TREME Stands Up and Declares "Yes We Can"

Article first published as TREME Stands Up and Declares "Yes We Can" on TheTVKing.

HBO's Treme, which tells the story of individuals in post-Katrina New Orleans, begins its final five episodes this week with "Yes We Can." The series deserves better than to be canceled after less than four years, but at least they've been granted the opportunity to wrap the story up right. The first episode back is true to form, and represents the start of a new chapter.

After years of struggle, New Orleans is finally returning to normal, if not coming back triumphant. "Yes We Can Can" begins with the election of President Barack Obama in 2008, and finds the citizens of the city celebrating. The leaders who did them wrong are gone, and African Americans are proud to see someone that looks like them in the White House. All around, it's a victory.

This sort of mirrors the lives of those in the story. Antoine (Wendell Pierce) has a job he likes, feeling like a father figure to the students to whom he teaches music. Albert Lambreaux's (Clarke Peters) cancer is in remission. LaDonna's (Khandi Alexander) new bar is almost ready to open, and she and Albert are very happy together.

These people deserve this peace of mind and comfort. They have struggled, rebuilding themseleves in the wreckage of their homes, and it's about time they feel like they're not just living day-to-day anymore. It's been a long road to get back to normality, but one can recognize that that's exactly what has happened in a major way.

Which is not to say that everything is perfect again. LaDonna misses her kids and wishes to bring them home with her, which isn't possible yet. Terry (David Morse) is still fighting corruption and seeking justice, even as his own bosses have turned against him. Sonny (Michiel Huisman) discovers first-hand how bad the police stations are working, or rather, not working. These are real problems that can be attributed to the Katrina chaos.

But notice, that doesn't describe everyone in the cast. Those are just a few characters still battling, and even their lives are not completely focused on such things. Terry's job sucks and is difficult, but he gets to go home to Toni (Melissa Leo) and her warm house at the end of the day. Circumstances are improving for everyone.

Now, real life isn't always easy and smooth, so there are still, and always will be, challenges. Janette (Kim Dickens) is trying to make a go of a new restaurant after her old partner drove her away. Davis's (Steve Zahn) music career is collapsing. Delmond (Rob Brown) isn't sure if he can leave his father yet and get his career back on track. Annie (Lucia Micarelli) has hit a ceiling in her own advancement.

Yet, these seem like the type of issues the characters would face even if their hometown hadn't been destroyed. This represents movement and vitality. These are the types of obstacles they only dreamed about in the aftermath of Katrina. New Orleans is alive once more.

Of course, besides the great characters, there is plenty of authentic music and guest stars from the area dropping in as themselves. Treme has always been realistic to the scene, and "Yes We Can" is no different in that regard. As much as growth and development furthers everyone's stories, Treme remains the same basic tale it started out as: one of strong, determined people who will survive, no matter what, bolstered by their melodies. Their spirit, while relatable, is also unique, much like their jazz clubs will never turn into a large hall, no matter what Nelson (Jon Seda) and his ilk try to do.

The one thing that feels different is that there seems to be much more interaction between the main players all of a sudden. Treme has usually told many different stories that weave together more because of the setting than because these lives are interwined, with paths only occasionally crossing. Four seasons in, the tiny encounters and interactions have begun to build into something more cohesive. Viewers have always seen the cast as a family, bound together by the series; now the characters actually are relating to one another. What a great, feel-good way to end the show!

Treme airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.

Preview: Mythbusters Tackle "President's Challenge"

    Discovery Channel's Mythbusters has been on the air since 2003, and has rarely produced a bad episode, though admittedly the series improved markedly once the second team of three younger 'busters was formally introduced. That's a feat to be proud of. I know I caught occasional episodes over the years, and have devoured at least a few dozen episodes in the past few months alone.

     This week they revisit Archimedes's Solar Ray, a myth that they have put to the test twice before. Though I can't recall the team tackling a myth thrice before (twice, yes), this comes at the special request of President Barack Obama, who guest stars in the episode. POTUS's theory is that the mistake made in the past is the lack of human element. Though hosts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman have used actual people on small scale tests, their larger scale experiments were done by computer and mirrors mounted on a board. The President asks them to give it one more shot and report back to him. The episode is part of Discovery Communications's support for the current administration's STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) campaign.

