Wikipedia:Featured article candidates/Mythology of Carnivàle/archive1
- The following is an archived discussion of a featured article nomination. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the article's talk page or in Wikipedia talk:Featured article candidates. No further edits should be made to this page.
The article was not promoted 21:43, 27 December 2007.
Mythology of Carnivàle[edit]
Self-nom Having learned a couple of things from previous FACs and GACs, I think I've made sure that most imaginable issues have been addressed before they come up here. This article is GA, has gone through a slight Peer Review (for the still ongoing Featured Topic candidacy of Carnivàle), and has received extensive copyedit passes (by me and User:Opark 77). The article has received so many encouraging compliments since that I'll just try for FAC now instead of later or never. I am reluctant to state the following, but too many bad experiences make it necessary: Please read the article instead of just skimming it and then opposing for "it doesn't look like the other FA character articles". Carnivàle is a very atypical TV show in several way, and this subarticle, as FAC-unusual as it is, strays from the norm accordingly. "These unreliable forum posts" are either directly by the creator of the show (I can easily dig up proof for this) or are chatlogs with him, and if he isn't considered reliable, I don't know who is. I vouch for the used sources being among the best that are available, as you'll probably see if you try looking for sources yourself. If this isn't enough for FA, then I give up, as losing these sources would raise major comprehensiveness issues. If you have any other concerns or suggestions, I'll try to address them as fast as possible. Thank you. (Unwikilike spoiler warning: It might be a good advice to not review this article if you ever plan on watching the show.) – sgeureka t•c 01:12, 18 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
- Comment For a featured article that relies strongly on internet postings by the show's creator, see Spoo, which recently survived a Featured Article Review. In my view internet posts by a show's creator are on a par with interviews with the creator in magazines (and DVD commentaries etc). They are perfectly acceptable sources for facts directly related to the show. (The essay Wikipedia:Reliable source examples takes the opposing view, with misgivings relating to the authenticity of the postings. However, if there is evidence that the postings are genuine, then it concludes that the sources are reliable) Bluap (talk) 05:46, 18 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
- I am very aware of the controversy surrounding Spoo, and I admit that the section Mythology of Carnivàle#Avatars would have the same problems if it would stand as its own article. But in combination with Mythology of Carnivàle#Historical and cultural allusions and especially Mythology of Carnivàle#Reception, interpretation and legacy (where reviewers try to describe the phenomenon that was unexplainable during Carnivàle's run; see Mythology of Lost#The Monster for a similar yet better known phenomenon), I believe I've done the best that I could with the topic, and hope that FAC reviewers agree. I realize that reviewers cannot access the show creator's forum posts because of required registration, so I picked a random forum post by him and provide it below to give an idea what I used as sources. – sgeureka t•c 09:41, 18 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
--- In CarnivaleHBO@yahoogroups.com, [name not copied] wrote:
> So, if say, Ben were about to die could he
> grab Jonsey and transfer? I wonder...
Nope. Avatars are born, not made.
As I've said before, the Avataric bloodline is widely dispersed. Like a royal bloodline, if one branch dies, the mantle falls to the closest kin. However, though tens of thousands are "of the blood," there is only one Avatar born per generation.
If a bloodline ends (a fairly common situation, incidentally; due to violent, premature deaths, an Avataric dynasty rarely runs more than three generations) a new dynasty springs from the first child who is born into the world with the most Avataric blood in his veins. This child could be in a completely different family, halfway around the world. Thus, a new Avataric dynasty is created.
Individuals can have Avataric blood without being Avatars. In fact, it's hardly uncommon. These individuals are known as the "Vectori." Iris is a perfect example of a Vectorus female. Often, the Vectori have some mild supernatural ability. Just as often, they are insane to some degree.
But once an individual is born, no matter what degree of Avataric blood one has in his line, he cannot *become* an Avatar. So, though Ben could willingly bestow a slight degree of his power to a mortal (as was the case of Scudder and Lodz), he cannot pass on his Avataric mantle.
D.- The above discussion is preserved as an archive. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the article's talk page or in Wikipedia talk:Featured article candidates. No further edits should be made to this page.