Treme Season 3 [US Pace] *Spoilers*

Cherry_Cola

Surprised I haven't seen this mentioned yet but Treme returns tonight in the US on HBO.

Really looking forward to it and though often glacial in pace, the music is fantastic and always make it really enjoyable to watch.

No idea when it will air on Sky Atlantic though.

Any other fans of the show here?

ronnie3585

It's a great show.

I loved season one, John Goodman was a superb character.

Season two was very slow, gritty and difficult to watch at times.

Looking forward to the new season though.

Outkast_IRE

Yup the trailer for the new season looks excellent.

Richard Dower

It's already been renewed for a fourth, and final, season ahead of tonights season 3 premiere.

Richard Dower

http://www.hitfix.com/whats-alan-watching/hbo-renews-treme-for-abbreviated-fourth-and-final-season

Simon also explained that this wouldn't be a season the length of the first three, which ran 10, 11 and 10 episodes, respectively, and that HBO executives "fought very hard to give us half a loaf" to finish things.

I emailed Simon to ask for clarification on what "half a loaf" means, and he wrote, "HBO has offered us a lump sum to budget a conclusion to Tremé, and we are trying to figure out how to stretch that amount in the best possible way. Right now, we are tentatively looking at anywhere between 4 and 6 hours of programming, depending on a variety of things. It's half a loaf, but it represents a sincere effort by Mike Lombardo and Richard Plepler to end the narrative properly. We'll do the best we can with the story arcs and try to conclude Tremé in a resonant way".

Because the nature of this final half-season doesn't fit the terms of the actors' contracts, the entire cast was free to walk away at this point. The producers spent the past week speaking with each actor, and Simon told the premiere audience, "To a person, they all came back, we're happy for a chance to finish the story on our own terms".

It's not an ideal solution, but given the ratings for Tremé relative to HBO's other original series, the existence of any kind of season 4 is something to be celebrated.

Battleflag

Can't believe there aren't more people talking about this show, I love it so much. Mardi Gras episode each season is always amazing, I have to get over there some day for it. Storylines have been a bit weak this season but I hope we get some closure on the murdered dudes case.

The music is too good.

jonsnow

Richard Dower wrote: »

http://www.hitfix.com/whats-alan-watching/hbo-renews-treme-for-abbreviated-fourth-and-final-season

.

I emailed Simon to ask for clarification on what "half a loaf" means, and he wrote, "HBO has offered us a lump sum to budget a conclusion to Tremé, and we are trying to figure out how to stretch that amount in the best possible way. Right now, we are tentatively looking at anywhere between 4 and 6 hours of programming, depending on a variety of things. It's half a loaf, but it represents a sincere effort by Mike Lombardo and Richard Plepler to end the narrative properly. We'll do the best we can with the story arcs and try to conclude Tremé in a resonant way".

You emailed him and he emailed you back.Thats pretty cool of the guy.I mean he must be pretty high profile and very busy at this stage.I respect him so much but now I respect him even a little bit more

Psychedelic

I watched the first 2 or 3 episodes of this season, but didn't find it interesting enough to keep watching it. Has it got any better?

Burning Eclipse

Psychedelic wrote: »

I watched the first 2 or 3 episodes of this season, but didn't find it interesting enough to keep watching it. Has it got any better?

It's so unlike most TV. My wife loves it, and I enjoy it a lot myself, but it's hard work at times. It can be more uplifting than most TV shows, but not in a cliched way. At the same time, it is probably one of the most difficult shows to watch too. It is remarkably bleak.

I think a lot of our interest stems from that fact that we went to NOLA during our honeymoon. It's a unique city with so much character.

We only have 1 episode to watch in S3... will certainly watch S4 too.

The Black Oil

I watched 2 and enjoyed it, but haven't seen any of 3 at all. Is it on Sky?

gimmick

Finished it myself over the weekend and must say I absolutely loved it. It is the best TV show I have watched. The characters, the acting, the slow realism of the plots. Hell, even Sophia was not a complete pain in the arse in this series.

