I’ve been neglecting my blog – what with loads of end of the semester grading and a shoot this week.  Sorry about that.

There are things I’ve been meaning to share, mainly about television.  Here’s one of them.

Treme is back and better than ever during its second season (HBO Sundays, 10 p.m.).   The first season, some critics complained that it was an example of “slow TV” that was too slow.

I never felt that way.

The series (from creators David Simon and Eric Overmyer of my beloved show The Wire) mirrors how I presume New Orleans was a few months after Katrina:  lethargic as the systems and institutions of the city started to grind back into motion but also chaotic because of the damage to the infrastructure of the region.

Those competing impulses, the lethargy and the chaos, make for some exciting storylines populated with extremely talented actors, but the real star of the show is the city itself with her evocative music, distinctive cuisine, and capacity for excess in all things sensual.

I love it.

This season, the city is inching toward recovery, and as the infrastructure begins an uneven journey toward repair, the series begins to seem more like The Wire in ways that balance the personal stories of the characters viewers are coming to know so well with an examination of the systems and institutions that define New Orleans after the storm – police departments and courts, schools, local politics, construction and affiliated businesses, and tourism.

As fans of The Wire know, these stories are complex, intermingled, and so full of promise.  I’m also a fan of Treme.  Check it out.