K-Ville Pilot Recap

When Katrina hit, Marlin Boulet, an NOPD cop did his best to help the people of his city. His partner despaired of the death and destruction and freaked out. He took the patrol car and drove away leaving behind and unbelieving Martin.

Flash forward to today, in New Orleans. Marlin is doing a bit of drinking, a bit more than he should. Today he gets a new partner and runs into the old one. He doesn't know if he can trust the former because he knows he can't trust the latter. Both will work to gain his trust.

Partner "nut job", aka Trevor Cobb, is an afghan vet, specifically Kandahar. He's a cop from up north. Or is he? Hmmmmm. He's refers to the neutral ground as the..er..neutral ground. He also knows the streets around town awfully well for a newbie.

While covering a fund raiser, Kasha Fontaine, a singer and close friend of Marlin's, is shot. The bad guys escape in an old gold beater car. Obligatory car chase ensues. We are treated to a tour of New Orleans at speeds I have not traveled since I was a teenager, ironically on some of the exact same streets. ;-0

The chase ends at a casino. The perps escape into the casino, on foot and are followed by our intrepid heroes. The perps escape but we find out that the cameras in the casino have been moved around so that no video images are captured. Voila! It's a clue.

Marlin assumes that an old boyfriend of the singer is the guilty party and takes him trawling. Well, dunks him. Best pun of the show: while Marlin is dunking the boyfriend off the side of a shrimp boat, Trevor asks him, "Don't you think this is overboard?" Bwahahahaha.

At home, Marlin's wife and little girl can't deal with the lack of services, schools, crime, etc. They need to leave. They want to head back to Atlanta. Marlin decides he can't leave. This is his city and someone has to stay behind to take control back from the thugs.

Sometimes you have to stand and fight for what you believe in.

At a night time fund raiser, we're introduced to a southern beauty, Christina DuBois, a New Orleans native of the uptown variety. She has dedicated herself to raising funds to help the city and bring the natives back. We also learn that her brother was killed in a bad part of town.

A big black SUV drives by and open up with automatic weapons. Marlin and Trevor's police car is blown up. Just another night in k-town. This time it becomes obvious that the shooters were not shooting to kill. They were shooting to scare.

The old partner, Charlie, comes back to make things right. He gives Marlin information that points towards men, men who work at the casino, who incidentally work for Christine DuBois' father. These men are with the Blackriver security group; gulf war vets. Charlie wants to be a cop again.

The bad guys send a message to Martin. They put a hose in his window. I know that would freak me out. The casino/blackriver guys get arrested.

Best one-line of the show: There are more loose ends here than in a whorehouse.

From this point on it's a pretty pat detective show. The Blackriver guys were really working for uptown girl. She was angry about her brother's death and did not want "those people" moving back in.

A nice little car chase ensues when the blackriver guys decide to take out uptown girl to protect themselves. Ex-partner Charlie just happens to be on the road during the car chase and crashes the into the bad guys SUV. He's injured in the crash and is kidnapped by the bad guys.

Said bad guys take off and head to the port where a helicopter is waiting. Charlie is dumped, while in a car, into the river. Boulet freezes and Trevor has to rescue Charlie. Boulet unfreezes and wraps a chain around the helicopter so that they can't take off. Good guys win.

Oh yeah, the new partner, Trever Cobb? He's a really a con who is trying to change his life around. He's secretly a New Orleans boy.

The End of Episode 1

Best Parts: Seeing so much of the city. Seeing people living, working, having fun, etc. Knowing that the rest of the world now knows that there is no standing water in New Orleans.

Worst Parts: Marlin Boulet only has two expressions: anger and WTF. Story is somewhat cliche. Characters need to build up.

Summary: It's a new show and needs a few episodes to find its feet. I'll be watching.

Question to any readers: Do you like a post with this much detail for each episode or do you think it's just overkill? Please let me know.

LewisC

A Bit of New Orleans History

New Orleans is a city surrounded by water. It is one of the few cities in the world that is in such a situation but is not an island. The land where New Orleans was to be built was a mosquito infested, swampy, hurricane-prone, flooded landscape. Why would anyone in his or her right mind built a city in such a place?

