Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.5

Treme: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie Review

A magnificent series, a tempting set, a near-perfect AV presentation and an exclusive bonus disc...

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown January 22, 2014

In 2004, Treme creator David Simon wrote about two American myths: "The first tells us that in this country, if you are smarter than the next man, if you are shrewd or frugal or visionary, if you build a better mousetrap, if you get there first with the best idea, you will succeed beyond your wildest imagination. And by virtue of basic free market processes, it is entirely fair to say that this myth, more than ever, happens to be true. Every day in America, a new millionaire is surely christened. Or two. Or ten. But a countering myth is at work, and it serves as national ballast against the raw, unencumbered capitalism that asserts for individual achievement and the amassed fortune of the wise and fortunate. In America, we like to believe if you are not smarter than the next man, if you are not clever or visionary, if you never do build a better mousetrap, then we hold a place for you nonetheless. The myth holds that if you are neither slick nor cunning, yet willing to get up every day and work your ass off and be a citizen and come home and be committed to your family and every other institution you are asked to serve, then there is a portion for you as well. You might not drive a Lexus; you might not eat out every Friday night; your children might not be candidates for early admission at Brown or Harvard; come Sunday, you might not see the game on a wide-screen. But you have a place. And you will not be betrayed."

He went on to write, "it is no longer possible to describe this as myth. It is no longer possible even to remain polite on the subject. It is, in a word, a lie." Of course, Simon was writing about Baltimore, as well as outlining one of the driving philosophies of his critically acclaimed, pull-no-punches inner city saga, The Wire. (One of the finest shows to ever grace television.) He could easily make the same argument, word for unflinching word, in 2011, substituting New Orleans for Baltimore, and his latest HBO series, Treme, for The Wire. Set in 2005, just three months after Hurricane Katrina had ravaged the coast, three months after the government had utterly failed to respond to the subsequent mounting crises in any way a rational citizen could describe as "American," three months after every 24-hour news network had grown tired of covering the devastation and abandonment of a major U.S. city, Treme doesn't settle for telling a tragic tale. Instead, it weaves a story of the endurance of the human spirit, celebrates a diverse community's drive to rebound and rebuild, and hones in on a melting-pot city's determination to preserve its rich, music-steeped heritage, salvage a truly unique culture and, above all, reestablish a sense of normalcy in the wake of disaster.

To do so, Simon and co-creator Eric Overmyer focus not on a singular narrative but on the trials and tribulations of the residents of Tremé, a Mid-City subdistrict of New Orleans. We follow the lives of financially strained trombonist and divorced father of three, Antoine Batiste (Wendell Pierce, The Wire's Bunk Moreland); his ex-wife and small business owner LaDonna Williams (Khandi Alexander, CSI: Miami); activist, professional DJ and musician Davis McAlary (Steve Zahn, Rescue Dawn); Mardis Gras Indian chief Albert Lambreaux (Clarke Peters, The Wire's Lester Freamon) and his son, trumpet player Delmond Lambreaux (Rob Brown, The Express); struggling chef and restaurant owner Janette Desautel (Kim Dickens, The Blind Side); widow and civil rights attorney Toni Bernette (Melissa Leo, The Fighter) and her teenage daughter Sofia (India Ennenga, Multiple Sarcasms); passionate street violinist Annie (Lucia Micarelli); singer and guitarist Sonny (Michiel Huisman, The Young Victoria); NOPD lieutenant Terry Colson (David Morse), and many, many others, all of whom are struggling to survive the socioeconomic woes and injustices of post-Katrina New Orleans. Simon and Overmyer populate their supporting cast with the real men, women and children of Tremé; musicians, performers, businessmen, blue collar workers, retirees and other colorful real-life characters that have held their community together over the last six years.

Like The Wire, Treme's plot is secondary, almost inconsequential, to the tightly knit fabric of the city in Simon and Overmyer's sights. The Wire wasn't set in Baltimore; it breathed, screamed and bled Baltimore. It bore its scars, grieved with its victims, slung with its dealers, dug in with its police, schemed with its politicians, simmered with its public school students, balked with its teachers and administrators, and shuddered under the weight of its inner-city burdens. In the same regard, Treme isn't set in New Orleans. It cries, rejoices and exhales New Orleans, be it by way of the city's fascinating culture, its ever-evolving music, its most honored traditions, its distinct cuisine or the very tone and tenor of its still-bustling streets. It growls the painful melodies of its soulful singers, bobs and struts with its trumpet players and trombonists, weeps with its exasperated mothers and fathers, succumbs with those overwhelmed by despair, searches frantically with its separated families, delights with its joyful denizens, barks angrily at the fleeing media, pounds its chest with its outspoken activists, laughs and cheers with its jazz-club regulars, and revels in the simpler pleasures of Tremé, pleasures no storm could ever sweep away. Treme is the kind of unapologetic, genuinely affecting character-driven television series viewers are rarely treated to; a show that seems so real and cuts so deep it could only be trumped by an ongoing documentary series; a riveting experience so unshakable that it makes other shows seem positively shallow by comparison.

