Some of the 17.1 million viewers who tuned into the premiere of "NCIS: New Orleans" on CBS Tuesday may have been bewildered by the Crescent City colloquialisms sprinkled throughout the script. Words such as faubourg, lagniappe and beignets don't have much application much north of I-10.
To mitigate the misunderstanding, the NCIS folks issued a Tweet that included a tongue-in-cheek translation guide.
According to the chart:
The NOLA term is Parish, the translation isCounty.
The NOLA term is Ya Mom 'n 'em, the translation is Immediate Family.
The NOLA term is Alligator Pear, the translation is Avocado.
The NOLA term is Lagniappe, the translation isSomething Extra.
The NOLA term is Beignets, the translation isDoughnuts.
The NOLA term is Banquette, the translation isSidewalk.
The NOLA term is Pain Perdu, the translation is French Toast.
The NOLA term is Faubourg, the translation isSuburb.
The NOLA question is: Did they get it right?
The translation is: Is it so New Orleans or so Hollywood?
NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune TV critic Dave Walker's post-premiere chat elicited an avalanche of viewer comments, most were less than generous.
Probably the most mannerly came from a commentor who calls himself/herself "zing."
"give it time people," zing wrote, "i love watching shots (pictures) of Algiers on tv."
A commenter called "tapirfoot" was less genteel.
"Awful in almost every way," wrote tapirfoot. "Forget the lousy accents, the complete lack of New Orleans authenticity, the utter failure to even acquaint themselves with the actual political or living culture of our great city. The show was just completely lifeless. The cliche about Bakula's character playing with the musician-- oh my God. I have never seen a more lifeless horrible wooden hour on television."
What do you think of the New Orleans-set and -shot cop drama's authenticity? Is there a crack in your banquette? Do you serve pain perdu at Sunday brunch? Oh, and how's 'ya mom 'n 'em?'
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