Just in case five new movie reviews wasn’t enough, let’s talk about the season premiere of HBO’s Treme (if we have to), and first episodes of Ben and Kate/The Mindy Project, which are currently sneak previewing on demand before airing this week over on Fox.
Season 3 Premiere of Treme…Treme is from the creator of The Wire, David Simon, and I feel a need to bring that up right off the bat because The Wire is an unquestionably great show. However…this isn’t. I’ve stuck with this frustrating, indulgent viewing experience for two full seasons (it’s had ups and downs, but mostly downs) as it follows a few dozen characters struggling to get back in the swing of things in Post-Katrina New Orleans. Even though Treme is sometimes brilliant, artistically respectable (you have to admire a show that so thoroughly plays by its own rules), and sometimes very moving, the real problem is that it’s basically a Robert Altman movie stretched out over several years. There is no narrative drive, no character arcs (almost every character in this episode is exactly where we left them), and what some critics praise as an “unconventional” plot structure is actually no plot or structure. Treme suffers most from an almost terminal overindulgence from Simon, who expects us to be enthralled at obscure jazz references (if you don’t know Frog Man Jones from Joe Bob Shrimpboat or whoever the fuck, how interesting is this supposed to be?), a love of the arcane workings of professions that are not all that interesting (chef, street musician, late night DJ on a z-grade radio station), and seemingly endless musical performances that begin to blend together after so many episodes. Yes, yes, yes, Treme feels authentic, but it also has to engage the audience in a way that it’s currently not doing. And, sorry to say this, I don’t have high hopes that it ever will. Grade for premiere: C
Ben and Kate…I know that it’s wrong headed to give a standard programmer like Ben and Kate a better grade than something truly challenging and different like Treme, but it’s standard because it works better. I can’t say this first episode (detailing grown siblings and their comic misadventures) is really inventive or captivating TV, but I’m curious to give the show a couple more episodes to see where it goes. A decent start that’s most promising whenever the uniquely sexy Lucy Punch is on screen. Grade for Pilot: B-
The Mindy Project…There’s been a lot of buzz about this new Mindy Kaling show, and you can see some promise in the pilot even if not all of the jokes work. Kaling deserves to be here as the star of a show (she’s vain yet likable, vulnerable yet sexy, not afraid to look foolish yet never a buffoon) and she’s enough reason to keep watching for now. We’ll have to stay tuned to see if any of the supporting cast manages to make much of an impression but I’m willing to give it a five episode trial period…before giving it a full season pass or forever going back to see Kaling’s old gang on The Office’s final episodes. Grade for Pilot: B