Carnivale

I thought Carnivale was by far the best way to spend an hour on HBO when it was on. Clancy Brown has just the right touch of "I'm gonna mess with you, mister" in his eyes and demeanor.

I tend to like long-term storylines with good continuity (Sopranos, Deadwood, B5, etc), so I don't mind the set-up involved. I think the time spent is well invested if it pays off down the road. So I'm pretty excited about seeing the second season when it comes out....I like this sort of stuff.

You're not alone, man. Just ask Management.

TK

It had some interesting plot twists, but it was far from what I consider solid HBO drama.

Hmm, seems the original thread got lost when the boards switched over to teh new format. There is a small and very dedicated group of Chewers who love this show. I think Carnivale is by far my favorite HBO drama and I can't wait for season 2 to air (which I believe is in January).

***spoilers***

Clancy Brown (Brother Justin) was just superb in his role. The scene where he was giving the radio address while chaos was erupting at the carnival campground was just haunting. Nick Stahl does an amazing job as the reluctant hero. There's still something dark about him that we have yet to find out about (he was on the run for murder when the carnival picked him up), but he seems to truly want to do what's right for everyone. Lodz was one of my favorite characters and I pray that he returns somehow in Season 2 (maybe in Ben's visions). I also really liked how the story lines always kept me guessing. I'm dying to find out how Scudder (Ben's father) plays a role in all this; who the fuck is the tattoo guy; why did Apollonia try to murder her own daughter, Sofie; and of course, who or what is Management and what does she/he/it want with Ben?

I love this show. However, it reminds me of the many shows like it where the writers are presented with the "Holy Shit! We got picked up for a full run" surprise and have to almost make it up as they go along. It does provide about as much speculation and deciphering as Lost. Be prepared to spend large portions of your time trying to figure out what everything means. TAVATARA.

Count me as one of the fans of the series, and one who's really looking forward to its return.

LOVE this show. Greatly miss that Carnivale thread (great discussions and good people). We all came up with some great theories (which would be nice to read through before the new season begins).

For those waiting, Season one comes out on DVD on December 7th. I'm planning on a all day marathon with lots of note taking.

The new promos have the second season starting on Jan. 9.

Please, please, please, no spoilers for season 2 in this thread. I don't know when I will be able to see it. My roommate and I just ran through the first season in a couple days. It was the biggest DVD investment I had ever made blind, and the best. The show is just the right amount of fucked-up, and I love the dream sequences. Nick Stahl and the dwarf are great, and both my friend and I have developed some slightly disturbing desires for carnie women (he for the big mother whore, me for Sophie, who I think is not very good-looking but strangely attractive).

Anyway, this show really got into my head and I would love to seem some discussion about what the fuck is going on, without season 2 spoilers for the time being. My questions:

The tattoo guy? Who is he? Is he Sophie's father?

Is that Scudder running from the TG in the field in the dream?

The impression that I have is that Ben and Justin are the "creatures of light and darkness" that Samson talked about in the show's opening. It was somewhat questionable for awhile which was which (well, not really, but that's what it seemed like they were going for), but it looks like Justin is definitely the evil one. What I didn't understand was how aware he was of his role. Does he still think he is good/holy? Is he deliberately setting out to destroy the world?

There's about a thousand more, but that's enough for now.

The Tattoo Guy is Sophie's father by rape. That was revealed in that vision Appolonia showed to Sophie some time in the last half of the season. The first episode of season 2 provides a little more info on the guy.

If I remember correctly, it was Ben being chased by Tattoo Guy. What happened was that Lodz was watching the dream and as Ben fell, Scudder replaced Ben to warn Lodz that "he's mine!"

I agree that Ben and Justin are the beings referenced by Samson at the beginning. Trying not to get into Season 2 spoilers, I don't think Justin really knows his role in the big picture yet. He really didn't remember his powers until after Iris torched the ministry so he's playing catch-up just like Ben, except Justin doesn't have the benefit of someone like Management or Lodz pushing him. Religion is still a big part of him, obviously, so I'm sure he thinks he's doing holy work as assigned to him by God. Whether he's deliberately trying to set off Armageddon or not is still ambiguous, I guess. I don't think he's trying to do that...yet.

Just watched the 1st 2 episodes of this the other day. My local library has the whole 1st season.

 

So far I am delighted by the wierdness. Interested to see where it will go from here. Definitely will watch the season, and then decide from there whether to see the rest. Really like all the carnivale troops/and the mystery/wierdness. The worst parts are the parts dealing with the preacher who sees things.

 

 

Re: 'TAVATARA' and making things up as they go along...

 

Ben wrote 'Tavatara' on on his arm because Scudder had written 'Avatar' over and over again (with no spaces in-between) on the walls of the mineshaft, and Ben wasn't able to decipher it right away.

 

As far as making stuff up... the show hangs together pretty well (much better than shows like Babylon 5, Lost, or Fringe, IMO, which tend to get a lot more attention and kudos).  I think that if you look at everything that's revealed (or hinted at) over the course of the two seasons and compare it against the pretty detailed statements the show's creator has made about the underlying mythology, you'll find there's little room for doubt that the show's storyline was worked out pretty intricately in advance.

 

And the original plan was to do SIX SEASONS, not two, so I highly doubt the creators were flummoxed by the paltry 2-season order they got.