Carnivàle
Encyclopedia
Carnivàle is an American television series set in the United States during the Great Depression
and Dust Bowl
. In tracing the lives of two disparate groups of people, its overarching story depicts the battle between good and evil and the struggle between free will
and destiny
; the storyline mixes Christian
theology with gnosticism
and Masonic
lore, particularly that of the Knights Templar
. The show was filmed in Santa Clarita, California
, and other Southern California
n locations.
Carnivàle was produced by HBO
and ran for two seasons between September 14, 2003 and March 27, 2005.
The show was created by Daniel Knauf
, who also served as executive producer with Ronald D. Moore
and Howard Klein. The incidental music was composed by Jeff Beal
. Nick Stahl
and Clancy Brown
starred as Ben Hawkins and Brother Justin Crowe, respectively.
Early reviews praised the style of Carnivàle but questioned the approach and execution of the story. Carnivàle first episode set a new audience record for an HBO original series, but the show was unable to retain its ratings in its second season. Carnivàle was canceled after 24 episodes, cutting its intended six-season run short by four seasons. The show won five Emmys in 2004, was nominated for 10 further Emmy awards, and received numerous other nominations and industry awards between 2004 and 2006.
between 1934 and 1935, and consist of two main plotlines that slowly converge. The first involves a young man with strange healing powers named Ben Hawkins (Nick Stahl
), who joins a traveling carnival
when it passes near his home in Milfay, Oklahoma
. Soon thereafter, Ben begins having surreal dreams and visions, which set him on the trail of a man named Henry Scudder, a drifter who crossed paths with the carnival many years before, and who apparently possessed unusual abilities similar to Ben's own.
The second plotline revolves around a Father Coughlin-esque Methodist preacher, Brother Justin Crowe (Clancy Brown
), who lives with his sister Iris in California
. He shares Ben's prophetic dreams and slowly discovers the extent of his own unearthly powers, which include bending human beings to his will
and making their sins and greatest evils manifest as terrifying visions. Certain that he is doing God's work, Brother Justin fully devotes himself to his religious duties, not realizing that his ultimate nemesis Ben Hawkins and the carnival are inexorably drawing closer.
Daniel Knauf
conceived the initial script for the show between 1990 and 1992 when he was unsatisfied with his job as a Californian health insurance
broker
and hoped to become a screenwriter
. He had always been interested in carnivals and noted that this subject had rarely been dramatized on film. The resulting story and its treatment of freaks
was strongly informed by Knauf's experiences of growing up with a disabled father who was not commonly accepted as a normal human being.
Knauf named the intended feature film
script Carnivàle, using an unusual spelling for a more outlandish look. Knauf had plotted the story's broad strokes as well as several plot details from early on and knew the story destination until the final scene. However, the resulting 180-page long script was twice the length of a typical feature film script, and Knauf still felt that it was too short to do his story justice. He therefore shelved the screenplay as a learning experience. In the meantime, all but one of Knauf's other scripts were rejected by Hollywood studios, often for being "too weird."
In the mid-1990s, Knauf met a few Writers Guild
TV writers who encouraged him to revise Carnivàle as a TV series. Knauf turned the script's first act into a pilot episode, but, having no contacts in the television business, he was forced to shelve the project again and return to his regular job. A few years later, after realizing that his insurance career was not working out, he decided to give his screenwriting efforts a last chance by offering the Carnivàle pilot on his website. The script was subsequently forwarded to Howard Klein by Scott Winant
, a mutual friend of the two men. After several meetings and conversations, Klein felt confident that Carnivàle would make a good episodic television series that could last for many years. Klein brought it to the attention of Chris Albrecht
and Carolyn Strauss of HBO, who were immediately receptive. But the network deemed Knauf too inexperienced in the television business to give him full control over the budget, and appointed Ronald D. Moore
as showrunner. (Knauf would replace Moore after one season when Moore left for the reimagined Battlestar Galactica
.)
The pilot episode, which was filmed over a period of twenty-one days, served as the basis for additional tweaking of intended story lines. Long creative discussions took place among the writers and the network, leading to the postponement of the filming of the second episode for fourteen months. One major change was the addition of extra material for Brother Justin's side of the story. Brother Justin was originally conceived as a well-established preacher, and as a recurring character rather than a regular one. However, after perusing the preliminary version of the pilot, Knauf and the producers realized that there was no room for Justin to grow in a television series. Hence, it was decided to make Brother Justin an ordinary Methodist minister in a small town, setting him back in his career by about one or two years. Expanding Brother Justin's role opened new possibilities, and his sister Iris was created as a supporting character. Little was changed on Ben Hawkins' side except for the addition of the cootch (striptease
) family; a Carnivàle consultant had elated the producers by calling attention to his research about families managing cootch shows in the 1930s.
Airing on HBO benefited Carnivàle in several ways. Because HBO does not rely on commercial breaks, Carnivàle had the artistic freedom to vary in episode length. Although the episodes averaged a runtime of 54 minutes, the episodes "Insomnia" and "Old Cherry Blossom Road" were 46 minutes and 59 minutes, respectively. HBO budgeted approximately US$4 million for each episode, considerably more than most television series receive. This increased Carnivàle production value, allowing for a comparably large main cast, filming on location, and developing story, plot depth, and atmosphere.
setting required significant research and historical consultants to be convincing, which was made possible with HBO's strong financial backing. As a result, reviews praised the look and production design of the show as "impeccable," "spectacular" and as "an absolute visual stunner." In 2004, Carnivàle won four Emmys for art direction, cinematography, costumes, and hairstyling.
To give a sense of the dry and dusty environment of the Dust Bowl, smoke and dirt were constantly blown through tubes onto the set. The actors' clothes were ragged and drenched in dirt, and Carnivàle had approximately 5,000 people costumed in the show's first season alone. The creative team listened to 1930s music and radio and read old Hollywood magazines to get the period's sound, language, and slang right. The art department had an extensive research library of old catalogs, among them an original 1934 Sears Catalog, which were purchased at flea markets and antique stores. The East European background of some characters and Asian themes in Brother Justin's story were incorporated into the show. Aside from the show's supernatural elements, a historical consultant deemed Carnivàle historic accuracy to be excellent regarding the characters' lives and clothes, their food and accommodations, their cars and all the material culture.
, while the show's many exterior scenes were filmed on Southern California
locations. The scenes of fictional California town of Mintern, where the stories about Brother Justin and Iris in Season 1 were based, were shot at Paramount Ranch in Malibu. The carnival set itself was moved around the greater Southern California area, to movie ranch
es and to Lancaster
, which were to replicate the states of Oklahoma
, Texas
, and New Mexico
. The permanent filming location of the carnival in Season 2 was Big Sky Ranch
, which was also used for Brother Justin's new home in fictional New Canaan.
and design company based in Los Angeles
, and featured music composed by Wendy Melvoin
and Lisa Coleman
. The opening title sequence won an Emmy for "Outstanding Main Title Design" in 2004.
The production team of A52 had intended to "create a title sequence that grounded viewers in the mid-1930s, but that also allowed people to feel a larger presence of good and evil over all of time." A52 then pitched their idea to Carnivàle executives in early 2003, who felt that the company's proposal was the most creative for the series' concept. The actual production included scanned transparencies of famous pieces of artwork, each scanned transparency being up to 300 MB in size. The resulting images were photoshopped and digitally rendered
. A last step involved stock footage clips being compiled and digitally incorporated into the sequence.
The opening title sequence itself begins with a deck of Tarot cards falling into the sand, while the camera moves in and enters one card into a separate world presenting layers of artwork and footage from iconic moments of the American
Depression era; the camera then moves back out of a different card and repeats the procedure several times. The sequence ends with the camera shifting from the "Judgement
" Tarot card to the "Moon
" and the "Sun
", identifying the Devil
and God
respectively, until the wind blows away all cards and the underlying sand to reveal the Carnivàle title artwork.
The historical footage includes a Ku Klux Klan
member holding a child (also in uniform), Mussolini
, Molotov
and Stalin
, Jesse Owens
, Babe Ruth
, Bonus Marcher
s approaching the Capitol
, and Roosevelt
and his son James
.
