I have mixed feelings about this show, i can admit that right away. I'm a huge fan of HBO and their quality TV-series. "Six Feet Under" is my all-time favorite and i have had so many (too many?) hours of enjoyment out of shows like "The Sopranos", "Deadwood" and "The Wire". But in one way or another Carnivàle just didn't "do it" for me in the same way.
When i started watching this i just wanted to like it. The setting was awesome. The whole 1930's depression and dust bowl-thing works so perfectly. I've hardly seen a show to utilize it's environments better than this one. And not only that, the whole look of the series is fantastic. From the dirt on the cars, the people, the equipment, to the clothing and downright nasty hillbilly-feeling you get from most places the carnival visits. So in that department (cinematography, photo and technical quality) this is a winner.
My real problem comes with the story. It revolves around a battle between good and evil that's never really clearly defined. Of course, things are not helped by the fact that the series ends pretty abrupt after two seasons (which is something you should be aware of before watching any of it). But still, explanations are pretty fuzzy and i'm not sure i got the whole point before the show was over. Personally i would have preferred something a bit more straight-forward i guess.
Another strong point, besides the environments is the acting. HBO almost always excel in the fact that they manage to cast their shows flawlessly. What we have here is a mix between well-known faces like Nick Stahl and Clandy Brown, with less known quality actors. I'm always surprised at how good HBO usually are at finding gems among actors i've never even heard about. So in general, the acting is excellent throughout. Also that is of course helped by the fact that the characters are in general well-written and developed.
To try and sum this up, i liked this series but it had some problems. I loved the scenery and setting, i loved the actors and the characters. I had problems with the story however. A more straight-forward story with less incomprehensible mystery and more explanations would have helped me a lot. Sure, mystery is the deal here but that doesn't mean we don't need explanations. Some of this can be accounted for by the fact that the show was canceled. But i hardly think it's reasonable that we should have to wait more than two season before really understanding more of what's going on. Nevertheless, i recommend this series, especially since other people seem to have less of a problem with the story than i do. And it is definitely worth watching for it's qualities. 7/10.
When i started watching this i just wanted to like it. The setting was awesome. The whole 1930's depression and dust bowl-thing works so perfectly. I've hardly seen a show to utilize it's environments better than this one. And not only that, the whole look of the series is fantastic. From the dirt on the cars, the people, the equipment, to the clothing and downright nasty hillbilly-feeling you get from most places the carnival visits. So in that department (cinematography, photo and technical quality) this is a winner.
My real problem comes with the story. It revolves around a battle between good and evil that's never really clearly defined. Of course, things are not helped by the fact that the series ends pretty abrupt after two seasons (which is something you should be aware of before watching any of it). But still, explanations are pretty fuzzy and i'm not sure i got the whole point before the show was over. Personally i would have preferred something a bit more straight-forward i guess.
Another strong point, besides the environments is the acting. HBO almost always excel in the fact that they manage to cast their shows flawlessly. What we have here is a mix between well-known faces like Nick Stahl and Clandy Brown, with less known quality actors. I'm always surprised at how good HBO usually are at finding gems among actors i've never even heard about. So in general, the acting is excellent throughout. Also that is of course helped by the fact that the characters are in general well-written and developed.
To try and sum this up, i liked this series but it had some problems. I loved the scenery and setting, i loved the actors and the characters. I had problems with the story however. A more straight-forward story with less incomprehensible mystery and more explanations would have helped me a lot. Sure, mystery is the deal here but that doesn't mean we don't need explanations. Some of this can be accounted for by the fact that the show was canceled. But i hardly think it's reasonable that we should have to wait more than two season before really understanding more of what's going on. Nevertheless, i recommend this series, especially since other people seem to have less of a problem with the story than i do. And it is definitely worth watching for it's qualities. 7/10.