Treme (TV Series) I'll Fly Away (2010) User Reviews

One day in New Orleans

[jotix100 · 8/10 · 19 May 2011]

Toni is visited by police detectives working in the disappearance of Creighton. The account of the man in the Algiers ferry is told to Toni, but she figures her husband had quit smoking years ago; the idea of Creighton committing suicide does not sit well with her. A few days later, the police return to confirm that the body of the missing man was found. The detectives believe it was good luck because the bodies in the river do not surface as quickly as Creighton's. A distraught Sofia is heard screaming after the men leave. Later, the police locate the truck and Toni is asked to go check on the vehicle. Terry Colson gives her the option of going through the truck to get what she wants. She only takes the wallet where Creighton has left her a note telling her he loved her. Creighton's death announcement appears in the front page of the newspaper and it is viewed with sadness by those he touched their lives.

Davis is back working as a D.J. His success with his latest venture means he wants to make a new CD. For that purpose, he visits his mother at her shop. Mrs. McAlary suggest her son to get a job. Davis is sad because of Jeanette's decision to leave town. He tries reasoning with her, to no avail. Finally, he asks her to give him a day in which he will show her the reason why she should not leave New Orleans. Davis meets her early the following morning with beignets from Cafe Du Monde and a surprise: John Boutte to serenade. The duo go on their tour of Davis' favorite places in the city. Jeanette has made up her mind, so in the end, she decides to go to New York.

LaDonna finally goes back to the cemetery where the restoration on the family grave has been completed. Now her brother Daymo can rest in peace. Riley makes an appearance at LaDonna's lounge. He is quite surprised to see a roof in place. LaDonna makes a plea to Riley: she will drop all charges against him, if he lets Arnie Reyes take over his business. Daymo's funeral is well attended. Toni puts an appearance staying behind the grieving family and friends.

Annie, staying with her friend, has to leave because the roommate is coming back. She decides to go back to her place where she finds Sonny naked with the woman he took home to get high in their bed. She flees horrified. She tries to play with different musicians, but it is not the same anymore. She tries to adapt herself to her new life.

Antoine gets an offer he cannot refuse: a gig with Allen Toussaint and his group for one thousand dollars which could not come at a more opportune moment. Everything is going smoothly for him, but Antoine makes a tactical mistake when he goes to the basement of the place where the rehearsal takes place. The members of the band are playing cards. Antoine decides to try his luck offering an IOU to the players. He ends up losing most of it, when Irma Thomas comes in to play. She is a mean poker player, but Antoine does not believe it. Antoine ends up losing everything.

Albert and his family are putting the finishing touches to the costumes they will wear on St. Joseph's night. It becomes clear that sacrifices must be made to finish the job, as Delmond reasons with the clan. We are treated to the magnificent spectacle staged by Albert and the family as they go through the streets of their beloved city as it is their custom.

This chapter was directed by Agnieszka Holland, a film director of renown. The script was written by David Simon, one of the creators of the series. The first season concludes on a high note. The various characters are given a chance to shine by Ms. Holland, who gets general excellent performances from all the principals and large cast. Khandi Alexander, Melissa Leo, Kim Dickins and Lucia Micarelli show why this is one of the best series of the season. Wendell Pierce, David Morse, Clarke Peters and Steve Zahn contribute to the enjoyment of "Treme".

Amazing first season

[Red_Identity · 3 October 2014]

I can't tell you how many times I'd hear that this show had to be watched "in the right mood". Heck, even 30 Rock made a joke about it in the same way. That, and knowing that it was based on the aftermath of New Orleans, made me assume that it was this really depressing, really raw, bleak show. I was kind of weary of watching something incredibly down and something that seemed like it would have a ton of melodrama. So I was completely shocked at how optimistic it is, and how it turned out to be the one show that I could just put on to put me in a better mood. Oh sure, it is pretty depressing in some of the developments, but overall, it's definitely focused on trying to show people rising up, instead of staying down. It's also not at all driven by plot, which I'm sure is a big part of the reason that it's so completely underrated/underseen. The Wire's definitely the thing this reminds me the most of, even if it doesn't have that show's immediate punch impacts. Ultimately, one either takes to this show or doesn't, either swept by it and completely enthralled by its characters and willing to see their lives transpire or isn't. I don't know how realistic in its depiction of New Orleans it is, but all I know is that I found it a fantastic world to get lost in, a sort of laid-back, relaxed form of realism entertainment that often felt transcendent, that I rarely see in TV these days. A glorious ensemble, a glorious array of characters, and glorious music all around. A fantastic, fantastic season, and I hope the show doesn't change in any way in its following seasons.

Season 1: The loose plots may weaken and some characters annoy but it is still an engaging, colourful snapshot of life with great music

[bob the moo · 4 November 2011]

If I'm honest Treme was one of those shows that drifted from a "want to watch" list onto my "I really should watch that" list. Big fan of Homicide LOTS, Generation Kill and of course The Wire, I should really have been rushing to get hold of this show – not watching the first season when the second one is already back on screens in America, but I don't know, something just put me off about it. Perhaps it was the weight of The Wire on the show but somehow I convinced myself that it was a box to be ticked almost as much as it was a show to be enjoyed.

Fortunately the show itself won me over in that regard fairly quickly because it isn't overly heavy and it isn't a chore even if some of the criticisms that had given me pause on it turned out to be accurate. As everyone knows, the show picks up the lives of a collection of characters in NO in the year after Katrina. So we have a young couple who play music on the street, a chef struggling to keep her business going, a lawyer trying to get justice for a woman who has lost her brother in the legal system, her husband struggling with his writing and his rage at the failure to protect and restore the city, a radio DJ drifting his way through life, a trombone player talking his way through life and so on; suffice to say it is very much an ensemble piece and the only real combining thread is NO itself.

This puts a lot of pressure on the show to make "real life" as interesting as possible but also keeping it realistic. I think it did this well and it did bring out a mix of colourful characters within New Orleans while also exploring the hurts, the hopes and general feelings of those in the aftermath of Katrina. It handles issues ranging from depression through to political decisions about the future through to low-level looks at the culture and music. All of these work well. When topical issues are explored through the characters you don't ever really feel like you are being preached at or shouted at (even when Creighton is doing his shouting) and likewise when the music is played, you don't feel like it is a touristy thing or filler – it is part of the life and culture and that is how it comes across.

Unfortunately the show does suffer a little from this same approach – necessary to do what they wanted to do perhaps, but it does still suffer a little. The individual plots tend to be just that – individual and separate from one another, even if they overlap in terms of people, they are pretty separate. Some work well, others don't; some engage, others I didn't care for. This goes for the characters too. Lambreaux was engaging in terms of culture and politics but it stand up well over the duration however Antoine, Ladonna, Janette and street musicians Annie & Sonny all worked well for me. By contrast I didn't really like Davis as he was irritating as a character and his plots just tended towards nothing; he seemed to always have the lion's share of each episode as well – although perhaps it just felt that way. Similarly I didn't think that Creighton was a particularly strong character, although I quite liked him all the same. As I said though, the real character here is New Orleans and she is presented well through the characters and the culture – battered and beaten but still full of great jazz and colour, the show brings this out really well and even a very casual jazz fan such as myself enjoyed the music a lot.

Overall, Treme lacks a real direction and it never really packs a consistent narrative punch but yet it is engaging, warming, colourful, musical and entertaining. Not all of the characters work and not all of the threads go anywhere but mostly the show is good and I enjoyed it. Room for improvement for sure, but good enough for me to come back to season two to see if they do.