, as well as many popular and obscure songs from the 1920s and 1930s, the time when Carnivàle story takes place. The main title was written by Wendy Melvoin
and Lisa Coleman
, and was released with selected themes by Jeff Beal on a Carnivàle television soundtrack by the record label Varèse Sarabande
on December 7, 2004. Beal released tracks of Season 2 on his personal website. A complete list of music credits is available on the official HBO website.
Jeff Beal's score is primarily acoustic sounding electronics, but mixes themes of bluegrass
as well as atmospheric rhythmic sounds. Bigger groups of strings support smaller ensembles of guitar
s, piano
s, violin
s, cello
s, and trumpet
s. The music sometimes uses ethnic instruments such as banjo
s, harmonica
s, ukulele
s, and duduk
s.
Because HBO does not break individual episodes with commercials, Carnivàle music is paced similar to a movie, with character-specific leitmotif
s from as early as the first episode. Characters get musically identified by solo instruments chosen for the character's ethnic background or nature. Some characters whose connections would only be disclosed later in the series have intentionally similar themes.
Different music is consciously used to represent the two different worlds of the story. Brother Justin's world features music of constructed orchestral sound with religious music and instruments. On the other hand, the score of the carnival side is more deconstructed and mystical, especially when the carnival travels through the dustbowl and remote towns. For carnival scenes taking place in the cootch (striptease
) show or in cities, however, contemporary pop music
, blues
, folk
, and ethnic music is played. One of the most defining songs of Carnivàle is the 1920s song "Love Me or Leave Me
" by Ruth Etting, which is used in several episodes to tie characters in the two worlds thematically.
The plot of Carnivàle takes place in the 1930s Dust Bowl
and revolves around the slowly converging storylines of a traveling carnival and a California
n preacher. Out of the 17 actors receiving star billing in the first season, 15 were part of the carnival storyline. The second season amounted to 13 main cast members, supplemented by several actors in recurring roles. Although such large casts make shows more expensive to produce, the writers are benefitted with more flexibility in story decisions. The backgrounds of most characters were fully developed before the filming of Carnivàle began but were not part of the show's visible structure. The audience would therefore only learn more about the characters as a natural aspect in the story.
Season 1's first storyline is led by Nick Stahl
portraying the protagonist Ben Hawkins, a young Okie
farmer who joins a traveling carnival
. Michael J. Anderson
played Samson, the diminutive manager of the carnival. Tim DeKay
portrayed Clayton "Jonesy" Jones, Samson's crippled co-manager. Patrick Bauchau
acted as the carnival's blind mentalist Lodz, while Debra Christofferson
played his lover, Lila the Bearded Lady. Diane Salinger
portrayed the catatonic fortune teller Apollonia, and Clea DuVall
acted as her tarot
-card-reading daughter, Sofie. Adrienne Barbeau
portrayed the snake charmer Ruthie, with Brian Turk
as her son Gabriel, a strongman. John Fleck played Gecko the Lizard Man, and Karyne and Sarah Steben
appeared as the conjoined twins Alexandria and Caladonia. The cootch show
Dreifuss family was played by Toby Huss
and Cynthia Ettinger
as Felix "Stumpy" and Rita Sue, and Carla Gallo
as their daughter Libby. Amanda Aday
portrayed their other daughter, Dora Mae Dreifuss, in a recurring role. John Savage
played the mysterious Henry Scudder in several episodes, while Linda Hunt
lent her voice to the mysterious Management. The second storyline is led by Clancy Brown
portraying Carnivàle antagonist, the Methodist minister Brother Justin Crowe. Amy Madigan
played his sister Iris. Robert Knepper
supported them as the successful radio host Tommy Dolan later in the first season, while Ralph Waite
had a recurring role as Reverend Norman Balthus, Brother Justin's mentor. K Callan
performed in a recurring role as Eleanor McGill, a parishioner who became devoted to Brother Justin after seeing his power firsthand.
Several cast changes took place in Season 2, some of them planned from the beginning. John Fleck, Karyne Steben and her sister Sarah had made their last appearance in the first season's finale, while Patrick Bauchau's and Diane Salinger's status was reduced to guest-starring. Ralph Waite joined the regular cast. Several new characters were introduced in recurring roles, most notably John Carroll Lynch
as the escaped convict Varlyn Stroud and Bree Walker
as Sabina the Scorpion Lady.
approach for Carnivàle was to cast the best available actors and to show the characters' realness as opposed to depending on freak
illusions too much. Carnivàle casting directors John Papsodera and Wendy O'Brien already had experience in casting freaks from previous projects. The producers generally preferred actors who were not strongly identified with other projects, but were willing to make exceptions such as for Adrienne Barbeau as Ruthie.
The script for the pilot episode was the basis for the casting procedure, with little indication where the show would go afterwards. This resulted in some preliminary casting disagreements between the creators and producers, especially for leading characters such as Ben, Brother Justin and Sofie. The character of Ben was always intended to be the leading man and hero of the series, yet he was also desired to display a youthful, innocent and anti-hero quality; Nick Stahl had the strongest consensus among the producers. The character of Sofie was originally written as more of an exotic gypsy girl, but Clea DuVall, a movie actor like Stahl, got the part after four auditions. Tim DeKay was cast as Jonesy because the producers felt he best portrayed a "very American" looking baseball player of that period. One of the few actors who never had any real competition was Michael J. Anderson as Samson, whom Daniel Knauf had wanted as early as the initial meeting.
Other than through the characters, the show's good-and-evil theme manifests in the series' contemporary religion
, the Christian
military order
Knights Templar
, tarot divination, and in historical events like the Dustbowl and humankind's first nuclear test. The writers had established a groundwork for story arcs, character biographies and genealogical character links before filming of the seasons began, but many of the intended clues remained unnoticed by viewers. While Ronald D. Moore was confident that Carnivàle was one of the most complicated shows on television, Daniel Knauf reassured critics that Carnivàle was intended to be a demanding show with a lot of subtext and admitted that "you may not understand everything that goes on but it does make a certain sense". Knauf provided hints about the show's mythological structure to online fandom both during and after the two-season run of Carnivàle, and left fans a production summary of Carnivàle first season two years after cancellation.
Matt Roush of TV Guide
called Carnivàle "the perfect show for those who thought Twin Peaks was too accessible". The Australian
stated that Carnivàle "seems to have been conceived in essentially literary terms" which "can sometimes work on the page but is deadly on the large screen, let alone a small one. It's almost like a biblical injunction against pretension on television." A reviewer admitted his temptation to dismiss the first season of Carnivàle as "too artsy and esoteric" because his lack of involvement prevented him from understanding "what the heck was going on, [which] can be a problem for a dramatic television series." TV Zone
however considered Carnivàle "a series like no other and [...] the fact that it is so open to interpretation surprisingly proves to be one of its greatest strengths." Carnivàle was lauded for showing "the hopelessness of the Great Depression
to life" and for being among the first TV shows to show "unmitigated pain and disappointment", but reviewers were not confident that viewers would find the "slowly unfolding sadness" appealing over long or would have the patience or endurance to find out the meaning of the show.
's six-year plan, including the introduction of new storylines for current and new characters, and further clarification and elaboration on the show's mythology. Fans assumed that the show would be renewed, but an internet leak announced in early May 2005 that the series would not be returning for a third season. HBO confirmed that the show had been cancelled on May 11, 2005. HBO's president Chris Albrecht
stated that the network would have considered otherwise if the producers had been willing to lower the price of an episode to US$2 million; but the running costs for the sizable cast, the all-on-location shooting and the number of episodes per season were too enormous for them.
The cancellation resulted in several story plot lines being unfinished, and outraged loyal viewers organized petitions and mailing drives to get the show renewed. This generated more than 50,000 emails to the network in a single weekend. Show creator Daniel Knauf was unconvinced of the success of such measures, but explained that proposed alternatives like selling Carnivàle to a competing network or spinning off the story were not possible because of HBO owning Carnivàle plot and characters. At the same time, Knauf was hopeful that, given a strong enough fan base, HBO might reconsider the show's future and allow the continuation of the show in another medium; but because of the amount of unused story material he still had, Knauf did not favor finishing the Carnivàle story with a three-hour movie.
