Legal Commentary

HBO's Treme & Ashley Morris

By Ernie Svenson

As pretty much everyone in New Orleans knows, HBO's special series Treme is going to premier in about a week.  Treme was created by David Simon, who was also responsible for creating the The Wire.  The initial word is that the show will be very true in its portrayal of New Orleans (most movies and TV shows fail miserably in depicting the true feel of this city).

Anyway, one of the central characters in Treme is a militant professor played by John Goodman.  That character is based on a real person named Ashley Morris, who was a local blogger here. He passed away suddenly about two years ago.  To say Ashley was excitable would be an understatement.  He was also a bit of a curmudgeon.

I got to know Ashley back in early 2006, mostly by dint of being a fellow New Orleans blogger. Recently it to occurred me that that Ashley and I had traded emails (usually it was him kvetching about corporate greed or government over-reaching, and me responding with some naive optimism). I found this gem from 2007, when Ashley sent me a LinkedIn invitation out of the blue:

"Ashley Morris to Ernest Svenson

Ashley requested to add you as a connection on LinkedIn:

Blah blah blah...linkedin...blah blah..myspace for adults....

Accept invitation from Ashley"

No actor could ever really capture the grumbly warmth of Ashley Morris.  And as good as Treme is supposed to be, I doubt it can capture the unique aspects of New Orleans. Still, I'll be tuning in and hoping for a strong reception from the viewing public.

Full post as published by Ernie the Attorney on April 03, 2010 (boomark / email).