Amazing Digital Circus, The
Entry updated 13 May 2024. Tagged: TV.
Australian/US animated webseries (2023-current). Glitch. Created, directed and written by Gooseworx (Cooper Smith Goodwin). Voice cast includes Sean Chiplock, Lizzie Freeman, Gooseworx, Jack Hawkins, Amanda Hufford, Michael Kovach, Marissa Lenti, Ashley Nichols and Alex Rochon. Two 25-minute episodes. Colour.
Premiering on YouTube in October 2023, the The Amazing Digital Circus pilot had over 317 million views (and 6 million likes) in the first 7 months; the second episode was released in May 2024, gaining 60 million views (and 3 million likes) in its first week. Creator Gooseworx describes the series as "'I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream' with the aesthetic of an I Spy book." The reference is to "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream" (March 1967 If) by Harlan Ellison.
After ringmaster Caine (Rochon) – his head a pair of false teeth, eyes and a top hat – introduces "the Amazing Digital Circus", a song plays, naming the Circus's unwilling players: Ragatha (Hufford), whose Avatar is a desperately optimistic rag doll; Jax (Kovach), humanoid rabbit and jerk; Kinger (Chiplock), nervous robed king chess piece, who seems to have been there the longest; Zooble (Nichols), made from random objects and having a "done with this" attitude; Gangle (Lenti), a ribbon wearing a comedy or tragedy mask – normally the latter – and Kaufmo, a clown, currently absent. Then someone new pops into existence, Cane responding with "My, my! It appears a new human has entered this realm." This human (Freeman) – whose avatar looks like a jester (specifically the kind found in a Jack-in-a-box) – pulls at her head asking "How do I take this headset off?". She is further surprised when her attempt at Swearing is censored. Caine proudly declares The Amazing Digital Circus is a place "where anything can happen ... [a pause, then concedes] ... except for swearing" (see Taboo). He takes her on a guided tour: everything is brightly coloured and resembles a child's play area, with a tent that is bigger on the inside than on the outside (see Dimensions; TARDIS), whose surroundings include a digital lake and a digital carnival. Beyond is The Void, but "we don't venture out into The Void". Like everybody else, the new arrival can't remember who she was, so is named Pomni. She mentions glimpsing a red Exit door, but is warned that all new arrivals waste their time looking for an exit: those that persist go insane and reach their breaking point. Caine and his assistant Bubble (Gooseworx) provide Games, perhaps to occupy the players and reduce the likelihood of this happening (though it clearly has happened a lot).
Pomni goes with Ragatha and Jax to Kaufmo's room, to discover the word "Exit" has been scrawled hundreds of times on the walls, whilst he has been "abstracted" and is now a Monster – apparently what happens when you reach your breaking point. Jax flees and the creature attacks Ragatha, who begins to glitch: she tells Pomni to find Caine. Whilst searching she sees a red door marked "Exit", so enters. Recalling the Stargate scene in 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Pomni finds herself in a mundane cluster of deserted offices: in one is a table with a Computer, screen and a headset – given their stained condition, something seems to have happened there. On a wall is the logo "C&A". The offices now appear to be under some strain, perhaps reflecting Pomni's own stress, and she flees through another red door, to find herself in The Void. She is rescued by Caine who takes her back to the tent, where he cures Ragatha and sends Kaufmo into "the cellar". Though nobody needs to eat (or sleep), there is a communal meal: our perspective withdraws and we see the Circus is an island floating in The Void, which itself appears to exist within a Computer.
The second episode has Caine introducing a new game: to recover some maple syrup stolen from the Candy Canyon Kingdom by crocodile bandits. He adds, "I'm testing out a new AI on this one, it should be 57 times more immersive." A portal takes them into the aforementioned kingdom. At one point Pomni and Gummigoo (Hawkins), one of the bandits, find themselves off the map, the latter suffering an Identity crisis on discovering he is a Non-Player Character (NPC). Pomni suggests he returns with her to the Circus: he agrees, but on arrival is immediately disassembled by Caine: "If I start losing track of who's a human and who's an NPC, who knows what could happen ..." (There is a suggestion that he has done so in the past.) Pomni is traumatized but attends the belated funeral for Kaufmo: Ragatha, Kinger, Zooble and Gangle's clear affection for their late friend brings Pomni closer to them.
It appears that a human, now known as Pomni, was experiencing Virtual Reality when they were Uploaded onto the computer system housing The Amazing Digital Circus – into which other humans had previously been uploaded. How much of the preceding sentence is true is currently unclear, as is who has done this, and why (see Godgame). Certainly the setting has the look of a Computer Role Playing Game, with NPCs who do not directly interact with the (probably) human Avatars usually looking like placeholder dummies.
The Amazing Digital Circus is a funny (see Humour), surreal (see Absurdist SF) series, with very dark elements (see Horror); its look is a polished version of early 3D animation, with plenty of cartoon Physics. Whilst this is visually interesting, there is occasional dissonance between the design and the serious moments – particularly Gummigoo's appearance and his existential crisis – though Kaufmo's funeral scene is emotionally effective. It is too early to say where this remarkable series is going, but matters of Identity, Perception and Metaphysics seem to be relevant – and presumably a Conceptual Breakthrough awaits. [SP]
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