Knauf would not release a detailed run-down of intended future plots to fans, explaining that his stories are a collaboration of writers, directors and actors alike. He and the producers did, however, answer a few basic details about the immediate fate of major characters who were left in near-fatal situations in the final episode of Season 2. Knauf additionally provided in-depth information regarding the underlying fictional laws of nature
that the writers had not been able to fully explore in the first two seasons. June 2007 however marked the first time that a comprehensive work of detailed character backgrounds was made public. Following a fundraising auction, Knauf offered fans a so-called "Pitch Document," a summary of Carnivàle first season. This document was originally written in 2002 and 2003 to give the writers and the studio an idea about the series' intended plot, and answered many of the show's mysteries.
s were inserted on CD-ROM
s into Entertainment Weekly
issues to draw attention to the show's visual quality. 30-second TV spots were aired in national syndication, cable and local avails for four weeks before the show's premiere instead of the usual seven days. The historical context of Carnivàle was deliberately emphasized in the show's print art, which depicted the 17-member cast surrounding a carnival truck. This image was accompanied by a tagline of the show's good versus evil theme: "Into each generation is born a creature of light and a creature of darkness." These measures were hoped to be backed up by positive critical reviews. To give ratings an initial boost, HBO placed the premiere of Carnivàle directly after the series finale of the successful Sex and the City
. The series continued to receive extensive online advertisement for almost its entire run.
were created for Carnivàle internet presence. The official HBO website collaborated with RealNetworks
to offer FATE: The Carnivàle Game, a downloadable game made available for trial and for purchase. The official Movie Network
website featured an interactive Ouija
online game.
six-disc Region 1 DVD box set in the USA on December 7, 2004, one month before the premiere of the second season. It was distributed by HBO Home Video and contained three audio commentaries and a behind-the-scenes
featurette. The outer slipcover of the Region 1 set was made of a thick cardboard to mimic a bound book. The same set was released with less elaborate packaging in Region 2 on March 7, 2005, and in Region 4 on May 11, 2005.
Carnivàle: The Complete Second Season was released as a widescreen six-disc Region 1 DVD box set in the USA on July 18, 2006, in Region 2 on August 7, 2006, and in Region 4 on October 4, 2006. Each of these releases was distributed by HBO Home Video and contained three audio commentaries, on-stage interviews of the cast and producers, a featurette about the mythology of the series, and four short "Creating the Scene" segments about the concept, inspiration and execution process. The packaging remained similar to each region's first season set. Unlike Season 1, the PAL-encoded Region 2 and Region 4 editions of Season 2 are clearly NTSC to PAL conversions and as a result, lack image depth and contain high contrast levels - this is particularly evident in Season 2's darker scenes where image definition is compromised greatly.
being Carnivàle lead-in. This record was broken on March 21, 2004 by HBO series Deadwood
, which debuted with 5.8 million viewers as the lead-out of The Sopranos
.
Viewership dropped to 3.49 million for Carnivàle second episode but remained stable for the remainder of the season. The final episode of season one finished with 3.5 million viewers on November 30, 2003. Season one averaged 3.54 million viewers and a household rating of 2.41.
Viewership for the second season opening on 9 January 2005 was down by two-thirds to 1.81 million. The ratings never recovered to their first-season highs, although the season two finale experienced an upswing with 2.40 million viewers on March 27, 2005. Season 2 averaged 1.7 million viewers, not enough to avert an imminent cancellation.
described Carnivàle as "an absolute visual stunner with compelling freak show
characters—but the series unfortunately takes a leisurely approach toward getting to a point," and Eric Deggans of the St. Petersburg Times
suggested that "it's as if executives at the premium cable network want to see how far they can slow a narrative before viewers start tossing their remotes through the screen". James Poniewozik of Time
called the first three episodes "frustrating" as well as "spellbinding." Amanda Murray of BBC
said "With so little revealed, it's almost impossible to pass judgment on the show—it's hard to tell if this is just good, or going to be great."
Later DVD reviews were able to judge the series based on full seasons. While the acting, set design, costuming, art direction and cinematography continued to be praised, some reviewers disfavored the writing, especially of Season 1, as "lack[ing] story momentum" or as "sometimes gripping but mostly boring." Other reviewers pointed out that Carnivàle may "demand more from its audience than many are willing to invest. [...] Without paying close attention, it's tempting to assume that the show is unnecessarily cryptic and misleading." Carnivàle story was surveyed as long and complex, "and if you don't start from the beginning, you'll be completely lost." IGN DVD
's Matt Casamassina, however, praised the show in two reviews, writing that the "gorgeously surreal" first season "dazzles with unpredictable plot twists and scares", and that the "extraordinary" second season was "better fantasy – better entertainment, period – than any show that dares to call itself a competitor."
A significant portion of reviews drew parallels between Carnivàle and David Lynch
's 1990s mystery TV series Twin Peaks
, a show that Carnivàle actor Michael J. Anderson
had previously appeared
in. Knauf did not deny a stylistic link and made comparisons to John Steinbeck
's novel The Grapes of Wrath
. When Lost
began to receive major critical attention, Carnivàle and its type of mythological storytelling were compared to Lost story approach in several instances.
Critical opinion remained divided about Carnivàle in the years after the show's cancellation. Alessandra Stanley of the Australian newspaper The Age
remembers Carnivàle as a "smart, ambitious series that move[s] unusual characters around an unfamiliar setting imaginatively and even with grace, but that never quite quit the surly bonds of serial drama." Variety
s Brian Lowry remembers the show as "largely a macabre fantasy" that eventually suffered from "its own bleakness and eccentricities". The A.V. Club
dwelled on Carnivàle's cliffhanger ending in a piece on unanswered TV questions and called the show "a fantastically rich series with a frustratingly dense mythology".
Like other cult television shows, Carnivàle gained a respectable following of dedicated viewers. Carnivàle fans referred to themselves as "Carnies" or "Rousties" (roustabout
s), terms adopted from the show. Carnivàle complexity and subliminal mythology spawned dedicated fansite
s, although most discussion took place on independent internet forum
s. Show creator Daniel Knauf
actively participated in online fandom and offered story- and mythology-related clues. He also gave insight into reasons for Carnivàle cancellation on a messageboard before speaking to the press. As of September 2007, he is still in contact with the show's fandom and posts semi-regularly on Carnivàle messageboards.
One year after Carnivàle cancellation, a major Carnivàle convention called CarnyCon 2006 Live! was organized by fans. It took place in Woodland Hills, California on August 21–23, 2006. Many of the show's cast and crew attended the event and participated in discussion panels, which were recorded and made available on DVD
afterwards.
Other awards include but are not limited to:
stated that Carnivàle was "not a big show for foreign [distribution]," but did not go into more detail. Reviews however indicate that the show's cryptic mythology and inaccessibility to the casual viewer were major factors. Nevertheless, Carnivàle was sold to several foreign networks and was distributed to HBO channels abroad. The DVD releases of Carnivàle extended the availability of the show further.
Countries or regions and the corresponding channels that broadcasted Carnivàle are:
by Los Angeles writer Jeff Bergquist. He claimed that the creators of Carnivàle did not originate the idea for the show, but rather stole it from his unpublished novel Beulah, a quirky drama set amid a traveling carnival during the Depression that Bergquist had been working on since the 1980s. Bergquist sought both recognition and punitive damages by arguing that HBO and Carnivàle creator Daniel Knauf
violated his copyright on Beulah, but HBO and Knauf denied any claims as having "absolutely no merit." The matter was settled amicably with no admission of liability and an order of dismissal was filed on February 17, 2006.
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
and Dust Bowl
Dust Bowl
The Dust Bowl, or the Dirty Thirties, was a period of severe dust storms causing major ecological and agricultural damage to American and Canadian prairie lands from 1930 to 1936...
. In tracing the lives of two disparate groups of people, its overarching story depicts the battle between good and evil and the struggle between free will
Free will
"To make my own decisions whether I am successful or not due to uncontrollable forces" -Troy MorrisonA pragmatic definition of free willFree will is the ability of agents to make choices free from certain kinds of constraints. The existence of free will and its exact nature and definition have long...
and destiny
Destiny
Destiny or fate refers to a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual...