Simon and Overmyer strip Treme of melodrama and convention with unnerving ease, cultivating authenticity where other showrunners might indulge in grand, cinematic flourishes. Each storyline and narrative through-thread is as wildly unpredictable as the next, often because the series' writers aren't bound to the tenants of television. Sometimes things work out, sometimes they don't. Sometimes relief comes when it's least expected, sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes luck favors the bold, sometimes the sheer weight of the situation comes to bear on the events that unfold. Like the best stories, Treme tells itself. The writers' presence is never felt, even though the intricacies of their work is readily apparent. Dialogue never reeks of late-night writing room sessions, just the colloquial quirks and natural rhythms of the city and its residents. Celebration, death and heartache aren't plot points or, worse, plot twists; they're organic extensions of the lives laid before us. And it's in these hauntingly credible moments that Treme finds its voice. The story may be slow-brewed to four-season perfection (even with a truncated, 5-episode fourth season), but every step of the journey, sudden footfall or long coming stride is an absorbing one. The arc of the series' first season may not fully reveal itself until the credits roll on the season finale, but with it comes a palpable sense of hope and uncertainty with which the people of New Orleans have become intimately familiar. By the time the series reaches its fourth season finale, these are people we know and love, and their plights are as close to ours as the plights of TV characters come.

And the music... oh, the music. Never before has a dramatic television series so skillfully infused such wonderfully varied music into its very lifeblood. New Orleans staples extend well beyond standard jazz and blues, and the countless genres and sub-genres, new and old, that saturate every tangible and intangible element of the show is showcased alongside the city herself. Like each of the actors' outstanding performances, Treme's music ceases to be a mere aspect of the series and becomes an inseparable, altogether indispensable ingredient in Simon and Overmyer's sweet and spicy Creole gumbo. Not that the series or its music will satiate everyone's individual appetites. Each episode strolls along at a leisurely pace, often dropping viewers in the middle of a crisis-stricken New Orleans with only the most necessary contextual clues. Relationships are revealed slowly but surely, conflict is unspooled much in the same way, and the rules of Simon's latest game are in a constant state of flux. Suffice it to say, if you crave spoon-feeding, look elsewhere. You'll find very little in Treme. Simon and Overmyer demand their audience's full attention and investment, but the results, while strenuous at times, are far more rewarding than those offered on network television (or even elsewhere on HBO). Many overlooked The Wire. It would be a shame for those same people to make the same mistake with Treme.

Treme: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Treme's four seasons have already been reviewed, and their AV quality is unchanged. Click the following links to read more detailed analyses of the series' 1080p/AVC-encoded video presentations:

Treme: The Complete First Season Blu-ray review

Treme: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray review

Treme: The Complete Third Season Blu-ray review

Treme: The Complete Fourth Season Blu-ray review

Note: Screenshots 21-40 are from The Complete Series box set's exclusive bonus disc, the contents of which are detailed in the Supplements section below. Screenshots 1-20 are from the series' four seasons.

Treme: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Treme's four seasons have already been reviewed, and their AV quality is unchanged. Click the following links to read more detailed analyses of the series' DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround tracks:

Treme: The Complete First Season Blu-ray review

Treme: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray review

Treme: The Complete Third Season Blu-ray review

Treme: The Complete Fourth Season Blu-ray review

Treme: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Treme: The Complete Series box set features four standard, multi-disc Blu-ray cases housed within a somewhat flimsy cardboard slipcover. The set's exclusive bonus disc is held within a sleeve separate from the four BD cases, though, meaning a bit of creative problem-solving is required to place the entire 15-disc set on one's shelf. (After trimming the sleeve down, I simply slid it inside The Complete Fourth Season's 2-disc case.) Special features are as follows:

Disc 15: Exclusive Bonus Disc


• Musical Performances (HD, 71 minutes): The Complete Series' bonus disc is an interesting case. Most Complete Fourth Season buyers will breathe a sigh of relief to learn there isn't any exclusive behind-the-scenes features included. Instead, the bonus disc is devoted entirely to extended and additional musical performances from the series. On the flipside, fans who are more than willing to purchase a slightly pricier 15-disc set may be disappointed to learn there isn't any more substantial exclusives to be had. Be that as it may, the musical performances prove themselves a fitting and most excellent addition to the set, bristling with the very same jazz, blues and funk that's serves as the show's lifeblood for four seasons. As presented, it almost plays like a bonafide concert disc (connected by brief scenes in which a bar patron selects tracks from a jukebox), and makes for a rousing feature-length musical experience. Songs and performers include:
  
