Person of Interest was rating so high in popularity on my TV and Movie app, I grabbed a copy of season one. To be perfectly honest, I laboured through the first three episodes. There were not enough female actors and I had trouble connecting with the characters of John Reese (Jim Caviezel) and Harold Finch (Michael Emerson). Finch seemed to be a stereotypically nerdy genius and Reese was … well he was Reese (if you watch the show you’ll know what I mean). The premise – a super computer/artificial intelligence that can predict crimes against ordinary people (read: they are about to die), was also not an idea that intrigued me. I perservered because I had nothing else to watch at the time, and as the through-story began to grow, so did my interest.

The introduction of Root (Amy Aker) in S1 and then Samantha Shaw (Sarah Shahi) in S2 added new layers and tensions, and I began to feel the familiar tug of engagement as the series evolved into more of a complex thriller, than a predictable episodic.

Both the Reese and Finch characters gain nuance and depth as their back stories are revealed. Their relationship builds from what begins as something based on mutual but mistrustful need, into a rather sweet friendship. A quaint bromance between a one man wrecking ball with no respect for the law, and a morally questionable genius.

As for the secondary characters. Well, I fell instantly in love with Agent Shaw (what’s not to love about a kick ass operative with a self-proclaimed personality disorder?), and Sarah Shahi does a wonderful job of being obsessive and indefatigable. Detective Fusco (Kevin Chapman) is perfectly cast as the corrupt but ulitmately good-hearted cop who’s got himself in too deep, and Amy Aker’s portrayal of brilliant hacker Root is pretty convincing. I still feel a little ambivalent about Taraji P. Henson as Detective Carter. Some episodes I’m totally on board with her, and other times, I feel irritated with the dialogue she’s been given. It’s like the writers want her to be smart but don’t always give her smart things to say (and then stuff happens with her in S3 – but I haven’t seen that yet, so no spoilers please!). By S2 episode episode 10, I experienced one of those rare goosebump WOW! moments as Gimme Shelter plays in the background as Reese is arrested by the FBI (see below).

Corrupt police, shady CIA, interfering FBI, shadow government organisations and powerful criminals all play their part in the POI tapestry. As the series grows, the ideas are fleshed out and the plot begins to show signs of some clever basket weaving, all the while tickling our palates with a taste of a possible future.

Fans of the series call themselves Irrelevants, which is a reference to the ordinary people who are about to become victims. And they can surely count me as one of them.

S2 ep 10. One of my favourite scenes in a TV series, which probably needs full context to be appreciated.

I can’t remember who recommended this – I think it was one of my Twitter TV buddies. Whoever it was … thank you!! It was quite regularly a confronting series, filled with characters who teetered on the edge of being quite unlikeable – but not quite. This, of course, is just the way I love them cooked!

Here’s the wiki blurb:

Southland takes a “raw and authentic look” at Los Angeles and the lives of the LAPD officers who police it. The show’s first season centers on the experiences and interactions of LAPD patrol officers and detectives, and is more a character-driven drama than a police procedural.^[14][15]

Among the characters are rookie Officer Ben Sherman and his training officer, John Cooper who, unknown to most of his colleagues, is homosexual; Detective Lydia Adams, who must balance work with the responsibility of living with her mother; Officer Chickie Brown, who aspires to be the first woman on the LAPD’s elite SWAT team; and Detective Sammy Bryant, whose home life interferes with his working life.

Aside from the outstanding casting, the script was full of energy. It was a very visceral show that tied my stomach in knots.   Earlier in the year, I stayed in the general area where the series was filmed and that added a whole other dimension of meaning for me. I’d love to know how someone who actually lives in South LA, found the show.

Favourite characters were (Regina King as) Lydia Adams and (Arija Bareikis) as Chickie Brown; both strong, survivors in a violent and largely masculine world. Michael Kudlitz as John Cooper was a tour de force as the tough gay officer, and Ben Mckenzie (as Ben Sherman) and Shawn Hatosy (as Sammy Bryant) absolutely nailed their parts. Though wonderful, it was hard for me to truly love any of the male characters – there was too much underlying brutality about them. That did not lessen my enjoyment of the show though.

The final series was a poignant depiction of Sherman’s declining morality and Cooper’s growth and self realisation. I was sad to see it end in a bittersweet kind of way.

Thumbs up for the filmic style, acting, casting and writing.

You have to work a little bit harder at Treme; the characters take time to get know, the story is kinda slow and the music is Southern jazz past and present – not to everyone’s taste. By the second season though, I’ve become rather enamoured with the rythm of the show and its insight into post-Katrina New Orleans.

Wiki says that the showrunners employed as much local talent as they could and it all goes towards a feeling of great authenticity. I can’t think of any other series I’ve seen, which has lingered so lovingly over music and tradition, devoting many precious minutes to exploring and savouring it. Time that would normally be spent on action, plot or character development.

In fact, sometimes it doesn’t seem that Treme really knows where it is going narratively at all. But as a snapshot, a peephole, and voyeur’s view of this great city, it is sublime. As a portrayal of the human need for sense of place and belonging, it is poignant.

 I’ve watched a lot of terrific TV series the last twelve months or so, but the echoes of Treme have been the most powerful. I think about the show when I go to sleep. I think about it when I wake up.

The acting is so good, I actually couldn’t watch most of John Goodman’s segments. His tortured soul is raw and exposed from the beginning and I found them too painful. On the other hand, I couldn’t get enough of Kim Dicken’s (Friday Night Lights) as Jeanne Desautel, the chef. Her rendition of Iko Iko (see below) being one of my most favourite scenes in a TV series ever. Why? It’s so honest and silly and a celebration of the place she loves. It is so real.

There are many other amazing performances though, not the least of those being Wendell Pierce (The Wire) as Antoine Batiste, Clarke Peters (The Wire) as Big Chief Lambreaux, and Steve Zahn (Sahara, Daddy Day Care) as Davis McAlary.

Treme is entertaining, thought provoking and educational – something few series can wrap into one package while still capturing an audience. And of course, all I want to do now is got to New Orleans.