When It's Made Just For You...And It Sucks

 Last time on ye olde blog, I made an offhand comment about how the algorithm got upset when you didn't watch the show it had selected just for you, based on all the shows you had previously watched and liked. 

But that got me to thinking...

There have been a number of shows that felt like they were made just for me. And I didn't like them!

For example, I am a huge fan of all things circus and especially of sideshows. I love reading about the real thing. I've seen Tod Browning's "Freaks" about a dozen times. (One of us! One of us!) Geek Love is a favorite novel of both my wife and myself. For Christmas, I got that huge Taschen art book with hundreds of circus posters and vintage photographs. My favorite episode of The X-Files is "Humbug," which has Mulder and Scully investigate a series of strange murders in a community of sideshow performers. 

So you would think that I would be a huge fan of the 2003 HBO show, Carnivale. After all, it's about a depression era travelling sideshow, except the performers have real powers and not carnie trickery.

You would think so! You would be wrong. 

It has a devoted following. I made every effort, but I simply could not get into the cult show. I found it to be a dour slog. And boring. This show had little people, strippers, and conjoined twins. Do you know how hard you have to work to make it boring?

Now, of course a show set in the dust bowl in the depression is probably not going to be a candy-coated laugh riot. But damn! Smile once in a while! Maybe they were upset because literally everyone and everything was caked in dirt. 

It didn't help - at least not for me - that the carnival performers were overshadowed by the overarching battle between good and evil. Good was in the form of a whiny, runaway farm boy who has healing powers (that - of course - come with a price!). Evil was personified by - are you sitting down? - a priest! (Whoa! What a twist! The guy who is supposed to be good...is actually bad! Is your mind blown yet?!?!?) Clancy Brown played the priest. Clancy Brown! This show made the Kurgan from The Highlander boring! SHAME!

Like how? How do you make this guy dull?

Good and evil engaged in a supremely dull battle over two seasons before the show was cancelled. Also, God might have been the boss of the travelling carnival (referred to as "management" by the always delightful Michael J Anderson, the little person who ran the carnival.)

The only times this show was truly memorable for me was when they ditched the battle of good and evil and focused on the carnival. There was an episode when they went to a literal ghost town to perform, and some of the carnies got trapped and left behind. That was legitimately chilling. And my favorite, when the carnies are down on their luck and decide to do a bust out. This means they break out every scam they know and fleece every rube. This culminates with them getting people to pay to see a Man Eating Chicken, and are instead treated to a man... who is eating chicken. (With the reminder to tell their friends, implying they should trick them as well.)

It would have been great if this show stuck with the carnival story rather than trying to graft it into some kind of religious, heaven vs hell plot. Alas, it did not. So a thing that was seemingly made for my tastes turned out to be pretty bad. Boo. 

I would like to thank our blog hosts for giving me the opportunity to vent about Carnivale, the show I was supposed to like. I've been waiting for a long time to properly unload about it.

Carivale is the most egregious example, but there have been others. Take Carnival Row. (Please!) This was a Victorian, steampunk adventure which had faeries coming to live in Whitechapel, and it wasted that premise by shoehorning it into an allegory about racism. (The faeries are mistreated and consigned to be hookers or maids!) And it takes a lot to turn me against a supernatural Victorian steampunk setting! 

There are lots more. If you have a personal example of the show you should've loved, but didn't, please leave it in the comments below. 

Victor Catano lives in New York City with his wonderful wife, Kim, and his adorable pughuaua, Danerys. When not writing, he works in live theater as a stage manager, production manager, and chaos coordinator. His hobbies include coffee, Broadway musicals, and complaining about the NY Mets and Philadelphia Eagles. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @vgcatano and find his books on Amazon