  
  • "Canal Street" with John Boutte, Glen David Andrews, Paul Sanchez and Newbirth Brass Band
  • "Big Chief Part 2" with Jon Cleary
  • "Decoy" with the Delmond Lambreaux Quartet
  • "Feels Like Rain" with John Hiatt
  • "From the Corner to the Block" with Galactic & Dirty Dozen Brass Band and Juvenile
  • "Gold Watch and Chain" with Steve Earle and Lucia Micarelli
  • "The Greatest Love" with Elvis Costello and Allen Toussaint
  • "Homage a Poullard" with Pine Leaf Boys and Lucia Micarelli
  • "Long Hard Journey Home" with The Radiators
  • "Meanwhile" with Ivan Neville, Ian Neville and Dumpstaphunk
  • "My Indian Red" with Dr. John
  • "New Orleans After the City" with the Hot 8 Brass Band
  • "Poison" with John Mooney and The Soul Rebels Brass Band
  • "Road Home" with DJ Davis and The Brassy Knoll
  • "Skokiaan" with Kermit Ruffins and The Barbecue Swingers

Discs 1-4: The Complete First Season


• Cast and Crew Audio Commentaries: Five cast and crew commentaries are available and each one is worth listening to. First up, creators/executive producers David Simon and Eric Overmyer tackle the series' first episode, "Do You Know What it Means," providing a fairly extensive overview of the genesis of the show, its writing, casting, location shoots, performances and much, much more. From there, actors Wendell Pierce and Khandi Alexander and TV critic Alan Sepinwall delve into "Right Place, Wrong Time" and the series as a whole, subsequently delivering one of the more entertaining tracks in the set. Overmyer returns with producer/director Anthony Hemingway on "All On a Mardi Gras Day," focusing on the tone and tenor of the episodes, the integration of the music, the characters and the narrative threads that dominate Season One. Writer George Pelecarios and actor John Goodman follow suit on "Wish Someone Would Care," touching on the development of both the plot and characters over the course of the series' first ten episodes. Finally, Simon returns with producer Nina Noble on "I'll Fly Away," providing a fitting cap to the commentaries with a reflection on the story as is and the vision set for future seasons.
• Music Commentaries: Each first-season episode also features scene-specific music commentaries with WBGO's Josh Jackson and NPR Music's Patrick Jarenwattananon. It takes Jackson and Jarenwattananon some time to find their groove, but they're full of information and anecdotes about the songs, musicians and styles that bring New Orleans' music to life on the screen. And there isn't any need to sit through long stretches of silence. Simply tap the left and right directional keys on your remote to hop from bit to bit, a convenient option that makes it easy to exhaust each music commentary in fifteen to twenty minutes without missing a single beat.
• Down in the Treme: A Look at the Music and Culture of New Orleans (HD): Each episode of The Complete First Season offers a simple but welcome interactive experience that allows users to learn more about the music and musicians featured in the series, peruse character bios, brush up on regional N'Orleans slang and vocabulary, explore the different neighborhoods of the city and read about the various cuisine and mainstay treats visitors would find in restaurants around town. Navigation is a cinch -- an on-screen menu appears at all times along the bottom of the screen -- and hopping from subject to subject is effortless. That's right, you don't have to sit through each episode a second time just to unearth every last ounce of supplemental content buried in the discs. The only downside? For the most part, the tracks amount to text and photo parades that don't hold a candle to the sort of full-fledged Picture-in-Picture experiences fans are hoping to find here.
• The Music of Treme (HD): Engaging this secondary in-episode experience gives users the option of tapping the red button on their remotes when prompted to access information about the songs scattered throughout the show. Like "Down in the Treme" though, it's strictly a text-based feature and doesn't delve into the series' music nearly as much as it could.
• The Making of Treme (HD, 14 minutes): Simon, Overmyer and their cast and crew discuss the development of the show, the spirit and culture of New Orleans, the series' on-location shoot, its writing and performances, and more. Unfortunately, the featurette lacks depth and amounts to a broadcast promo and little more.
• Treme: Beyond Bourbon Street (HD, 29 minutes): "Beyond Bourbon Street" is much better, even though it's as heavy on episode clips as "The Making of Treme." This time around, Simon, Overmyer, Pierce, Zahn, Goodman, Peters and many, many others dig into the history of Treme, the devastation of Katrina, the diverse music of New Orleans, local traditions and parades, Mardis Gras, jazz funerals, the real men and women the characters of Treme are based on, the endurance of the human spirit, the local talent featured on the show... you name it, you'll learn about it here.