      Admittedly, the scenes featuring President Obama are a little cheesy. The series is no stranger to corniness, but usually that's done in the name of humor, whereas in this instance it's supposed to be more serious. In fact, it seems likely to me that the scene where Obama makes the request and the scene where the Mythbusters give him the results were probably done on the same day, and that slightly ruins the magic. However, everything outside of the White House is classic Mythbusters stuff, and as thoroughly enjoyable as most episodes. I won't ruin the results, but the guys seemed to be having an absolute blast staging the test with a group of 500 middle and high school students. Perhaps even more fun than the kids themselves.

     The question is, was this worth the effort of revisiting the same thing for the third time? Probably not. To be honest, I would have rather liked to see something new. The night before I had watched the episode "Hidden Nasties", which featured a car being skipped across water, and I thought that was way cooler than seeing sun beams on a sail... again. However, I am all in favor of the STEM push, and Discovery and Mythbusters surely deserve credit for helping in something vital to America's future. As an educator myself, I may be biased in that regard.

     The second part was a bit more action packed. Tory Belleci, Grant Imahara, and Kari Byron, the second team, attempted to see if the scene from Hellboy where the titular character flipped a car by punching it was realistic. Well, of course, the devil boy isn't, but they were checking force and fulcrums. It's physics, of course. Again, no results will be spoiled, but watching a number of SUVs crushed as the trio tried over and over again to get things right was thoroughly enjoyable. My impression was they tried far more variations and adaptations than usual, or at least more were shown, really putting this myth through its paces.

     My one caveat is, is something shown in a movie really a myth? Sure, it may be decades from now if people remember what happened. The Archimedes story fits the title better than the Hellboy thing. But after eight years of making episodes, I doubt they could survive on myths alone, and the point of the show is not semantics, it's science, so that can be overlooked.

     As I said, this was not the most enjoyable Mythbusters ever, but as always, it was entertaining and fully rooted in science. Any children watching it (and I'll bet there are at least 500 that will be) will learn something cool. The hosts were as engaging as always, and their enthusiasm always seems genuine, even after all of these years. Even neater, next week the Mythbusters will meet up with Seth Rogen in "Green Hornet Special", looking at myths from the upcoming movie. I'm really looking forward to that one.

     Mythbusters "President's Challenge" airs this Wednesday night at 9pm on Discovery Channel. Check it out.


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Article first published as TV Preview: Mythbusters Tackle "President's Challenge" on Blogcritics.

Tina Fey hosts best Saturday Night Live of the season

     In a year of mediocrity, Tina Fey (30 Rock) returned to her old stomping ground on NBC's Saturday Night Live last night and proved that the show can still deliver.  With an opening monologue that featured a brief cameo from comic legend Steve Martin, Fey knocked it out of the park from the get-go.  She also was allowed to flex her Weekend Update chops, returning to the desk alongside the man who now has her former job, both as anchor and head writer, Seth Meyers.  Of course, no Fey episode would be complete without the character that brought her back to the show a number of time in the last few years, Sarah Palin.  The Sarah Palin Network, a new station being launched, featured a number of hilarious ideas, including Palin playing a parody of Fey on 30 Main Street, and her husband Todd solving crimes in the big city while riding a snow machine.  It was funny enough, I wish it were real.

     The success can't all be credited to Fey, as talented as she is.  The opening featuring Fred Armisen as Barack Obama going over this year's Census form made me laugh harder than anything in recent memory.  Although the questions were not the same ones featured on the actual census, they played to every right wing eccentric's fears, asking where the firearms are kept and when the residents would not be home.  The SNL version also queried several sexual topics, and asked which members of the household did not support the health care overhaul, so that they would not receive care in the inevitable shortage to come.

     Also of note was Jason Sudeikis's portrayal of The Devil during Update.  It seems even the ruler of hell objects to what priests are doing to young children, and how dare they claim that He had anything to do with it.  Top tier comedy.

     The low point, unfortunately, was the musical guest.  Sudden teen sensation Justin Bieber performed his own numbers decently, but stunk up a couple of sketches.  Particularly, the one where he had a number of lines as a student that a teacher, played by Fey, was in love with.  Bieber was required to sing several parodies of his own music, which he performed not very well, and with no emotion.  He also was incredibly lame on the dialogue.  It begs to question, is his voice polished by computer and every live performance is lip synched?  Or does he just practice certain things many, many time until he finally gets them right, and did not have time to do it for SNL?  Either way, tween fans would probably object strenuously, but Bieber stunk.

     Fey will soon return as part of a 'Women of Comedy' episode on Mother's Day Weekend with Betty White and other SNL alum.  Saturday Night Live airs Saturday nights at 11:30pm on NBC.