It is hard today to fathom why. After Katrina and the devastation it caused, many people wondered why build a city in a bowl. The answer lies in its position between land, river and ocean.


Photo Courtesy of Yale Collection of Western Americana, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library

When New Orleans was founded, and for several hundred years afterwards, shipping was the most efficient method of moving goods from one place to another. Even today, that still holds true for international goods. In the mainland of the US, trains have replaced shipping but for many years, ships provided good everywhere.

The Mississippi river connects Canada and the interior of the US to the Gulf of Mexico. Anyone who could hold (militarily) the mouth of the Mississippi would control the shipment of goods throughout the US. Thus, New Orleans, with its strategic location would become one of the premier cities of the United States. It was even considered as a Capitol city at one point, but that is a different story.

Jumping ahead to 1800, Spain controlled a vast territory in the New World called Louisiana. The small, at that time, US had no particular interest in buying that land. That land which ran from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada. The US and Spain had a treaty, the Pickney Treaty of 1795, that allowed American navigation of the Mississippi River and access to the Port of New Orleans. More than a quarter of everything produced in America traveled to the Gulf via the Mississippi River.

In 1801, France resumed control of Louisiana and America's views on that changed. President Jefferson was concerned that France would try to block American use of the river stangling American growth. France at that time was the traditional American enemy. To make matters worse, Napoleon made public his intentions to occupy Louisiana and make that land the bread basket of France in America.

Many in the US wanted to declare war on France. Not just for this but it added fire to the flame. The Federalists had wanted war for a long time and this gave them added impetus. Jefferson did not want war and struggled for a way out. He wrote to the US ambassador to France and said (I paraphrase), "The day that France takes possession of New Orleans is the day we must marry ourselves to the British fleet and nation." Meaning that he was willing to go to war over New Orleans. He also instructed the ambassador to make sure that the French, in particular, Napoleon, understood that.

France was facing a slave revolt in the Caribbean. Between fighting and yellow fever, Napoleon lost over 40,000 soldiers. He could not afford a war with the US and Britain. The US wanted to purchase New Orleans for $10 Million. Napoleon sold all of Louisiana for $15 Million, only 3/4 of which they were required to pay (the rest went to reparations to the US government).

In one fell swoop, the US doubled its land by acquiring Louisiana. The purchase was ratified in 1803 and Louisiana was admitted to the Union in 1812.

Thanks,

LewisC

K-Ville Hits Australia

I ran across an article from Australia in The Age called K-ville. I guess it takes a few weeks before US shows make it to the Aussie shores. Does it piss off Australians with people call them Aussies?

Anyway, the author has some good words for the show:

Now comes K-Ville, a drama series of considerable significance, for not only is it getting here swiftly - three weeks after its US premiere - but it represents a decision by NBC to invest more than $1 million a week into the battered New Orleans economy by shooting a major cop show entirely on location there.

I have to agree that Fox did take a chance putting the show in New Orleans and I am glad they did. The city could really use the money.

He also makes a good point about some of the hypocritical resentment from locals who complain about the show actually showing crime (it IS a crime drama):

The New York Times has reported concerns among the residents of New Orleans about a cop show that gives priority to a post-Katrina crime wave, while playing down the positive elements of recovery. However, there were six murders in the city on the night NBC filmed the fundraiser party scene.

Anyway, it's good to see some info about K-Ville from foreign lands. It will be interesting to see how rating are.

LewisC

K-Ville Interview with an NOPD Cop

The Morning News, tag line "Black and White and Read All Over", has a very good interview by Sarah Hepola. What It Means to Miss New Orleans. The interview is with Lt Bryant Wininger, a PANO VP. My dad was a member of PANO before he died.

Anyway, this is a great interview. It's huge but well worth the read. I find it hard that an active duty cop talked this freely.

