DJariya

FYI, the premiere runs 92 minutes. Be warned of potential DVR conflicts. FX is only re-airing it 2 times in the next couple of days after the initial airing.

DJariya

Bump

Remember this premieres tonight at 10 PM ET. You may be staying up a little late if you're watching it live. It's 92 minutes.

VHS?

First off. Anyone have audio issues? It seemed for me that during most the beginning, dialog was really low.
I did get a new receiver and haven't worked all the kinks but I had to crank the thing up to hear because of all that background soundtrack. I thought maybe Jessica Lange was losing her voice.

Episode was 'meh' for me. Not as good as seasons past. I'm sure it will get better though.
Seems to be the typical story line for the theme but the production helps it along with brutal imagery of gore.

brainee

Audio was fine for me.

You're right ... so far, nothing new as far as carnival-themed horror is concerned. It was fine for a set-up episode. Some seasons (like 2) blow their wad early by throwing everything but the kitchen sink into the story right off the bat. I'll have faith that things will build up. I didn't watch the extended season preview after the ep though (those things give away more than I want to know).

That was a pretty perverted opening credits sequence though

Rob V

I'm not as fired up for this season as I have been in season's past. This particular theme does nothing for me and I hope they can sustain a coherent plot for the entire season and not thru 6 episodes or so.

joe_b

I thought it was great. Interesting set-ups, memorable dialogue ("Has anyone tasted your cherry pie?") and great acting from everyone involved. The best AHS premiere yet, imo. The image of an evil clown violently stabbing someone to death in a quiet field (in broad daylight, no less) was hard to shake before turning in for the night. Oh, and that new stop-motion opening looked fantastic.

With the conjoined twins element, I figured the show would pay homage to Brian De Palma's "Sisters" -- which is appropriate considering the star of that movie (Jennifer Salt) is a writer and co-executive producer on this series. It did sound like they borrowed a bit of Bernard Herrmann's score and the trademark split screen shots for most of the Jessica Lange/Sarah Paulson scenes.

Merkin Muffley

Yes...the audio was crap for me, too. Especially in that diner scene. I could barely hear a word she said. The audio was just incredibly hissy and tinny.

windom

Audio was bad for me too. I was having a hard time understanding Jessica Lange...not sure if it was just her German accent but the background music was cranked up higher than the dialogue in some scenes, it seemed.

So what's the deal with them using modern songs in 1952?

The killer clown almost seems too cliched, hopefully they put a twist (pun partially intended) on it and we get some decent back story on this character.

brainee

Yes! I was thinking the exact same thing.

Well, this ep was directed by Ryan Murphy (only the second one that he helmed in the entire series). Maybe he couldn't completely get out of "Glee" mode.

windom

Regarding them using modern songs:

onebyone

Clowns. I hate clowns.

Enjoyed the premier a lot. Here's hoping they keep it up.

hanshotfirst1138

Did you know clowns like balloons? They float. They all float. And when you're down there with them, YOU'LL FLOAT TOO!

taffer

Clowns have a weakness for

Josh-da-man

Does anyone like clowns?

When I was a kid they scared the shit out of me. Are there any children who don't recoil in horror when a clown approaches them?

And I've seen clowns approach children who are clearly terrified, and they just get right in the poor kid's face and scare them even more. What the hell is up with that?

If I had a kid and some asshole in big shoes and make-up was scaring him/her, that clown's gonna get a beat down.

joe_b

Hell, I'm approaching 30 and still have an irrational fear of storm drains...

rw2516

A bunch of clichés exaggerated to an absurd level with no coherent plot (so far). Pretty funny episode. More like SCARY MOVIE or NATIONAL LAMPOON'S FREAK SHOW. Best new comedy.

RichC2

American Horror Story: Freak Show drew 6.127 million viewers and a 3.1 rating among adults 18-49.

I thought this would be a lot lower

writer106

I liked the premiere. Jessica Lange's singing was painful. I wonder what the clown killer is going to do with the kids. I think Sarah Paulson will be the MVP of this season. I like that the twins are different, but I'm dreading the inevitable relationship that Lobster Boy will end up having with one of them.

The serial killer clown storyline seems to have some inspiration from the Zodiac killings. The Zodiac killer also attacked/killed a couple during the daytime.

mhg83

Was Emma Roberts in this? I saw her listed in the opening credits but didn't catch her.

Paff

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/-FoxKepuUtI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Paff

Not yet. Saw her in the previews for the rest of the season, before I shut it off 'cause it was showing me too much.

joe_b

Definitely got a Zodiac vibe from that scene... and the clown is played by John Carroll Lynch, who also portrayed one of the main Zodiac suspects in the David Fincher film.

http://www.rollingstone.com/tv/video...story-20141009

As creator Ryan Murphy tells the Wall Street Journal, the use of Bowie was inspired by the anachronistic utilization of music by director Baz Luhrmann, who notably filled his films Moulin Rouge and The Great Gatsby with contemporary songs. As Sarah Paulson, who plays conjoined twins Dot and Bette told Vanity Fair, "[Luhrmann] creates these worlds that are so hyper-real and hyper-fantasy-based all smushed into one thing. It lends itself nicely to the tone of the show."

"We're only doing songs by artists who have self-identified as freaks,” Murphy tells Speakeasy. "That they felt different. David Bowie said yes to that, Lana Del Rey said yes to that, Kurt Cobain's daughter said yes to that, Fiona Apple approved that. That for me was the theme of the season, so we went for it. And that's how we came up with the 'Life on Mars' idea."

Baron Of Hell

Two things got me, the freaky opening and the clown. Those things might give me nightmares. I liked the first episode but the music was to loud in some parts making it hard to hear what was being said. I also think they will make the same mistakes as past seasons and juggle to many story lines.

Gunde

Decent start. Unlike the horrible witch season this looks to at least be entertaining in a train wreck sort of way.

starseed1981

Good opener. Not to creepy aside from that clown...but damn....that was one creepy clown.