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Carnivale: Take Two

The second season of this HBO series began Sunday night, and as I’d expected I was up to see it during the West coast airing at midnight here on the East coast. I don’t know if it will hold up as the season goes on or dissolve into the loose-threaded chaos of the first season, but the second season opener was focused, interesting and moved several characters forward. That it was written by series creator Daniel Knauf was a good sign. So… I’ll see where this season goes.

Honestly, though, as soon as I hear that there’s to be a third season of this my expectations will plummet. Then it will simply be just another show with no clear end in sight; something that will go on until someone turns off the flow of cash. If one’s going to present a potentially apocalyptic battle between Good and Evil where the eventual combatants are learning of their place in things, it has to have a conclusion. Yeah, yeah, one can claim that that’s an eternal struggle, and so one that doesn’t have an end, but once we slap faces and a time period on it, we need something definitive to happen.

I want this to be a story, with an end -- not a vaguely concept-driven vehicle without a destination. Not some Jesus & Damien road movie series set to end only once it can no longer support an audience.

As for me... I have to try to get some more sleep.

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