Some of the QA:

Q: New Orleans has this legacy as a corrupt town—

A: Oh yeah, we’re corrupt as hell. Jim Bernazzani, he’s the special agent in charge of the FBI in New Orleans, now he’s a guy who just speaks the truth. And he said “Look, we got corruption in Boston. The difference between Boston and New Orleans is, in Boston, they skim a little off the top and give the rest to the people. In New Orleans, they take the milk, they steal the container, then they go looking for the cow.” [laughs]

On the desertion of some officers:

Q: So you have no sympathy? I mean, even with these guys worried about their families?

A: Absolutely not. When I was packing my bags, when I was getting my wife ready to leave, she said, “You’ve done 30 years. Why are you going?” The storm was the size of the Gulf. I told her: I ain’t doing it for the mayor, I ain’t doing it for the people of New Orleans, I’m not doing it for the chiefs, I’m doing it for the guy next to me, because I might be able to save him. The guy next to me does care about me. I have no pity for the deserters. There are a lot of stories about officers who left who were probably taken care of, and if I could prove it, I would be in front of the senate committee.

I think that's how my dad would have felt (being part of the NOPD). I have a cousin who is a cop in Kenner. From talking to him, that's pretty much how he felt. He waded through water to protect and serve. He spent days not even knowing if his house still existed.

This is an interview well worth reading. It's not just a K-ville interview.

LewisC

K-Ville Season 1, Episode 3

I finally got around to watching K-Ville. I had it on DVR. I think it's going to be on again tonight. I have heard (i.e. read on blogs), that the third episode was going downhill. I don't think so. I enjoyed it even more than the first two. The characters are really starting to mesh.

In this episode, a city council member, an ex-DA, is found murdered. He's fished out of the water in a fairly gross scene, actually.

A woman's fingernail that is stuck to him leads to a New Orleans specialty shop. This part takes a leap of faith. The color of the nail is specially mixed, is made by a single shop in New Orleans, and Boulet's wife happens to be able to ID it with a quick look. The scene shows some of the humor of the show that I like, but the premise is a bit of a stretch.

Ultra hottie, Lyndsie Swann was a mentoree of the ex-DA. In a bit of dialog, we find that the DA was trying to turn some flooded neighborhoods into parks instead of rebuilding them. Boulet argues with her that the reason people haven't returned is that they don't even have the basic necessities to return. I agree but I wouldn't argue with her. She is hot!

Anyway, the fingernail eventually leads to a whore house and Adrienne Barbeau. Ms Barbeau is an old school hottie from way back. I had the hots for her about the time she made SwampThing. Yowza!

Anyway, as Boulet and Cobb are harassing the clientèle, the Capt shows up and gives them the boot. Turns out one of the ladies in the house is a confidential informant called a CI.

The hardy boys continue investigating and turn up the dead hooker who owned the fingernail. They also turn up a mostly naked guy in pantyhose and a ball choker hanging off the patio. The leads start piling up!

Meanwhile, a loony toon lawyer gets into a shootout with the NOPD from his bedroom window. Turns out he thought the cops were gang bangers in disguise. It also turns out that he is a hold out in one of the neighborhoods that the ex-DA (the dead guy) wanted to turn into a park. Hmmmmmm.

Of course this guy is so smart, he makes terroristic threats on his own law firm stationary. To the dead Ex-DA no less. This is another moment that you may want to suspend disbelief.

I'm going to cut to the chase here. The ex-DA, who wanted to make parks, was working with the gang to chase the holdouts out of the neighborhoods.

The Capt's CI is really a daughter replacement for him. There are a couple of emotional scenes that I thought were really well done in this story arc. Anyway, turns out the daughter replacement is a bad girl and she was the one who killed the ex-DA. The dead hooker wouldn't give up bad girls location to the gangsters so she was whacked.

There is a nice gun battle at the end (did you see that coming?) and the capt arrests his daughter replacement and the head of the gang.

It ends on a sentimental note with the Capt calling his real daughter.

There was also a sort of tie-in story arc of Boulet trying to see his daughter in some kind of school show. He makes just after it ends. Baby girl is happy though and they go off to get ice cream. I really don't need to ever hear Anthony Anderson sing again.

