Anyone else watching Treme? Or The Pacific?

We're watching Treme (which has a theme song that is a VERY good bike riding song) but had to re-record Sunday's ep due to storm interference.

What are you thinking so far?

I'm pretty well blown away. Still too much Steve Zahn (and I've noticed that the show is at its laziest* during his story arcs. I'm a little surprised that Melissa Leo's character is the one who ties all of the arcs together, but it makes sense in retrospect.

* which isn't really lazy at all by most standards, but does use more noticeable exposition than most of the other arcs.

And I don't have much to say about The Pacific except that it bears a surprising resemblance to the worst impulses of The Lord Of The Rings. The music is almost identical and the way they glorify the soldiers - most of whom I still can't tell apart after watching 6 episodes - certainly has similar overtones. Plus the battle sequences have a similar editing style. Which, if you consider that the LOTR battle sequences took much of their look and style from Kurosawa movies, adds another strange resonance, as if we are fighting the Japanese with their own movies.

I stopped watching the Pacific partway through the second episode. It's too, I don't even know what, but it's too much of it.

And I'm being weirdly avoidant on watching Treme, though I enjoy it when I do get around to watching it. I spend the whole hour being anxious, though, which is probably why I don't exactly look forward to it. But there are some real gems of dialog - Antoine talking about crossing mighty rivers for his woman and her answering "Get a JOB job" was just beautiful.

I'm watching Treme, but I'm an episode behind.

Still too much Steve Zahn

I think Zahn's playing the character well; I just find the character a bit watch from the hall at times.

Yeah, it's not Zahn that's the problem. The character is a straight-up narcissistic asshole. It's good that that series lets you know occasionally that it's not completely on DJ Davis's side, but there's far too many situations where I think we're supposed to find his behavior to be McNulty-style charming.

I spend the whole hour being anxious, though, which is probably why I don't exactly look forward to it.

YES! it is a very stressful hour.

Yeah, it's not Zahn that's the problem. The character is a straight-up narcissistic asshole. It's good that that series lets you know occasionally that it's not completely on DJ Davis's side, but there's far too many situations where I think we're supposed to find his behavior to be McNulty-style charming.

The worst part is I've met too many types like him, so the cringing is partly from personal experience. Definitely strikes me as a generalized urban type rather than a NO specific one.

Based on a real guy, DJ Davis Rogan. My sister says the real guy is way more obnoxious.

I think we're supposed to find his behavior to be McNulty-style charming.

Yeah, I'm hoping that he really is intended to be wearing the giant blinking neon "douchenozzle" sign that I see above his head; if it turns out that the writers think we're supposed to think he's really a great guy under at all, I'll have to start throwing things, and I don't like to do that to my tv.