; the storyline mixes Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
theology with gnosticism
Gnosticism
Gnosticism is a scholarly term for a set of religious beliefs and spiritual practices common to early Christianity, Hellenistic Judaism, Greco-Roman mystery religions, Zoroastrianism , and Neoplatonism.A common characteristic of some of these groups was the teaching that the realisation of Gnosis...
and Masonic
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
lore, particularly that of the Knights Templar
Knights Templar
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...
. The show was filmed in Santa Clarita, California
Santa Clarita, California
Santa Clarita is the fourth largest city in Los Angeles County, California, United States and the twenty-fourth largest city in the state of California. The 2010 US Census reported the city's population grew 16.7% from the year 2000 to 176,320 residents. It is located about northwest of downtown...
, and other Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
n locations.
Carnivàle was produced by HBO
Home Box Office
HBO, short for Home Box Office, is an American premium cable television network, owned by Time Warner. , HBO's programming reaches 28.2 million subscribers in the United States, making it the second largest premium network in America . In addition to its U.S...
and ran for two seasons between September 14, 2003 and March 27, 2005.
The show was created by Daniel Knauf
Daniel Knauf
Daniel Knauf, sometimes credited under the pseudonyms Wilfred Schmidt and Chris Neal, is an American screenwriter, comic book writer, director and producer best known for his creation of the 2003 HBO series Carnivàle.-Biography:...
, who also served as executive producer with Ronald D. Moore
Ronald D. Moore
Ronald Dowl Moore is an American screenwriter and television producer best known for his work on Star Trek and the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica miniseries and television series, for which he won a Peabody Award for creative excellence in 2005 and an Emmy Award in 2008.-Early life and...
and Howard Klein. The incidental music was composed by Jeff Beal
Jeff Beal
Jeff Beal is an American composer of music for film, television, recordings, and the concert hall. Highly regarded as a jazz instrumentalist and versatile composer, Beal's music often incorporates a synthesis of improvisatory and composed elements.- Early life :Beal began trumpet studies in the...
. Nick Stahl
Nick Stahl
Nicolas Kent "Nick" Stahl is an American actor. Starting out as a child actor, he gained recognition for his performance in the 1993 film The Man Without a Face and then embarked on a successful career as a child actor...
and Clancy Brown
Clancy Brown
Clarence J. "Clancy" Brown III is an American actor and voice actor. He is known for his roles in live action as The Kurgan in the cult classic film Highlander, Byron Hadley in the award-winning The Shawshank Redemption, Brother Justin Crowe in HBO's critically acclaimed Carnivàle, and Career...
starred as Ben Hawkins and Brother Justin Crowe, respectively.
Early reviews praised the style of Carnivàle but questioned the approach and execution of the story. Carnivàle first episode set a new audience record for an HBO original series, but the show was unable to retain its ratings in its second season. Carnivàle was canceled after 24 episodes, cutting its intended six-season run short by four seasons. The show won five Emmys in 2004, was nominated for 10 further Emmy awards, and received numerous other nominations and industry awards between 2004 and 2006.
Plot introduction
The two seasons of Carnivàle take place in the Depression-era dust bowlDust Bowl
The Dust Bowl, or the Dirty Thirties, was a period of severe dust storms causing major ecological and agricultural damage to American and Canadian prairie lands from 1930 to 1936...
between 1934 and 1935, and consist of two main plotlines that slowly converge. The first involves a young man with strange healing powers named Ben Hawkins (Nick Stahl
Nick Stahl
Nicolas Kent "Nick" Stahl is an American actor. Starting out as a child actor, he gained recognition for his performance in the 1993 film The Man Without a Face and then embarked on a successful career as a child actor...
), who joins a traveling carnival
Traveling carnival
A traveling carnival is an amusement show that may be made up of amusement rides, food vendors, merchandise vendors, games of chance and skill, thrill acts, animal acts or sideshow curiosities. A traveling carnival is not set up at a permanent location, like an amusement park, but is moved from...
when it passes near his home in Milfay, Oklahoma
Milfay, Oklahoma
Milfay is a small unincorporated community in Creek County, Oklahoma, United States. The post office was established December 14, 1911. The community was named after Charles Mills and Edward Fay, two railroad officials....
. Soon thereafter, Ben begins having surreal dreams and visions, which set him on the trail of a man named Henry Scudder, a drifter who crossed paths with the carnival many years before, and who apparently possessed unusual abilities similar to Ben's own.
The second plotline revolves around a Father Coughlin-esque Methodist preacher, Brother Justin Crowe (Clancy Brown
Clancy Brown
Clarence J. "Clancy" Brown III is an American actor and voice actor. He is known for his roles in live action as The Kurgan in the cult classic film Highlander, Byron Hadley in the award-winning The Shawshank Redemption, Brother Justin Crowe in HBO's critically acclaimed Carnivàle, and Career...
), who lives with his sister Iris in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. He shares Ben's prophetic dreams and slowly discovers the extent of his own unearthly powers, which include bending human beings to his will
Will (philosophy)
Will, in philosophical discussions, consonant with a common English usage, refers to a property of the mind, and an attribute of acts intentionally performed. Actions made according to a person's will are called "willing" or "voluntary" and sometimes pejoratively "willful"...
and making their sins and greatest evils manifest as terrifying visions. Certain that he is doing God's work, Brother Justin fully devotes himself to his religious duties, not realizing that his ultimate nemesis Ben Hawkins and the carnival are inexorably drawing closer.
Conception
Daniel Knauf
Daniel Knauf, sometimes credited under the pseudonyms Wilfred Schmidt and Chris Neal, is an American screenwriter, comic book writer, director and producer best known for his creation of the 2003 HBO series Carnivàle.-Biography:...
conceived the initial script for the show between 1990 and 1992 when he was unsatisfied with his job as a Californian health insurance
Health insurance
Health insurance is insurance against the risk of incurring medical expenses among individuals. By estimating the overall risk of health care expenses among a targeted group, an insurer can develop a routine finance structure, such as a monthly premium or payroll tax, to ensure that money is...
broker
Insurance broker
An insurance broker finds sources for contracts of insurance on behalf of their customers. The three largest insurance brokers in the world, by revenue, are Aon, Marsh & McLennan, and Willis Group Holdings.-Purpose of insurance brokers:...
and hoped to become a screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
. He had always been interested in carnivals and noted that this subject had rarely been dramatized on film. The resulting story and its treatment of freaks
Freak show
A freak show is an exhibition of biological rarities, referred to as "freaks of nature". Typical features would be physically unusual humans, such as those uncommonly large or small, those with both male and female secondary sexual characteristics, people with other extraordinary diseases and...
was strongly informed by Knauf's experiences of growing up with a disabled father who was not commonly accepted as a normal human being.
Knauf named the intended feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
script Carnivàle, using an unusual spelling for a more outlandish look. Knauf had plotted the story's broad strokes as well as several plot details from early on and knew the story destination until the final scene. However, the resulting 180-page long script was twice the length of a typical feature film script, and Knauf still felt that it was too short to do his story justice. He therefore shelved the screenplay as a learning experience. In the meantime, all but one of Knauf's other scripts were rejected by Hollywood studios, often for being "too weird."
In the mid-1990s, Knauf met a few Writers Guild
Writers Guild of America
The Writers Guild of America is a generic term referring to the joint efforts of two different US labor unions:* The Writers Guild of America, East , representing TV and film writers East of the Mississippi....
TV writers who encouraged him to revise Carnivàle as a TV series. Knauf turned the script's first act into a pilot episode, but, having no contacts in the television business, he was forced to shelve the project again and return to his regular job. A few years later, after realizing that his insurance career was not working out, he decided to give his screenwriting efforts a last chance by offering the Carnivàle pilot on his website. The script was subsequently forwarded to Howard Klein by Scott Winant
Scott Winant
Scott Winant is an American television director and producer of network and premium cable series. He is a member of the Directors Guild of America and Producers Guild of America...
