30 Day Television Meme
Stolen by mozartfan1313 and mets
Day 01 - A show that never should have been cancelled
Carnivàle
I have watched quite a few shortlived shows over the years, which makes it surprising how easy it was for me to pick one show for this category. The first and really only choice for a tv show that never should have been canceled is HBO's wonderfully creepy "Carnivàle". Looking back at how I've had difficulties to get into certain popular cable shows ("Mad Men" or "The Sopranos" pop into my head, as cable shows that I just couldn't get into), it is surprising to me how quickly I got into "Carnivàle". I was into it from the second the opening credits started and throughout the entire two-season-run of the show I never once lost interest in it.
It's one of the rare shows that drew me in immediately. I loved the characters, the setting, the atmosphere, the actors, the music and the ambition of the show. To this day I think that it is the most well-crafted mystery series of all time. While watching the show, I never felt like the writers made it up as they went along. I always felt like the writers knew exactly into which direction they wanted to go with the show. Maybe they didn't, but that's something we'll probably never know. Mystery tv shows tend to have certain types of stereotypes as characters and often fail to develop them beyond that, but "Carnivàle " had multi-layered characters that went beyond stereotypes from the very beginning, which I also loved.
I'm grateful for HBO letting the show run for two seasons. I can understand why they canceled it, but I'm still disappointed by it. I think this could have been one of the few shows that could have expanded its audience, if HBO had continued the show. It might have been an unusual show, it might have been too weird to ever become a mainstream success like "True Blood", but I think it had a loyal, dedicated fanbase that could have spread the word. I'm angry though that HBO doesn't release the rights of the show to series creator Daniel Knauf who said he would finish the storyline in graphic novels or novels if he had the rights.
Anyhow, I wish there would ever be another tv series as epic and well-crafted as "Carnivàle".
Other possible choices for this category: Wonderfalls, The Riches, Firefly, Grosse Pointe
Coming up on 30 Day TV Meme: Day 02 - A Show That You Wish More People Were Watching