. Originally,  I was going to write one big mega-post covering all my favourites but instead, I'm only going to take them on one at a time, the better to focus my energies. Hopefully this will be a regular feature of this blog. Anyway, the first show I want to discuss is:

TREME

Complex, angry, heartbreaking and beautiful there is nothing else like "Treme" anywhere on tv or, sadly, in the movies. Producer David Simon had a hard act to follow with "The Wire" and along with co-creator Eric Overmeyer I think he's come up with a more than worthy successor. Like "The Wire" this is a multi-character and storyline drama that attempts to paint a portrait of an entire city. On "The Wire" it was Baltimore on "Treme" it is post-Katrina New Orleans, a city and a culture almost eradicated by a combination of natural disaster, governmental incompetence and national indifference.

Although, similar in structure to "The Wire", "Treme" lacks the central crime procedural element, focusing instead on the character's relationships to the city itself and their efforts to rebuild their lives. To portray this, the producers have assembled one of the best casts in the history of the medium. There's Khandi Alexander as bar owner Ladonna, torn between the city she loves and her new family in Baton Rouge, "Wire" veteran and New Orleans native Wendell Pierce as her ex-husband Antione a talented but at best semi-employed musician,  Oscar winner Melissa Leo as Toni, a lawyer at odds with New Orleans authority, John Goodman as her husband Creighton a college professor raging against government indifference, Kim Dickens as Jeannette, a struggling chef, Steve Zahn as Davis, her sometimes boyfriend, a part-time musician/ex DJ equal parts charming and deeply irritating, Michiel Huisman and Luicia Micarelli as street musicians Sonny and Annie (the least interesting characters on the show I'm afraid), Rob Brown as Delmond, a successful jazz trumpeter drawn back to his hometown despite his best efforts and another "Wire" vet Clarke Peters as his father "Big Chief" Albert Lambreaux the leader of a tribe of Mardi Gras Indians determined to maintain that tradition at all costs.

If any character is the symbolic heart of the series it's Albert Lambreaux, a proud, severe and stubborn man struggling to preserve the culture that defines him. Mardi Gras Indians, if you don't know, are groups (tribes) of African Americans (until recently entirely men) who dress up and parade in elaborate costumes inspired by, and in tribute to, the historical connection between Native Americans and escaped slaves. Actually as you can see from this picture of Clarke Peters in full costume, elaborate is an understatement.

The reason this seemingly strange tradition is so vitally important to this man is never articulated verbally but is apparent nonetheless in the palpable sense of history and community he and his tribe possess. It is precisely this sense of history and particularly community that defines this series as a whole. Whereas "The Wire" was primarily concerned with crime and politics, "Treme" is all about the culture.

There is more than enough sadness and pain to go around in "Treme", and it is often heartbreaking, but never depressing because alongside all the suffering is an equal amount of pride, defiance and pure unadulterated joy. No TV show known to me is as alive as "Treme" as it dives into all the aspects of New Orleans culture that make it unlike any other city in the U.S., or the world for that matter. It's all there, the food, the crumbling but still beautiful architecture, the racial diversity, the breathtaking Mardi Gras Indians and most especially the music. Traditional and modern Jazz, Cajun  & Creole, Country, Blues, Brass Band and a uniquely New Orleans form of Hip Hop known as Bounce all are all thrillingly presented (and mostly recorded live) and make "Treme" the most spectacularly musical show on TV. This alone is enough for a highest recommendation.

I will say, if you decide to give "Treme" a try be prepared to give it at least three episodes. This is a show more concerned with character and setting than plot. The story is there but it emerges gradually, like a novel or a classic Robert Altman film. If you have the patience for it, this is the most rewarding series currently being produced for American television, and that's saying a lot.

Well I hope that inspires somebody out there to give "Treme" a look.
I think the next show in this series of posts will either be FX's "Louie" or the new "Doctor Who". Until then, kill your own fucking television!
I need mine to watch "Treme".