Gone Too Soon: "Carnivàle"

[JamesG]

Gone Too Soon: Carnivàle
Posted Aug 17th 2009
by Jason Hughes

HBO is known for groundbreaking television, but even they didn't know how much ground they broke with Carnivàle in September 2003.

On the surface, it was yet another brilliantly produced period piece, perfectly capturing the look and feel of the Great Depression era United States. Underneath, it was nothing short of the epic struggle between good and evil.



What was it?

[Spoilers Ahead!] Carnivàle began as two seemingly separate stories.

In one, we had Ben Hawkins (Nick Stahl), an escaped convict with mysterious healing powers who finds himself in the midst of a traveling carnival after the death of his mother. Plagued by visions of a greater destiny, over the course of 24 episodes, Ben becomes a man, defeats his enemy and becomes the de facto leader of the Carnivàle.

On the opposite side, we have Brother Justin (Clancy Brown), a small-time minister who, through his own power of suggestion, builds a flock of followers for his own nefarious deeds. Ironically, it is this man of the cloth who is the true evil of the series. And though he is finally taken down by Ben in the series finale, his estranged daughter seemingly resurrects him, as she comes to embrace her own dark powers.

The success of the show came in the beauty of its production values in depicting the Dust Bowl era so magnificently, and in the huge cast of amazing characters.

Another significant arc is that of Sofie (Clea DuVall), who begins as a sad member of the carnival who falls in love with Ben and ends as that daughter embracing her own dark powers after her mother's death drives her to leave the carnival. Sadness and depression was, appropriately enough, all too common among the ensemble.




Why did it have to go?

When Carnivàle premiered in 2003, it set a short-lived record for the highest debut ever on HBO at 5.3 million (Deadwood's premiere topped it only a few months later), and maintained solid numbers throughout its first year.

But it would be more than twelve months before season two began. By then, the show had lost two thirds of its audience, and couldn't even muster an average of two million viewers.

Add to that a $4 million dollar budget per episode for a 12-episode season, and the fact that creator Daniel Knauf had plotted the show out in three two-seaons arcs, turning a pick-up for season three into an almost essential two-year renewal. Knauf had created a three-act story set to take place over six seasons, so we were only a third of the way through it when the tents came down for good.




How do I find out what happens next?

Knauf seems to be holding out hope that he'll get to finish the story of Carnivàle. He rejected an offer by HBO to wrap up plotlines in a two-hour movie, indicating that wouldn't be nearly enough time. Early rumors of a continuation as a comic book series haven't materialized.

Part of the problem is that HBO owns the property in such a way that Knauf can never just walk off and do it elsewhere, in whatever medium, without HBO's support. As such, and perhaps as a sign of his fading confidence, he's released background notes about the characters that hints to their ultimate fates, as well as more specific details for a few of them.

Particularly, we're told that both Jonesy and Brother Justin survived their respective "deaths" in the finale. As for Justin and Ben, both would have been severely weakened by their confrontation as season three got under way. As such Sofie battles it out with Justin's sister Iris for control of his congregation. Even more disturbing, Sofie would have wound up married to Justin at some point and possibly with a child.




Where did the cast wind up?

Nick Stahl (Ben Hawkins) remains active in both films and television, with many films currently in production and a recent guest spot on Law & Order: SVU.

Clancy Brown (Brother Justin Crowe) has a recurring role in Lost, and is probably most known for voicing Mr. Krabs on Spongebob Squarepants.

Michael J. Anderson (Samson) hasn't done much work since this show closed, but the diminutive actor did play a leprechaun in two episodes of Charmed.

Tim DeKay (Jonesy) is a character actor who can be seen on lots of television shows, most recently as a recurring love interest on The New Adventures of Old Christine. Next, he'll be starring in the new USA series White Collar, debuting October 23.

Clea DuVall (Sofie) went on to a notable guest role on Heroes as an FBI agent in season two, among other work.

John Carroll Lynch (Varlyn Stroud) nabbed a regular role on FOX's K-Ville, but that didn't last long either.

Ralph Waite (Rev. Norman Balthus) has transitioned to a recurring role in daytime on Days of Our Lives, among other television roles.

Robert Knepper (Tommy Dolan) did very well coming out of this series, landing a regular role on Prison Break as the creep-tacular "T-Bag." Now he's signed on to appear as, ironically, the leader of a traveling carnival on the new season of Heroes.

The rest of the cast can be seen in various small roles on film and in guest roles and voice-over work all over television.




Who cares?

Not too many people anymore, if online activity is any indication. At least in getting a revival of the show going. They were rabid for the first year or so after the show ended, hosting their own conventions and petitioning the network.

They haven't given up, but with no positive signs of anything happening for the past four years, it is hard to keep the faith. HBO is keeping the Carnivàle site up, though they seem to do that for most of their original series.




When can I see it?

Well, since it isn't airing anywhere online or on television right now, you can see it whenever you want. So long as you own the DVD sets. Both seasons are available, so at least there's that.

http://www.tvsquad.com/2009/08/17/go...oon-carnivale/

[browneyes106]

I only saw a few episodes of this. But the episodes I saw were good and the people in the cast are all very good actors and actresses. Clancy Brown plays villians really well.

[JamesG]

Originally Posted by browneyes106

I only saw a few episodes of this. But the episodes I saw were good and the people in the cast are all very good actors and actresses. Clancy Brown plays villians really well.

I think that Carnivàle was one of the best shows on television.

I found the first season to be excellent.

The second season dragged on a bit and I didn't find it nearly as interesting as the first. It however was leading up to the huge climax at the end of the second season only to abruptly stop and that was the end.

As of now, and probably for good, we're stuck with no resolution at all. They rejected the offer for a 2 hour special and that was that.