Carnivàle: TV Series Review

Links to stuff mentioned:

* Carnivàle opening credits: https://youtu.be/mqdkDwOY9fw?si=HWYFZhfOFwKcEdYy

* "Carnivàle" Broke My Heart: https://www.theawl.com/2013/02/carnivale-broke-my-heart/

* Carnivàle vs. The "Kill 'em Young" Manifesto by Whisky Prajer: https://whiskyprajer.blogspot.com/2012/02/carnivale-vs-kill-em-young-manifesto.html

This is part of my so-called "Scripted Review" series, in which I make a Youtube video based on an old blogpost.  For more information on what this is and why I'm doing it, see HERE:

https://youtu.be/HgneyXvRI04  

and HERE: https://joelswagman.blogspot.com/2018/12/vlog-scripted-book-reviews-i-ramble-on.html

In this case, the old blog post is here: https://joelswagman.blogspot.com/2013/11/television-addiction-part-4.html

This is also part of my Television Addiction series.  For my explanation of what the Television Addiction series is and why I'm doing it, see: https://youtu.be/T5CEQ9-35xA and http://joelswagman.blogspot.com/2021/04/television-addiction-article-on.html

The original 2013 post reads: 

Carnivale

          I watched this because Whisky Prajer strongly recommended it to me after my last post confessing all the TV shows I’ve wasted my life on.

            I’ve got mixed feelings about this show.

            On the one hand, the general idea is really cool.

            In my review of The Butterfly in Amber, I said that it was a cool idea to mix historical fiction with fantasy, because I think most of us already have this unconscious feeling anyway—the feeling that there must have been something mysterious and magical going on in the times before we were born. 

            And, at least in terms of just creating an atmosphere, Carnivale does a great job of mixing in a magical fantasy element with the real events of the 1930s.  Nowhere is this more evident than in the opening credits:

           Furthermore, I think it was an interesting idea to try and re-imagine the life of Father Coughlin (W) and the pro-fascist forces as part of a wider spiritual battle between good and evil.

            But the pacing of this show just killed me.

            I can handle a mystery getting teased out for an episode or two before it’s resolution, but when a mystery is just endlessly teased out and never resolved, then I start to get impatient.  And when the writers seem intent on adding just more mysteries and questions while appearing to forget about the ones they’ve already introduced, then I just get frustrated.

            This may just be a personality preference.  I like nice neat logical stories where everything ties up neatly at the end.  Furthermore, if I’m forced to choose between the two, I generally prefer story to atmosphere.  People who have different personalities than mine will probably enjoy Carnivale more than I did.

            For Whisky’s take on Carnivale—SEE HERE.

            Another interesting link is this article: Carnivale Broke My Heart.  (Link via Whisky.)

Related Playlists:

Scripted Reviews Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x5BKcEIufNKlS58JHU_glyL&si=Pje0KQqIqOgWGGUI

Television Addiction: Oh, the TV Shows I've Seen: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x5dG-fZus5AmF1kQSDBfSDJ

Television Addiction Part 4: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x7tGOeUw5E7xQBVO_DQ3xcn&si=lM1iMgfWSgaA3Bzf

TV Review Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x6YpO1G45qHp2EEa5bGZLns

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