Just how whacked is HBO's Carnavale

[blue]

How bizarre, how bizarre.

[blingbling]

I'm a huge fan of HBO's original programming but I'm beginning to wonder if they are having the same problems as the networks in finding quality shows. While I liked the first year of The Wire the second season was dreadful. I didn't care for The Mind Of The Married Man either...its almost as bad as Arliss. Now they have Carnivale which I have no idea what its about. After watching the promos I still have no idea! The feeling I get after watching the commercials is that its anything but entertaining. I've recorded the show but it looks so unappealing I may just erase it.:shrug:

[blue]

I think this one is in the 'aquired taste' catagory. I just don't know if I take enough sips to aquire the taste before getting bored.

[blingbling]

A review: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/09/12/DD11641.DTL

Unfortunately, "Carnivale" is a bloated mess. Its pretensions are far greater than its ability, judging from the first three episodes. And this is where the idea of audacity and arrogance comes in. HBO seems to believe that just because it's HBO -- not television, as the slogan says -- it can play by different rules. Namely -- you will sit through a very long, confusing first hour that befuddles more than it astounds. Worse, if you come back for the very long, confusing second hour, your efforts are once again not rewarded.

And what the casual viewer doesn't know -- but now you do -- is that "Carnivale" essentially doesn't tell its story in the entire first season of 12 episodes. Executive producer and writer Daniel Knauf acknowledged that in July when talking with television critics. In fact, Knauf -- while arguing, unconvincingly, that he knows where the story is going -- said it would take at least three seasons, but not more than six, to conclude.

FWIW Daniel Knauf also created CBS's Wolf Lake. :eek2:

The HBO Sunday schedule is looking bleak until January :(.

[Shel]

I plan on tuning in next week. I found it quite interesting.

[pez2002]

I liked the mind of the married Man they should bring it Back

im going to re order HBO in January For the sapranos

[HTguy]

Well, Twin Peaks never came to an explanetary closure & I loved it for the most part.

I also disagree with blingbling about The Wire. I found the 2nd season to be just as smart & compelling as the 1st. It was "must see TV for me!" I've come to even prefer it slightly to The Supranos which is really saying something.

[sampatterson]

Just caught the last 20 minutes or so. Don't know about the story yet but the imagery was incredible. Very good cinematography. Very dark tone.

[blingbling]

Well, Twin Peaks never came to an explanetary closure & I loved it for the most part.

I also disagree with blingbling about The Wire. I found the 2nd season to be just as smart & compelling as the 1st. It was "must see TV for me!" I've come to even prefer it slightly to The Supranos which is really saying something.

I truly enjoyed the 1st season. For me it was right up there with The Shield as the best cop show on TV. The 2nd season was a step backward for this promising series. To start with I thought the casting was very weak. There are literally thousands of actors with SAG cards and the best the producers could come up with to play Frank & Ziggy are these two?? Especially the actor who played Ziggy - miscast and a very bad performance. The actor who played Nick I liked but the other two were so bad they were hard to overlook. This brings me to the next bit of bad acting - The Greeks. These guys who played the Greek gangsters were WAY over the top! Couldn't any of the directors tell the actors to pull it in just a little bit? For what I watched the script had some weakness too...i.e. Omar in the courtroom was totally unbelievable. And McNulty with the Jane Doe..ugh. Why, why, why does he give the slightest bit of a rat's behind about a dead Russian prostitute? Obviously its a device to get him back with his old crew. Pretty clumsy writing if you ask me. I could go on but I think I've made my point.

I'm not asking for perfection but after a knockout season debut this year of The Wire was shockingly bad. :blackeye:

[HTguy]

I truly enjoyed the 1st season. For me it was right up there with The Shield as the best cop show on TV. The 2nd season was a step backward for this promising series. To start with I thought the casting was very weak. There are literally thousands of actors with SAG cards and the best the producers could come up with to play Frank & Ziggy are these two?? Especially the actor who played Ziggy - miscast and a very bad performance. The actor who played Nick I liked but the other two were so bad they were hard to overlook. This brings me to the next bit of bad acting - The Greeks. These guys who played the Greek gangsters were WAY over the top! Couldn't any of the directors tell the actors to pull it in just a little bit? For what I watched the script had some weakness too...i.e. Omar in the courtroom was totally unbelievable. And McNulty with the Jane Doe..ugh. Why, why, why does he give the slightest bit of a rat's behind about a dead Russian prostitute? Obviously its a device to get him back with his old crew. Pretty clumsy writing if you ask me. I could go on but I think I've made my point.

I'm not asking for perfection but after a knockout season debut this year of The Wire was shockingly bad. :blackeye:I take your points. I believe they have some validity but I would classify them more like "nit-picking."

"Shockingly bad?" No way! :nono:

BTW, for anyone interested, particularly those that missed it the 1st go-round, The Wire starts rerunning with the very 1st episode tonight (9/26) on HBO2.

[RichW]

Back to Carnivale... I really, really did try to like it. I told myself that this is a series where "Six Feet Under" meets "Millenium".

But the pace is so dreadful and depressing (no pun inrended) that I think the writers are not taking enough Prozac. I gave up on the series after about ten minutes of this weeks episode.