Down in the Treme

Maitri introduces the panelists.

The show Treme was in the works before the storm hit. How different is it since the storm has come and gone?

Overmyer: Can't imagine the show without it. David Simon and Overmyer were planning a show that had nothing to do with cops.

Who's born in New Orleans? (Lolis and Davis raise their hands) For those of you who aren't, what attracted you to New Orleans?

Virgo: Immersed in the music as a young girl growing up in coastal Texas.
Walker: turned on by the Wild Tchoupitoulas music.
Overmyer: Also brought in by the music. played "Marie Laveau" over and over and over again.

Davis - You can't picture the lives of NOLA musicians without pot smoking and cursing, so its being on HBO works.

Lolis: One's experience of Carnival depends on who you're with. The show presented that very well.

Which New Orleans shows have you really hated?

Lolis: Orleans, with Larry Hagman
What's good? Frank's Place
Davis: Panic in the Streets was good.
Walker: Frank's Place, along with the Wild Tchoupitoulas, brought him into the New Orleans orbit. As for the bad ones, I wrote 1001 columns about K-Ville. Its sins are ultimately forgivable.
to Lolis and Davis: How does the process work, writing for Treme?

Lolis: we add the experience of having lived the facts that the creators and other writers have in their heads. How do you get the scene to reflect what really happened?

Eric: Part-time residency in NOLA puts him somewhere in-between the facts and the experiences. "In a way, it's a historical drama."

Walker: how do you get all the information together for your blog on Treme?
He came up with the idea to try to explain all the cultural references in the show.

Virgotex: Got That New Package! to Back of Town: Blogging Treme - what are the commonalities?

The political sensibilities were very similar. Even though The Wirehad nothing to do with Katrina, the same sorts of major issues were being dealt with

Fauborg Treme - its origins and how much has it informed Treme?

Started out as a poetry project, then Dawn Logsdon & Lolis got involved in the history. He brings his knowledge of that history to the show.

Treme - will the characters be developing?

Eric: 2nd season - Fall 2006 to spring 2007.
The Wire was a blessing and a curse - good success-wise, as it enabled them to make Treme. But the tone wasn't what most audiences all over the country were expecting.
Virgotex: Loves the "meditative" pace of the show. Touts the creativity of the work and the passage of time it deals with. Most removed from the events in the show and tends to appreciate the craft of the show more.

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