Full Details: Carnivale - Season One (1 Viewer)

[Patrick Mirza]

HBO Home Video will release the decidedly quirky and visually spectacular Carnivale: The Complete First Season on December 7th.

The four-disc box set will feature all twelve first-season episodes in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen and Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround. Extras will include three audio commentaries (with series creator Daniel Knauf, executive producer Howard Klein and others), a behind-the-scenes featurette (detailing how set and costume designers achieved the look of the Dustbowl in the 1930's), Museum of TV and Radio panel discussion (with the cast, creators and crew), episodic previews and recaps. Retail will be $99.98.

 

[Jim Beaver]

AWESOME!!!! I've said it before and i'll say it again. I can't wait to pick this up for Christmas!!!

 

[Dave Scarpa]

HBO has really got to get their pricing in Order. THeir box set feature minimal extra at an extreme price. This also bodes Badly for Deadwood. I did'nt really care for Carnivale but I would buy Deadwood. I'd have to compare this series and Deadwood to the Shield Pricing or the Dead Zone. Of course both Series are probably less costly to film, but I feel a $59.98 MSRP is about right for a 13 episode series. $99.98 is just too much.

 

[Jeff Wilson]

I was interested in picking this up, but the price is way more than I'm willing to pay. I'll rent instead.

 

[Jean D]

Dave, I agree 100%. honestly, how many times in my life will I acctually pop in the disks and watch them? certainly not enough times to justify $100.

 

[Scott_F_S]

Pass. I quit buying the Sopranos and Oz because of the ridiculous pricing.

 

[todd s]

I recorded it on dvd. I would have purchased it. But, that is a lot of money for 12 episodes.

 

[Dave Scarpa]

Well I'm Going to Hope that HBO Reairs Deadwood before the second season and I'll grab them onto DVD-R via my hi def input, they look decent that way. HBO is just way too expensive.. I mean you can get 22 episodes for Homicide for the same price, B5, and numerous others.

 

[Martin_C]

Well, you probably gonna get it for much less through online retailers. $60 is the cut-off for me. I've only seen glimpses of it, and liked it very much, but not in a $100 dollar sort of way.

 

[Joshua_W]

I concur that it costs too much.

They might be able to justify the high price on something like "The Sopranos" that receives constant media attention and acclaim, but "Carnivale" is really under the radar. If they charged less for it, like MSRP $50, they might get people picking up the DVD sets sight unseen, but I think the $100 price point will prevent consumers from picking this up on impulse.

I actually sort of liked the series, but not a lot happened in the first season, and I don't really trust the series enough to invest that much money into it at this point.

By that I mean, it could go either way... amp up the mythology and ultimately tell a sprawling, epic story with lots of twists and turns, or it could just sort of meander around with no real point.

Also, I'm afraid it'll get really good in the second or later seasons, and then HBO will decline to renew it before the full story is told.

 

[Jean D]

good point. But HBO usually goes out on a limb for their Original Programing. They renewed Entourage after the first episode aired despite low ratings. same with Deadwood, only it had higher ratings and they waited a few epsodes. Still not worth the $ if you ask me. $100 goes a long way if I was to open up a sweat shop in Thailand. just kidding. or am I? anyone need sneakers?

 

[James_Kiang]

As others have said, HBO's pricing has kept me from picking up a few sets I'd otherwise have collected. I've only got the first season of Oz and I would have been very interested in Carnivale. I understand the pricing a little more with The Sopranos - there's a lot of people to spread the pie around to, a la X-Files/Seinfeld - but with series like this and Deadwood it doesn't make as much sense.

 

[AlexSchwarz]

Woo-hoo, can't wait! And I have to say I love the cover art.
About the price: I, too, presume that the season will be available for about 65 bucks which is a fair price for a show of that quality.

 

[Nigel McN]

yeah, definately interested, but will have to see what the final price will be first.

 

[Peter McM]

Will definitely shop for the best price--but, then again, perhaps I'll just drop a Christmas hint to the wife.

 

[Brian Lawrence]

I can accept HBO charging more money for shows that aired on a Premium channel, but $100 does seem a bit steep. At $79.99 they would still be premium priced but more within reason.

Hopefully I'll be able to get this at SAMS CLUB for about $60 - $65.

 

[Amy Mormino]

I can excuse sets being priced higher for reasons like restoration and music rights or even the contractual need to pay a lot of parties. But with HBO, I get the feeling that they artifically price their products higher than other TV shows to continue their view that they are above other television programs and that their prestige should translate into a higher cost. It is a pity in this case, as the show could use more buyers for promotional purposes.

 

[Kai Zas]

They ARE above other television programs.

 

[Amy Mormino]

I read an interview lately that made me regard HBO's pricing policies in a somewhat better light. In it, a representative of the channel said that subscriptions to the channel had been down and they relied heavily on DVD sales to make a profit. Still, they might make more of a profit with slightly cheaper sets.

 

[Dane Marvin]

True Amy, the lower DVD SRP's would go a long way toward picking up first-time viewers. I myself have seen portions of two or three episodes and will be purchasing this, though I won't pay much more than $70 for it. It just looks like a once-in-a-lifetime type of show and I'm glad it got picked up for a second season. It looks stunning, I love period shows, and from early impressions I got while watching bits and pieces of it on various HBO channels, the intriguing characters will likely keep me coming back to it.