This is a fun show. If you are looking for reality based entertainment, watch survivor or kid nation. If you want to enjoy a humorous, fantasy, crime drama based in New Orleans, tune into K-Ville. Like good gumbo, it just keeps getting better and better.

What is K-Ville? Why is New Orleans called K-Ville?

Two questions that I have been asked and have been seeing in forums.

K-Ville is a new series coming in September starring Blake Shields, Cole Hauser, Maximiliano Hernandez, Anthony Anderson, John Carroll Lynch & Tawny Cypress.

K-Ville is also a new name for New Orleans. Note that people who live in New Orleans, do not call it K-Ville.

Why is New Orleans called K-Ville? It means Katrinaville. I don't know who first coined the term but it was first used not long after Katrina hit.

Technically, I guess it could mean any place inundated by Katrina and that would include a large portion of the gulf coast. I typically hear it referring specifically to New Orleans, though.

A good description that I read some time back is in this article in the Guardian Unlimited, Hell and high water.

Katrina-ville is not just a trailer park. It is also a state of mind. It is a Checkhovian nightmare of bureacracy, corruption and insurance rip-offs that has plagued the region devastated by the storm and slowed reconstruction to a disgraceful crawl. It is of politicians unable to rise to the challenge. It is why New Orleans has still not unveiled a rebuilding plan. It is why $2bn of reconstruction funds have been wasted or stolen. It is the corruption that allowed 1,100 prison inmates to claim $10m in rental relief or saw renovations for an Alabama shelter eventually cost $416,000 per evacuee (more than the cost of a new home each).

New Orleans Voodoo Music Festival

That's right. October 26 - October 28, 2007 in New Orleans City Park. It's the 2007 Voodoo Music Festival. Come and go weekend passes were $100/head. Those have sold out and now there are only limited $115/head tickets left. You can also get a VIP pass if you want to pay for one. Those are currently $450/head and the price is going to increase as the day gets closer.

The line up is amazing. From The Smashing Pumpkins and Rage Against the Machine to Dr John and Dumpstaphunk. The complete line up: Rage Against the Machine, The Smashing Pumpkins, Wilco , Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals, Sinead O'Connor, Kings of Leon, Mute Math,

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, The Black Crowes, La Coka Nostra featuring Everlast and Members of House of Pain, M.I.A., Paolo Nutini, Porcupine Tree, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Fall Out Boy, Plain White T's, Spoon, Coheed and Cambria, Common, Galactic featuring Lyrics Born and Mr. Liff, Earl Greyhound, Motion City Soundtrack, Circa Survive, Gym Class Heroes, Dexateens, Jason Isbell, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Rotary Downs, Ghost, Dr. John, Toots and the Maytals, Zap Mama, JJ Grey and MOFRO, Toubab Krewe, New Orleans Social Club, Marc Broussard, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, George Porter, Jr., Theresa Andersson featuring Johnny Vidacovich and Arthur Mintz, Big Sam's Funky Nation, Dan Dyer, Ivan Neville's Dumpstaphunk, Hot 8 Brass Band, Soul Rebels, Henry Butler, Bonerama, Amanda Shaw, Jose Conde y Ola Fresca, Amy Cook, Sam and Ruby, Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue, Tiesto in Concert, Ghostland Observatory, The New Orleans Bingo! Show, Ska Cubano, Quintron and Miss Pussycat, Morning 40 Federation, Fleur De Tease Burlesque, Dax Riggs, Bones, White Bitch, Aurora Aerial, Liquidrone, Chant, Clint Maedgen, DJ Proppa Bear C-BA$, Good Guys, Illusion Fields, Kid Calhoun, King James, Ratty Scurvics Singularity, The Happy Talk Band, Marygoround, LOID, My Graveyard Jaw, Nag Hammadi, Noisician Coalition, NOOMOON Tribe, Pain Tribe, Panorama Jazz Band, Why are we building such a big ship?, Worms Union, Sirena Serpentina, Sista Otis, Zydepunks, Tap Water Mind Control, Vavavoom, Widetrack, The Palanquin Diaries.

That is insane! What a show. Three days of mayhem and jams. You can get additional information at the NOLA.com Voodoo site.