, a mutual friend of the two men. After several meetings and conversations, Klein felt confident that Carnivàle would make a good episodic television series that could last for many years. Klein brought it to the attention of Chris Albrecht
Chris Albrecht
Chris Albrecht is an American media executive. Albrecht is currently the President and CEO of Starz, LLC, Liberty Media Corp.'s pay cable and movie unit. Albrecht is the former Chairman and CEO of HBO. He founded Foresee Entertainment, an independent content creation, development and distribution...
and Carolyn Strauss of HBO, who were immediately receptive. But the network deemed Knauf too inexperienced in the television business to give him full control over the budget, and appointed Ronald D. Moore
Ronald D. Moore
Ronald Dowl Moore is an American screenwriter and television producer best known for his work on Star Trek and the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica miniseries and television series, for which he won a Peabody Award for creative excellence in 2005 and an Emmy Award in 2008.-Early life and...
as showrunner. (Knauf would replace Moore after one season when Moore left for the reimagined Battlestar Galactica
Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)
Battlestar Galactica is an American military science fiction television series, and part of the Battlestar Galactica franchise. The show was developed by Ronald D. Moore as a re-imagining of the 1978 Battlestar Galactica television series created by Glen A. Larson...
.)
The pilot episode, which was filmed over a period of twenty-one days, served as the basis for additional tweaking of intended story lines. Long creative discussions took place among the writers and the network, leading to the postponement of the filming of the second episode for fourteen months. One major change was the addition of extra material for Brother Justin's side of the story. Brother Justin was originally conceived as a well-established preacher, and as a recurring character rather than a regular one. However, after perusing the preliminary version of the pilot, Knauf and the producers realized that there was no room for Justin to grow in a television series. Hence, it was decided to make Brother Justin an ordinary Methodist minister in a small town, setting him back in his career by about one or two years. Expanding Brother Justin's role opened new possibilities, and his sister Iris was created as a supporting character. Little was changed on Ben Hawkins' side except for the addition of the cootch (striptease
Striptease
A striptease is an erotic or exotic dance in which the performer gradually undresses, either partly or completely, in a seductive and sexually suggestive manner...
) family; a Carnivàle consultant had elated the producers by calling attention to his research about families managing cootch shows in the 1930s.
Format
The Carnivàle story was originally intended to be a trilogy of "books", consisting of two seasons each. This plan was abruptly changed when HBO canceled the show after the first two seasons. Each season consists of twelve episodes.Airing on HBO benefited Carnivàle in several ways. Because HBO does not rely on commercial breaks, Carnivàle had the artistic freedom to vary in episode length. Although the episodes averaged a runtime of 54 minutes, the episodes "Insomnia" and "Old Cherry Blossom Road" were 46 minutes and 59 minutes, respectively. HBO budgeted approximately US$4 million for each episode, considerably more than most television series receive. This increased Carnivàle production value, allowing for a comparably large main cast, filming on location, and developing story, plot depth, and atmosphere.
Historical production design
Carnivàle 1930s Dust BowlDust Bowl
The Dust Bowl, or the Dirty Thirties, was a period of severe dust storms causing major ecological and agricultural damage to American and Canadian prairie lands from 1930 to 1936...
setting required significant research and historical consultants to be convincing, which was made possible with HBO's strong financial backing. As a result, reviews praised the look and production design of the show as "impeccable," "spectacular" and as "an absolute visual stunner." In 2004, Carnivàle won four Emmys for art direction, cinematography, costumes, and hairstyling.
To give a sense of the dry and dusty environment of the Dust Bowl, smoke and dirt were constantly blown through tubes onto the set. The actors' clothes were ragged and drenched in dirt, and Carnivàle had approximately 5,000 people costumed in the show's first season alone. The creative team listened to 1930s music and radio and read old Hollywood magazines to get the period's sound, language, and slang right. The art department had an extensive research library of old catalogs, among them an original 1934 Sears Catalog, which were purchased at flea markets and antique stores. The East European background of some characters and Asian themes in Brother Justin's story were incorporated into the show. Aside from the show's supernatural elements, a historical consultant deemed Carnivàle historic accuracy to be excellent regarding the characters' lives and clothes, their food and accommodations, their cars and all the material culture.
Filming locations
Carnivàle interiors were filmed at Santa Clarita Studios in Santa Clarita, CaliforniaSanta Clarita, California
Santa Clarita is the fourth largest city in Los Angeles County, California, United States and the twenty-fourth largest city in the state of California. The 2010 US Census reported the city's population grew 16.7% from the year 2000 to 176,320 residents. It is located about northwest of downtown...
, while the show's many exterior scenes were filmed on Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
locations. The scenes of fictional California town of Mintern, where the stories about Brother Justin and Iris in Season 1 were based, were shot at Paramount Ranch in Malibu. The carnival set itself was moved around the greater Southern California area, to movie ranch
Movie ranch
A movie ranch is a ranch that is at least partially dedicated to being used as a site for the creation and production of motion pictures, and television productions...
es and to Lancaster
Lancaster, California
Lancaster is a charter city in northern Los Angeles County, in the high desert, near the Kern County line. Lancaster currently ranks as the 30th largest city in California, and the 148th largest city in the United States. Lancaster is the principal city within the Antelope Valley...
, which were to replicate the states of Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, and New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
. The permanent filming location of the carnival in Season 2 was Big Sky Ranch
Big Sky Ranch
Big Sky Ranch is a movie ranch located in Simi Valley, California. It has been widely used for the filming of Western television and film productions....
, which was also used for Brother Justin's new home in fictional New Canaan.
Opening title sequence
Carnivàle opening title sequence was created by A52, a visual effectsVisual effects
Visual effects are the various processes by which imagery is created and/or manipulated outside the context of a live action shoot. Visual effects involve the integration of live-action footage and generated imagery to create environments which look realistic, but would be dangerous, costly, or...
and design company based in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, and featured music composed by Wendy Melvoin
Wendy Melvoin
Wendy Melvoin is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter, best known for her work with Prince as part of his backing band The Revolution, and for her collaboration with Lisa Coleman as one half of the duo Wendy & Lisa....
and Lisa Coleman
Lisa Coleman (musician)
Lisa Coleman is an American Emmy® Award winning musician and composer. Coleman plays piano and keyboards. She was a member of Prince's backing band The Revolution from 1980-1986. She is currently one half of the musical duo Wendy & Lisa, formed with Wendy Melvoin in 1986.-Early life:Coleman's...
. The opening title sequence won an Emmy for "Outstanding Main Title Design" in 2004.
Rendering (computer graphics)
Rendering is the process of generating an image from a model , by means of computer programs. A scene file contains objects in a strictly defined language or data structure; it would contain geometry, viewpoint, texture, lighting, and shading information as a description of the virtual scene...
. A last step involved stock footage clips being compiled and digitally incorporated into the sequence.
The opening title sequence itself begins with a deck of Tarot cards falling into the sand, while the camera moves in and enters one card into a separate world presenting layers of artwork and footage from iconic moments of the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Depression era; the camera then moves back out of a different card and repeats the procedure several times. The sequence ends with the camera shifting from the "Judgement
Judgement (Tarot card)
Judgement , or in some decks spelled Judgment, is a Tarot card, part of the Major Arcana suit usually comprising 22 cards.-Rider-Waite symbolism:Very clearly, it is modeled after the Christian Resurrection before the Last Judgment...
" Tarot card to the "Moon
The Moon (Tarot card)
The Moon is the eighteenth trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks. It is used in game playing as well as in divination.-Symbolism:* Two large, foreboding pillars are shown...
" and the "Sun
The Sun (Tarot card)
The Sun is a trump card in the tarot deck. Tarot trumps are often called Major Arcana by tarot card readers.-Rider-Waite symbolism:A. E. Waite suggested that this card is associated with attained knowledge. An infant rides a white horse under the anthropomorphized sun, with sunflowers in the...
", identifying the Devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
and God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
respectively, until the wind blows away all cards and the underlying sand to reveal the Carnivàle title artwork.
The historical footage includes a Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
member holding a child (also in uniform), Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
, Molotov
Vyacheslav Molotov
Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov was a Soviet politician and diplomat, an Old Bolshevik and a leading figure in the Soviet government from the 1920s, when he rose to power as a protégé of Joseph Stalin, to 1957, when he was dismissed from the Presidium of the Central Committee by Nikita Khrushchev...
and Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
, Jesse Owens
Jesse Owens
James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens was an American track and field athlete who specialized in the sprints and the long jump. He participated in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany, where he achieved international fame by winning four gold medals: one each in the 100 meters, the 200 meters, the...