Discs 5-8: The Complete Second Season


• 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," the limited interactive experience from the series' first-season release, returns without any notable changes or improvements. While engaged, an on-screen menu allows fans to access information about each episode, including song and artist details, character bios, New Orleans vocabulary and slang glossaries, locale breakdowns, and cuisine highlights. Unfortunately, it isn't terribly exciting and doesn't distract from the fact that there isn't a more satisfying Picture-in-Picture mode on tap. Still, those who dig into what it has to offer will come away with at least one or two things they didn't know going in.
• The Music of Treme (HD): The set's second interactive experience isn't exactly interactive or an experience. Pop-up windows deliver song titles and artist names but little else, and most everyone will find it to be a merely adequate add-on. Had HBO devised a richer, more in-depth interactive overview of the series' music, I'd be singing its praises. Instead, we're left with a somewhat helpful but wholly unremarkable extra most people won't even use.
• Music Commentaries: All eleven episodes of The Complete Second Season include scene-specific commentary tracks with WBGO's Josh Jackson and NPR Music's Patrick Jarenwattananon. The duo discuss the songs, artists, techniques and styles featured in each episode and provide welcome insight into the very fabric of the series: Treme's music.
• The Art of Treme (HD, 33 minutes): Tulane University Associate Professor Joel Dinerstein hosts a Q&A panel with Treme co-creators/executive producers David Simon and Eric Overmyer (who seem a bit annoyed with Dinerstein), actor Clarke Peters (who brings some welcome laughter to the room), Tulane University associate professor Beretta Smith-Shomade and New Orleans performance artist Gian Smith.
• Behind Treme: Food for Thought (HD, 9 minutes): John Besh, Alon Shaya and other notable chefs and culinary consultants discuss the food and culture of New Orleans, the use of cuisine in the series, and share stories that reveal how local chefs survived and thrived in post-Katrina Louisiana.
• Behind Treme: Clarke Peters and the Mardi Gras Indians (HD, 9 minutes): 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.


Discs 9-12: The Complete Third Season


• Cast & Crew Audio Commentaries: Five audio commentaries are available that feature key members of the cast and crew, among them showrunners David Simon and Eric Overmyer, producer Nina Kostroff Noble, writers George Pelecanos and Anthony Bourdain, and actors Wendell Pierce and Rob Brown.
• Music Commentaries: Each episode also offers a scene-specific commentary track with WBGO's Josh Jackson and NPR Music's Patrick Jarenwattananon that focuses on the songs, artists, techniques and musical stylings showcased in Treme.
• Welcome to the Underground (HD, 12 minutes): A behind-the-scenes featurette that's much too short and much too promotional. There are some nice interview bits, but nothing scratches any deeper than the surface.
• Behind Treme: David Simon (HD, 9 minutes): The series' co-creator examines the fiction and non-fiction of Treme, and the manner in which the two are blended and balanced in the award-winning drama.
• Chef Dinner (HD, 4 minutes): A group of well-known chefs guest star.
• The Neville Brothers (HD, 2 minutes): The duo discuss their contributions to New Orleans music.
• The Other Side II (HD, 20 minutes): The series' misguided, oddly detached web series continues.


Discs 13-14: The Complete Fourth Season


• Audio Commentaries: Unlike previous season releases, which offer more supplemental content, the 2-disc Blu-ray edition of The Complete Fourth Season offers just two audio commentaries: the first for "Yes We Can Can" with creator/executive producer David Simon and writer George Pelecanos, and the second for "To Miss New Orleans" with Simon, executive producer Nina Noble and actor Clarke Peters (Albert Lambreaux). Of course adding "just" prior to two Simon commentaries is a bit misleading as the ever-engaging showrunner is thorough, thoughtful and even poignant here, particularly when it comes to the series finale, which Simon grants a bittersweet send-off.

Treme: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Is The Complete Series box set for you? That depends. If you've purchased each individual season to date and are choosing between The Complete Fourth Season and The Complete Series, know that the set's exclusive bonus disc only includes musical performances; not any additional behind-the-scenes content. If that's worth double-dipping, or the extra cost, go with the Complete Series set. If not, stick with The Complete Fourth Season to complete your series collection. If you haven't purchased any seasons, though, it really comes down to overall cost and the value the exclusive disc has to you. If you can pick up the seasons individually at a better price and aren't concerned about the exclusive disc and musical performances, go with the four seasons. If you're itching for every bit of content Treme has to offer and don't mind a steeper entry fee, go with The Complete Series set.

Either way, add Treme to your cart. Criminally overlooked during its broadcast run, it's a series that deserves attention, investment and praise. If you haven't had the opportunity to submerse yourself in Simon and Overmyer's character-driven New Orleans saga, you're missing out.