CORPORATE LINE: Like a cross between TWIN PEAKS and THE GRAPES OF WRATH, HBO’s acclaimed television drama CARNIVALE sets an allegorical fable about the mythic battle between good and evil against the surreal backdrop of a Depression-era traveling circus. Having lost both his farm and his mother to the 1930s Dust Bowl, prison escapee Ben Hawkins (Nick Stahl, IN THE BEDROOM) joins an itinerant carnival in a desperate bid to escape poverty, the police, and his own discomfort with his miraculous healing powers. Ben’s story is juxtaposed with that of California preacher Justin Crowe (Clancy Brown, THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION), whose evangelical ministries with his sister, Iris (Amy Madigan), take on increasingly sinister overtones and hint at an eventual confrontation between himself and young Hawkins through the mysterious figure of former circus showman and WWI veteran Henry Scudder (John Savage).
As the main story arc builds to its apocalyptic showdown, the series takes dramatic detours into the daily lives of the carnival denizens. Lorded over by the unseen “Management” and a dwarf named Samson (TWIN PEAKS’ Michael J. Anderson), the ragtag collection of sideshow freaks includes the blind soothsayer, Lodz (Patrick Bauchau); the bearded lady, Lila (Debra Christofferson); the snake charmer, Ruthie (Adrienne Barbeau); the troubled fortuneteller, Sophie (Clea DuVall); her catatonic mother, Apollonia (Diane Salinger); the wounded former-baseball player-turned-roustabout, Jonesy (Tim DeKay); and a family of strippers and prostitutes comprised of mother Rita Sue (Cynthia Ettinger), her daughters Libby (Carla Gallo) and Dora Mae (Amanda Aday), and their pimp-like father, Stumpy (Toby Huss). Creator Daniel Knauf surrounds this impressive cast with impeccable period-piece production design, a rotating roster of directorial talent that includes Alison Maclean (JESUS’ SON) and Rodrigo Garcia (son of magical-realist writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez), and innovative storytelling that is at once supremely creepy, intellectually provocative, and emotionally gripping. This collection includes all 12 episodes of the series’ highly addictive first season.
THE REVIEW: Carnivale is in some odd way like a happy accident. You watch and think you understand what is going on and yet it is never clear cut. It seems that this is a struggled between the forces of good and evil and yet there is no real definition of what side anyone is on.
The interesting part of Carnivale is that not all of the carnies are fakes. In fact it’s the ones who have real powers that surface as the most interesting. The actors do a great job of getting the viewer sucked into every moment of the show. Nick Stahl is the lead—but it is Clancy Brown, Michael J. Anderson, Patrick Bauchau, to name a few, that steal the show. Not to say that Stahl isn’t fantastic. The others steal every scene they are in.
Having said all of that, there are those who won’t enjoy it. My wife found the show to be unwatchable. She didn’t understand what was happening and didn’t care to stick around after episode one to discover this gem. I will admit there are a few slow episodes—the fourth episode in particular. It can get very irritating to sit through an episode waiting for something great to happen and it crawls along until the fiftieth minute. Some episodes have real tension while others merely stall until the end.
THE EXTRAS: Episodes one, two, and ten have commentaries. Episodes One comes with a commentary by Series Creator/Executive Producer Daniel Knauf, Executive Producer Howard Klein, and Director Rodrigo Garcia. The second episode commentary includes Series Creator/Executive Producer Daniel Knauf, Executive Producer Howard Klein, and Director Jeremy Podeswa. The tenth episode commentary includes Series Creator/Executive Producer Daniel Knauf, Executive Producer Howard Klein, and Director Jeremy Podeswa. There are some poignant moments and a lot to learn about the show—it would have been better to get a commentary for each episode since there are moments in each episode that would have been interesting to understand.
Finally, there is a Behind-the-scenes featurette with cast interviews. Sadly it’s very short—clocking at only twelve minutes. It’s more of a needless promo piece. It would have been more interesting to meet the cast and get a nice long chat with each member. Something more would have been better than very little.
FRANKLY: Despite some harsh criticism, Carnivale: The Complete First Season is a lot of fun. It’s not nearly as good as the brilliant shows HBO has released such as Deadwood or the Sopranos—but it’s still better than nearly every other show on regular television. Sure, it can be extremely frustrating at times but if you stick with it you will be duly rewarded.
+ Charlie Craine
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