Going mad it is being drawn so far back in for its final series. But like Boss showed, if people do not get mile a minute action, they will tune out.

fisgon

Burning Eclipse wrote: »

It is remarkably bleak.

I don't find it bleak at all. In fact it is frequently uplifting, funny, touching. It is just real, and sometimes reality is bleak.

For me season one was slow, and it's only now by season 3 that I have connected with the characters. Now, for me, it is one of the best series of the decade. Truly layered and complex.

Full review here...
http://watchingandreadingandwriting.blogspot.ie/2013/04/treme-tv-series.html

Hippo

I persisted with it over seasons 1 and 2 despite the amazingly-punchable Steve Zahn, but season 3 has lost me completely. Poorly-paced, uninteresting characters, storylines that move at glacial speed - and the girl with the violin is a lousy singer. I genuinely wanted to like it, it has Wendell Pierce, and the music is sometimes great. But The Wire it ain't.

Fans of the show, tell me what I'm missing in all this.

Richard Dower

Hippo wrote: »

I persisted with it over seasons 1 and 2 despite the amazingly-punchable Steve Zahn, but season 3 has lost me completely. Poorly-paced, uninteresting characters, storylines that move at glacial speed - and the girl with the violin is a lousy singer. I genuinely wanted to like it, it has Wendell Pierce, and the music is sometimes great. But The Wire it ain't.

Fans of the show, tell me what I'm missing in all this.

Dont get this show either..... , the cable ratings are beyond brutal....shocked it lasted one season let alone four.

fisgon

Hippo wrote: »

I persisted with it over seasons 1 and 2 despite the amazingly-punchable Steve Zahn, but season 3 has lost me completely. Poorly-paced, uninteresting characters, storylines that move at glacial speed - and the girl with the violin is a lousy singer. I genuinely wanted to like it, it has Wendell Pierce, and the music is sometimes great. But The Wire it ain't.

Fans of the show, tell me what I'm missing in all this.

Well if you don't like it, you don't like it. That's allowed! It's probably an acquired taste.

Agreed that Annie, the violinist, can't sing. And the music is great. The slow pace of the narrative for me is a plus, it adds to the realism. It requires patience, for all of the multitude of storylines, but for me the patience pays off big time as the characters meet up, the stories criss-cross, people move into and out of each other's lives.

I've posted this before, but why I love the show is in my blog, here...
http://watchingandreadingandwriting.blogspot.ie/2013/04/treme-tv-series.html

Hippo

fisgon wrote: »

It's probably an acquired taste.

I know it's allowed not to like it, I'm just curious why anyone would like it, hence my invitation for a fan to defend it. I put plenty of time into 'acquiring' the taste, but for me the content isn't there. Slow plotlines, interweaving stories - that was all part of what made The Wire great. The Treme characters seem much less fully-developed, despite lots and lots of screentime.

In The Wire everyone, no matter their position in the hierarchy, found themselves part of a societal machine that just moved along relentlessly, regardless of attempts to improve or challenge it. There wasn't much of a good guy/bad guy division. Everyone was in it together and in their individual ways, powerless. In Treme the lines seem to be much more clearly drawn, with most of the cast wearing white hats and pointing accusingly at 'the man', which is irritatingly simplistic in a multi-season series, especially one coming from the creator of something as subtle as The Wire.

I still watch it, mainly in the hope that it'll come up with some unexpected conclusion or idea, and some of the acting is great. I will admit though to hitting the mute button/changing channel whenever the aforementioned Zahn appears, the Davis character is just way, way too much. He is in many ways David Simon's very own Jar Jar Binks.

The Maverick

In my opinion, Treme suffers very badly for its slow pace.

I do enjoy some stories, like the police brutality, property development and Wendell Pierce's sections but I find myself fast forwarding through a lot of the others. The Davis stuff and especially the fisherman sections are just too slow moving for me.

The Black Oil

3 episodes into season 3, liking it. Threads are starting to come together - police corruption, NOAH, etc.

The Black Oil

Anyone on board with season 4? I've not checked it out.