, Babe Ruth
Babe Ruth
George Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...
, Bonus Marcher
Bonus Army
The Bonus Army was the popular name of an assemblage of some 43,000 marchers—17,000 World War I veterans, their families, and affiliated groups—who gathered in Washington, D.C., in the spring and summer of 1932 to demand immediate cash-payment redemption of their service certificates...
s approaching the Capitol
United States Capitol
The United States Capitol is the meeting place of the United States Congress, the legislature of the federal government of the United States. Located in Washington, D.C., it sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall...
, and Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
and his son James
James Roosevelt
James Roosevelt was the oldest son of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt. He was a United States Congressman, an officer in the United States Marine Corps, an aide to his father, the official Secretary to the President, a Democratic Party activist, and a businessman.-Early life:Roosevelt was...
.
Music
Carnivàle features instrumental music composed by Jeff BealJeff Beal
Jeff Beal is an American composer of music for film, television, recordings, and the concert hall. Highly regarded as a jazz instrumentalist and versatile composer, Beal's music often incorporates a synthesis of improvisatory and composed elements.- Early life :Beal began trumpet studies in the...
, as well as many popular and obscure songs from the 1920s and 1930s, the time when Carnivàle story takes place. The main title was written by Wendy Melvoin
Wendy Melvoin
Wendy Melvoin is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter, best known for her work with Prince as part of his backing band The Revolution, and for her collaboration with Lisa Coleman as one half of the duo Wendy & Lisa....
and Lisa Coleman
Lisa Coleman (musician)
Lisa Coleman is an American Emmy® Award winning musician and composer. Coleman plays piano and keyboards. She was a member of Prince's backing band The Revolution from 1980-1986. She is currently one half of the musical duo Wendy & Lisa, formed with Wendy Melvoin in 1986.-Early life:Coleman's...
, and was released with selected themes by Jeff Beal on a Carnivàle television soundtrack by the record label Varèse Sarabande
Varèse Sarabande
Varèse Sarabande is an American record label, distributed by Universal Music Group, which specializes in film scores and original cast recordings. It aims to reissue rare or unavailable albums as well as newer releases by artists no longer under a contract...
on December 7, 2004. Beal released tracks of Season 2 on his personal website. A complete list of music credits is available on the official HBO website.
Jeff Beal's score is primarily acoustic sounding electronics, but mixes themes of bluegrass
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
as well as atmospheric rhythmic sounds. Bigger groups of strings support smaller ensembles of guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s, piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
s, violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
s, cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
s, and trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
s. The music sometimes uses ethnic instruments such as banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
s, harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
s, ukulele
Ukulele
The ukulele, ; from ; it is a subset of the guitar family of instruments, generally with four nylon or gut strings or four courses of strings....
s, and duduk
Duduk
The duduk , traditionally known since antiquity as a Ծիրանափող is a traditional woodwind instrument indigenous to Armenia. Variations of it are popular in the Middle East and Central Asia...
s.
Because HBO does not break individual episodes with commercials, Carnivàle music is paced similar to a movie, with character-specific leitmotif
Leitmotif
A leitmotif , sometimes written leit-motif, is a musical term , referring to a recurring theme, associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is closely related to the musical idea of idée fixe...
s from as early as the first episode. Characters get musically identified by solo instruments chosen for the character's ethnic background or nature. Some characters whose connections would only be disclosed later in the series have intentionally similar themes.
Different music is consciously used to represent the two different worlds of the story. Brother Justin's world features music of constructed orchestral sound with religious music and instruments. On the other hand, the score of the carnival side is more deconstructed and mystical, especially when the carnival travels through the dustbowl and remote towns. For carnival scenes taking place in the cootch (striptease
Striptease
A striptease is an erotic or exotic dance in which the performer gradually undresses, either partly or completely, in a seductive and sexually suggestive manner...
) show or in cities, however, contemporary pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
, blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, and ethnic music is played. One of the most defining songs of Carnivàle is the 1920s song "Love Me or Leave Me
Love Me or Leave Me (song)
"Love Me or Leave Me" is a U.S. popular song from the 1920s.The music was written by Walter Donaldson and the lyrics by Gus Kahn. The song was introduced in the Broadway play, Whoopee!, which opened in December 1928...
" by Ruth Etting, which is used in several episodes to tie characters in the two worlds thematically.
Cast
Dust Bowl
The Dust Bowl, or the Dirty Thirties, was a period of severe dust storms causing major ecological and agricultural damage to American and Canadian prairie lands from 1930 to 1936...
and revolves around the slowly converging storylines of a traveling carnival and a California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
n preacher. Out of the 17 actors receiving star billing in the first season, 15 were part of the carnival storyline. The second season amounted to 13 main cast members, supplemented by several actors in recurring roles. Although such large casts make shows more expensive to produce, the writers are benefitted with more flexibility in story decisions. The backgrounds of most characters were fully developed before the filming of Carnivàle began but were not part of the show's visible structure. The audience would therefore only learn more about the characters as a natural aspect in the story.
Season 1's first storyline is led by Nick Stahl
Nick Stahl
Nicolas Kent "Nick" Stahl is an American actor. Starting out as a child actor, he gained recognition for his performance in the 1993 film The Man Without a Face and then embarked on a successful career as a child actor...
portraying the protagonist Ben Hawkins, a young Okie
Okie
Okie is a term dating from as early as 1907, originally denoting a resident or native of Oklahoma. It is derived from the name of the state, similar to Texan or Tex for someone from Texas, or Arkie or Arkansawyer for a native of Arkansas....
farmer who joins a traveling carnival
Traveling carnival
A traveling carnival is an amusement show that may be made up of amusement rides, food vendors, merchandise vendors, games of chance and skill, thrill acts, animal acts or sideshow curiosities. A traveling carnival is not set up at a permanent location, like an amusement park, but is moved from...
. Michael J. Anderson
Michael J. Anderson
Michael J. Anderson is an American actor known for his roles as the Man from Another Place in David Lynch's television series Twin Peaks, the epilogue and prologue film of the series, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, and Samson Leonhart on the HBO series Carnivàle...
played Samson, the diminutive manager of the carnival. Tim DeKay
Tim DeKay
Timothy Robert DeKay is an American character actor. His first on screen acting job was as corporate giant Larry Deon on seaQuest 2032. He was a cast member of the series Party of Five from 1997–1999, Carnivàle from 2003–2005 and Tell Me You Love Me in 2007...
portrayed Clayton "Jonesy" Jones, Samson's crippled co-manager. Patrick Bauchau
Patrick Bauchau
Patrick Nicolas Jean Sixte Ghislain Bauchau is a Belgian actor.-Early life:Bauchau was born in Brussels, the son of Mary , a Russian-born school administrator and publisher, and Henry Bauchau, a school administrator, publisher, writer, and psychoanalyst who served as an officer in the Belgian...
acted as the carnival's blind mentalist Lodz, while Debra Christofferson
Debra Christofferson
-Filmography :* Weekend Pass as Candy * The Master as girl * Picket Fences as Councilwoman Mary McMurtry * NYPD Blue as Geri Turner * MouseHunt as Ingrid...
played his lover, Lila the Bearded Lady. Diane Salinger
Diane Salinger
Diane Louise Salinger is an American actress, voice actress, and comedienne.-Filmography:* Creature as Melanie Bryce * Pee-wee's Big Adventure as Simone * The Morning After as Isabel Harding...
portrayed the catatonic fortune teller Apollonia, and Clea DuVall
Clea DuVall
Clea Helen D'Etienne DuVall is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Sofie on the television series Carnivàle as well as for films such as The Faculty , Girl, Interrupted and The Grudge .-Early life:DuVall was born in Los Angeles, California, the only child of Rosemary and...
acted as her tarot
Tarot
The tarot |trionfi]] and later as tarocchi, tarock, and others) is a pack of cards , used from the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play a group of card games such as Italian tarocchini and French tarot...
