TREME: THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON
Studio: HBO
MSRP: $79.98, but Amazon has it for $53.99.
Running Time: 660 minutes
What’s Going On?
The continuing story of a show that chronicles the fictional lives of a cross section of New Orleans residents piecing together their lives after Hurricane Katrina.
Who’s In It:
A whole host of famous faces and HBO veterans, among them: Steve Zahn, Melissa Leo, Wendell Pierce, Clarke Peters, Khandi Alexander and many others.
If You Like…:
HBO shows, this is as good as they come. It doesn’t have the same epic feel as The Wire or Game of Thrones, but the quality of filmmaking in small one hour increments is still there. It also paints the city of New Orleans in a tremendous light by showcasing the good and the bad in New Orleans.
Special Features:
- Cast and Crew Audio Commentaries: Four full-length episode commentaries are available: “Accentuate the Positive,” with supervising producer/director Anthony Hemingway and actors Kim Dickens and Lucia Micarelli; “Carnival Time” with director Brad Anderson and music supervisor Blake Leyh; “What Is New Orleans?” with writer George Pelecanos and actors Clarke Peters and Rob Brown; and “That’s What Lovers Do” with creator/executive producer David Simon, executive producer Nina Noble, and actor Wendell Pierce.
- Down in the Treme: A Look at the Music and Culture of New Orleans (HD): “Down in the Treme,” While this feature is engaged, an on-screen menu allows fans to access information about each episode, including song and artist details, character bios, New Orleans slang glossaries, locale information, and various food highlights. It’s not quite as exciting as it seems, but it’s still a nice feature.
- The Music of Treme: A neat pop up window comes up whenever music is playing and has information about the artist and the name of the song.
- Music Commentaries: Music is a big part of New Orleans, and of the show. Because of that, all episodes of The Complete Second Season include commentary tracks with WBGO’s Josh Jackson and NPR Music’s Patrick Jarenwattananon. They discuss the songs, artists, techniques, and styles of each episode and provide great insight into the music of the series.
- The Art of Treme: Q&A with Tulane University Associate Professor Joel Dinerstein hosting Treme co-creators/executive producers David Simon and Eric Overmyer, actor Clarke Peters, Tulane University associate professor Beretta Smith-Shomade and New Orleans performance artist Gian Smith.
- Behind Treme: Food for Thought: A really informative extra about how chefs survived Katrina and how integral a part food plays in the series.
- Behind Treme: Clarke Peters and the Mardi Gras Indians: Clarke Peters and Mardis Gras Indian chief Otto Dejean talk about the Guardians of the Flame, the origins and traditions of the Mardi Gras Indians, and the secret language and subtleties shared by the Guardian members.
The Technical Gist
HBO releases do not disappoint in their blu-ray release. Ever. This is the case here, it’s shot wonderfully and looks great as well.
It’s presented in 1.78:1 aspect ratio with audio in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
The Verdict:
As great as this show, it’s easy to see how, amongst all the choices HBO provides, this one might have fallen by the wayside with some people. It’s a great show, but it may not be for everyone, especially at the cost these sets sell at. It’s worth a QUEUE, and best of all if you like it, it’ll definitely then be worth a buy.
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