Forgotten Television: Carnivale

Before the beginning, after the great war between heaven and hell, God created the Earth and gave dominion over it to the crafty ape he called man… and to each generation was born a Creature of Light and a Creature of Darkness… and great armies clashed by night in the ancient war between good and evil. There was magic then. Nobility. And unimaginable cruelty. And so it was until the day that a false sun exploded over Trinity, and man forever traded away wonder for reason.

Above is the opening monologue of the television series Carnivale and a poetic explanation of what the show is about. It takes place during the United States Dustbowl of the mid-1930s. Ben Hawkins (Nick Stahl) mother dies of dust pneumonia, and they lose their home to a bank foreclosure, Ben is also a chain gang fugitive and just as the police are closing in, a travelling carnival caravan hides him away and gives him a new home.  It is learned that Ben has a remarkable healing ability and is plagued by visions of a soldier and a tattooed man chasing him through a field.  The act of healing steals life from one living thing and gives it to another, which made his mother believe him to be marked by the devil.  The traveling caravan consists of a diverse group of people, all with their own quirks and abilities. It is run by “Management” whose second in command is Samson (Michael J. Anderson) who communicates the wishes of the mysterious leaders. Running parallel to Ben’s story, we see Methodist Minister Brother Justin Crowe (Clancy Brown, Lost) who has his own powers and sees the same visions as Ben.  Ben and Justin are the avatars of Good and Evil and their storylines slowly converge during the show’s two seasons until they eventually meet in a final showdown.

Carnivale ran for two seasons on HBO from September 14, 2003, to March 27, 2005.  It was created by Daniel Knauf and featured a huge cast of supporting characters.  The original show was supposed to consist of three “books” each one taking two seasons to tell the story.  Unfortunately, we only got “book 1”, as HBO cancelled the series after the second season.  A total of 24 episodes were made.  The show was nominated for a total of 15 Emmy awards over two years with five wins all for the first season. The critical reception of the show was mainly positive, commenting on the visual aspects and the compelling characters, but warned that the leisurely pacing of the plot and weirdness of the characters may prevent the show from becoming a mainstream hit.

I enjoyed this series when it first aired and feel that it is still an underrated show and often forgotten.  Where the overall plot is slow moving, the interesting and diverse characters whose pasts slowly unravel to reveal the shows deep and dense mythology was fascinating and intriguing. As well as being a dark fantasy show, it is also a mystery with clues to Ben’s past being examined and followed each week. The music composed by Jeff Beal, was perfectly matched to each scene and added the appropriate emotional response needed. The performances were nuanced and where the carnival inhabitants are all on the odd side of life, they were all played with truth and believability. Overall the show had a rich well written plot with a wonderful cast playing interesting yet real characters, with the only flaw being the pacing that the main story arc.

Side Bar: My husband and I had the opportunity to spend some time talking with Adrienne Barbeau who played the Snake Lady on the series. She spoke very highly and lovingly of Carnivale and deeply regretted she didn’t get a chance to continue with the series after it was cancelled.