-card-reading daughter, Sofie. Adrienne Barbeau
Adrienne Barbeau
Adrienne Jo Barbeau is an American actress and the author of three books. Barbeau came to prominence in the 1970s as Broadway's original Rizzo in the musical Grease, and as Carol Traynor, the divorced daughter of Maude Findlay in the sitcom Maude...
portrayed the snake charmer Ruthie, with Brian Turk
Brian Turk
Brian D. Turk is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Gabriel in the award-winning HBO television series Carnivàle.-Filmography:*Saved by the Bell: The New Class as Spike...
as her son Gabriel, a strongman. John Fleck played Gecko the Lizard Man, and Karyne and Sarah Steben
Steben Twins
Karyne and Sarah Steben, also known as the Steben Twins, are famous worldwide for their accomplishments on trapeze. The girls were the first female innovators of the feet-to-feet catching technique.-Early life:...
appeared as the conjoined twins Alexandria and Caladonia. The cootch show
Striptease
A striptease is an erotic or exotic dance in which the performer gradually undresses, either partly or completely, in a seductive and sexually suggestive manner...
Dreifuss family was played by Toby Huss
Toby Huss
Toby Edward Huss is an American actor. He is best known for portraying Artie, the Strongest Man in the World on the cult hit Nickelodeon TV series The Adventures of Pete & Pete, for his voice-over work on the long running animated series King of the Hill, and for his role as Felix 'Stumpy'...
and Cynthia Ettinger
Cynthia Ettinger
Cynthia Ettinger is an American actress. From 1990 to 1993, she was married to American singer and television performer Wally Kurth. Ettinger was originally cast as Martha Kent for Smallville, but during filming everyone realized that she was not right for the role, including Ettinger...
as Felix "Stumpy" and Rita Sue, and Carla Gallo
Carla Gallo
Carla Gallo is an American actress notable for roles in the television series Undeclared, Carnivàle, and Bones, and in the indie film Spanking the Monkey.-Filmography:-External links:...
as their daughter Libby. Amanda Aday
Amanda Aday
Amanda Lee Aday is an American actress. Born in New York City, Aday is best known for her recurring role as Dora Mae Dreifuss on the first season of the 2003-2005 HBO series Carnivàle....
portrayed their other daughter, Dora Mae Dreifuss, in a recurring role. John Savage
John Savage (actor)
John Savage is an American film actor, producer, production manager, and composer.- Acting career :...
played the mysterious Henry Scudder in several episodes, while Linda Hunt
Linda Hunt
Linda Hunt is an American film, stage and television actress. After making her film debut playing Mrs. Oxheart in Popeye , Hunt portrayed Billy Kwan, her breakthrough performance in The Year of Living Dangerously...
lent her voice to the mysterious Management. The second storyline is led by Clancy Brown
Clancy Brown
Clarence J. "Clancy" Brown III is an American actor and voice actor. He is known for his roles in live action as The Kurgan in the cult classic film Highlander, Byron Hadley in the award-winning The Shawshank Redemption, Brother Justin Crowe in HBO's critically acclaimed Carnivàle, and Career...
portraying Carnivàle antagonist, the Methodist minister Brother Justin Crowe. Amy Madigan
Amy Madigan
Amy Marie Madigan is an American actress who is known for her role as Annie Kinsella in the 1989 film Field of Dreams and Iris Crowe in the HBO television series Carnivale...
played his sister Iris. Robert Knepper
Robert Knepper
Robert Lyle Knepper is an American actor. He is best known for starring as Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell in the Fox network's drama series Prison Break, for which he was nominated a Satellite Award...
supported them as the successful radio host Tommy Dolan later in the first season, while Ralph Waite
Ralph Waite
Ralph Waite is an American actor, whose most notable role was playing John Walton Sr. on the 1970s CBS TV series The Waltons, which he also occasionally directed...
had a recurring role as Reverend Norman Balthus, Brother Justin's mentor. K Callan
K Callan
K Callan is an American actress known for playing Clark Kent's mother Martha in the ABC television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman....
performed in a recurring role as Eleanor McGill, a parishioner who became devoted to Brother Justin after seeing his power firsthand.
Several cast changes took place in Season 2, some of them planned from the beginning. John Fleck, Karyne Steben and her sister Sarah had made their last appearance in the first season's finale, while Patrick Bauchau's and Diane Salinger's status was reduced to guest-starring. Ralph Waite joined the regular cast. Several new characters were introduced in recurring roles, most notably John Carroll Lynch
John Carroll Lynch
John Carroll Lynch is an American actor, known for his role as Drew Carey's cross-dressing brother on The Drew Carey Show, and for his role as Norm, the unassuming husband of Margie Gunderson in Fargo....
as the escaped convict Varlyn Stroud and Bree Walker
Bree Walker
Bree Walker is a radio talk show host, actress, and disability-rights activist, who gained fame as the first on-air American television network news anchor with ectrodactyly. Walker worked as a news anchor and/or reporter in San Diego, New York City, and Los Angeles.Walker was born in Oakland,...
as Sabina the Scorpion Lady.
Casting
The castingCasting (performing arts)
In the performing arts, casting is a pre-production process for selecting a cast of actors, dancers, singers, models and other talent for a live or recorded performance.-Casting process:...
approach for Carnivàle was to cast the best available actors and to show the characters' realness as opposed to depending on freak
Freak show
A freak show is an exhibition of biological rarities, referred to as "freaks of nature". Typical features would be physically unusual humans, such as those uncommonly large or small, those with both male and female secondary sexual characteristics, people with other extraordinary diseases and...
illusions too much. Carnivàle casting directors John Papsodera and Wendy O'Brien already had experience in casting freaks from previous projects. The producers generally preferred actors who were not strongly identified with other projects, but were willing to make exceptions such as for Adrienne Barbeau as Ruthie.
The script for the pilot episode was the basis for the casting procedure, with little indication where the show would go afterwards. This resulted in some preliminary casting disagreements between the creators and producers, especially for leading characters such as Ben, Brother Justin and Sofie. The character of Ben was always intended to be the leading man and hero of the series, yet he was also desired to display a youthful, innocent and anti-hero quality; Nick Stahl had the strongest consensus among the producers. The character of Sofie was originally written as more of an exotic gypsy girl, but Clea DuVall, a movie actor like Stahl, got the part after four auditions. Tim DeKay was cast as Jonesy because the producers felt he best portrayed a "very American" looking baseball player of that period. One of the few actors who never had any real competition was Michael J. Anderson as Samson, whom Daniel Knauf had wanted as early as the initial meeting.
Mythology
Although almost every Carnivàle episode has a distinguished story with a new carnival setting, all episodes are part of an overarching good-versus-evil story that only culminates and resolves very late in Season 2. The pilot episode begins with a prologue talking of "a creature of light and a creature of darkness" (also known as Avatars) being born "to each generation" preparing for a final battle. Carnivàle does not reveal its characters as Avatars beyond insinuation, and makes the nature of suggested Avatars a central question. Reviewers believed Ben to be a Creature of Light and Brother Justin a Creature of Darkness.Other than through the characters, the show's good-and-evil theme manifests in the series' contemporary religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
, the Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
military order
Military order
A military order is a Christian society of knights that was founded for crusading, i.e. propagating or defending the faith , either in the Holy Land or against Islam or pagans in Europe...
Knights Templar
Knights Templar
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...
, tarot divination, and in historical events like the Dustbowl and humankind's first nuclear test. The writers had established a groundwork for story arcs, character biographies and genealogical character links before filming of the seasons began, but many of the intended clues remained unnoticed by viewers. While Ronald D. Moore was confident that Carnivàle was one of the most complicated shows on television, Daniel Knauf reassured critics that Carnivàle was intended to be a demanding show with a lot of subtext and admitted that "you may not understand everything that goes on but it does make a certain sense". Knauf provided hints about the show's mythological structure to online fandom both during and after the two-season run of Carnivàle, and left fans a production summary of Carnivàle first season two years after cancellation.
