{television} carnivale; season one (2003)
In this HBO drama, creator Daniel Knauf paints a fantastical, often bizarre, but ultimately compelling world of nomads and entertainers at a traveling carnival, all of whom must struggle to survive in the tough economic times of the 1930s. Led by manager Samson (Michael J. Anderson) the troupe includes reluctant carnie Ben Hawkins (Nick Stahl), fortune-teller Sophie (Clea DuVall) and reckless drunk Professor Lodz (Patrick Bauchau).ireviewnetflix.com rating: * HBO doesn't always hit a homerun and this strike out more than proves it. This show is soooo slow. Man, I just couldn't stand it after the third episode and I had to stop watching. There's too much quality television out there I want to watch. Boring characters and boring stories. The time period in history, the Dust Bowl and all, also doesn't interest me either and never has. The religious elements also don't interest me. I read ahead to learn more about the show and while it seemed interesting, I worried about their ability to pull it off without putting me to sleep. Just not a good television show. Might have actually been a better feature length film. Apparently, others agreed with me as the rating began to drop in the first season and the show was eventually cancelled after the second season. I won't be checking out the second season.
posted by Christian @ 2:21 AM
1 comments
1 Comments:
Many people have complained that the first season was "too slow." I think I remember thinking the same thing when I first started watching it. However, I would never in a million years have called it "boring." Certain aspects interested me more than others, but overall the story was compelling, the characters intriguing and well-fleshed-out, and the scope of this story was something no other show has ever tried to do before.
The series creator actually had some foresight with this show and had planned out the entire story, beginning, middle and end, before the pilot was even shot. His intention was to tell an epic tale over six seasons, which HBO greenlighted after he proposed the idea. So I believe what ended up happening with the first season, was they were trying to gradually introduce the story and the characters before plunging heavily into the story.
The second season definitely picks up...particularly once you get halfway through, it's like someone hit the fast-forward button and everything comes flying at you. Unfortunately, you're left with a whopper of a cliffhanger and then HBO canned it.
I've watched both seasons through several times now and I love the cinematic feel and quality of both seasons and have grown to love the gradual, easy pace of the first season. You can really let yourself sink into the story and take it all in. The story is well-crafted and layered and the more you watch, the more you see.
It's unfortunate when viewers can't get past the pace or the ways it's different from other shows and simply write it off as "too slow and weird." Carnivale was something truly unique and special and we need more programming like that. And while the story isn't complete, the two seasons they got out were spectacular and worth giving another shot, in my opinion, just maybe from a more open-minded perspective.
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