Matt Roush of TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
called Carnivàle "the perfect show for those who thought Twin Peaks was too accessible". The Australian
The Australian
The Australian is a broadsheet newspaper published in Australia from Monday to Saturday each week since 14 July 1964. The editor in chief is Chris Mitchell, the editor is Clive Mathieson and the 'editor-at-large' is Paul Kelly....
stated that Carnivàle "seems to have been conceived in essentially literary terms" which "can sometimes work on the page but is deadly on the large screen, let alone a small one. It's almost like a biblical injunction against pretension on television." A reviewer admitted his temptation to dismiss the first season of Carnivàle as "too artsy and esoteric" because his lack of involvement prevented him from understanding "what the heck was going on, [which] can be a problem for a dramatic television series." TV Zone
TV Zone
TV Zone was a British magazine published every four weeks by Visual Imagination that covered cult television. Initially, it mostly covered science fiction, but branched out to cover other drama and comedy series.-History:...
however considered Carnivàle "a series like no other and [...] the fact that it is so open to interpretation surprisingly proves to be one of its greatest strengths." Carnivàle was lauded for showing "the hopelessness of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
to life" and for being among the first TV shows to show "unmitigated pain and disappointment", but reviewers were not confident that viewers would find the "slowly unfolding sadness" appealing over long or would have the patience or endurance to find out the meaning of the show.
Cancellation and future
At the time, HBO made their commitments for only one year at a time, a third season would have meant opening up a new two-season book in Daniel KnaufDaniel Knauf
Daniel Knauf, sometimes credited under the pseudonyms Wilfred Schmidt and Chris Neal, is an American screenwriter, comic book writer, director and producer best known for his creation of the 2003 HBO series Carnivàle.-Biography:...
's six-year plan, including the introduction of new storylines for current and new characters, and further clarification and elaboration on the show's mythology. Fans assumed that the show would be renewed, but an internet leak announced in early May 2005 that the series would not be returning for a third season. HBO confirmed that the show had been cancelled on May 11, 2005. HBO's president Chris Albrecht
Chris Albrecht
Chris Albrecht is an American media executive. Albrecht is currently the President and CEO of Starz, LLC, Liberty Media Corp.'s pay cable and movie unit. Albrecht is the former Chairman and CEO of HBO. He founded Foresee Entertainment, an independent content creation, development and distribution...
stated that the network would have considered otherwise if the producers had been willing to lower the price of an episode to US$2 million; but the running costs for the sizable cast, the all-on-location shooting and the number of episodes per season were too enormous for them.
The cancellation resulted in several story plot lines being unfinished, and outraged loyal viewers organized petitions and mailing drives to get the show renewed. This generated more than 50,000 emails to the network in a single weekend. Show creator Daniel Knauf was unconvinced of the success of such measures, but explained that proposed alternatives like selling Carnivàle to a competing network or spinning off the story were not possible because of HBO owning Carnivàle plot and characters. At the same time, Knauf was hopeful that, given a strong enough fan base, HBO might reconsider the show's future and allow the continuation of the show in another medium; but because of the amount of unused story material he still had, Knauf did not favor finishing the Carnivàle story with a three-hour movie.
Knauf would not release a detailed run-down of intended future plots to fans, explaining that his stories are a collaboration of writers, directors and actors alike. He and the producers did, however, answer a few basic details about the immediate fate of major characters who were left in near-fatal situations in the final episode of Season 2. Knauf additionally provided in-depth information regarding the underlying fictional laws of nature
Mythology of Carnivàle
Carnivàle is an American television series set in the United States during the Great Depression. The series traces the disparate storylines of a young carnival worker named Ben Hawkins and Brother Justin Crowe, a preacher in California. The overarching story is built around a good and evil theme,...
that the writers had not been able to fully explore in the first two seasons. June 2007 however marked the first time that a comprehensive work of detailed character backgrounds was made public. Following a fundraising auction, Knauf offered fans a so-called "Pitch Document," a summary of Carnivàle first season. This document was originally written in 2002 and 2003 to give the writers and the studio an idea about the series' intended plot, and answered many of the show's mysteries.
Pre-broadcast marketing
HBO reportedly invested in Carnivàle promotion as much as for any of its primetime series launches. The series' unconventional and complex narrative made the network deviate from its traditional marketing strategies. Teaser trailerTeaser trailer
A teaser campaign is an advertising campaign which typically consists of a series of small, cryptic, challenging advertisements that anticipate a larger, full-blown campaign for a product launch or otherwise important event. These advertisements are called "teasers" or "teaser ads"...
s were inserted on CD-ROM
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
s into Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
issues to draw attention to the show's visual quality. 30-second TV spots were aired in national syndication, cable and local avails for four weeks before the show's premiere instead of the usual seven days. The historical context of Carnivàle was deliberately emphasized in the show's print art, which depicted the 17-member cast surrounding a carnival truck. This image was accompanied by a tagline of the show's good versus evil theme: "Into each generation is born a creature of light and a creature of darkness." These measures were hoped to be backed up by positive critical reviews. To give ratings an initial boost, HBO placed the premiere of Carnivàle directly after the series finale of the successful Sex and the City
Sex and the City
Sex and the City is an American television comedy-drama series created by Darren Star and produced by HBO. Broadcast from 1998 until 2004, the original run of the show had a total of ninety-four episodes...
. The series continued to receive extensive online advertisement for almost its entire run.
Games
Personalized and interactive online games inspired by tarot divinationTarot
The tarot |trionfi]] and later as tarocchi, tarock, and others) is a pack of cards , used from the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play a group of card games such as Italian tarocchini and French tarot...
were created for Carnivàle internet presence. The official HBO website collaborated with RealNetworks
RealNetworks
RealNetworks, Inc. is a provider of Internet media delivery software and services based in Downtown Seattle, Washington, United States. The company is the creator of RealAudio, a compressed audio format; RealVideo, a compressed video format; RealPlayer, a media player; RealDownloader, a download...
to offer FATE: The Carnivàle Game, a downloadable game made available for trial and for purchase. The official Movie Network
Movie Network
Movie Network Channels is an Australian premium television movie service that consists of five original channels , two SD timeshifts and three HD simulcasts...
website featured an interactive Ouija
Ouija
The Ouija board also known as a spirit/fire key board or talking board, is a flat board marked with the letters of the alphabet, the numbers 0-9, the words "yes", "no", "hello" and "goodbye", and other symbols and words are sometimes also added to help personalize the board...
online game.
DVDs
Carnivàle: The Complete First Season was released as a widescreenWidescreen
Widescreen images are a variety of aspect ratios used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than the standard 1.37:1 Academy aspect ratio provided by 35mm film....
six-disc Region 1 DVD box set in the USA on December 7, 2004, one month before the premiere of the second season. It was distributed by HBO Home Video and contained three audio commentaries and a behind-the-scenes
Making-of
In cinema, a making-of, also known as behind-the-scenes, is a documentary film that features the production of a film or television program...
featurette. The outer slipcover of the Region 1 set was made of a thick cardboard to mimic a bound book. The same set was released with less elaborate packaging in Region 2 on March 7, 2005, and in Region 4 on May 11, 2005.
Carnivàle: The Complete Second Season was released as a widescreen six-disc Region 1 DVD box set in the USA on July 18, 2006, in Region 2 on August 7, 2006, and in Region 4 on October 4, 2006. Each of these releases was distributed by HBO Home Video and contained three audio commentaries, on-stage interviews of the cast and producers, a featurette about the mythology of the series, and four short "Creating the Scene" segments about the concept, inspiration and execution process. The packaging remained similar to each region's first season set. Unlike Season 1, the PAL-encoded Region 2 and Region 4 editions of Season 2 are clearly NTSC to PAL conversions and as a result, lack image depth and contain high contrast levels - this is particularly evident in Season 2's darker scenes where image definition is compromised greatly.
Ratings
Carnivàle aired on HBO on a Sunday 9:00PM timeslot during its two-season run between 2003 and 2005. "Milfay", Carnivàle pilot episode, drew 5.3 million viewers for its premiere on September 14, 2003. This marked the best ever debut for an HBO original series at the time, caused in part by the established HBO series Sex and the CitySex and the City
Sex and the City is an American television comedy-drama series created by Darren Star and produced by HBO. Broadcast from 1998 until 2004, the original run of the show had a total of ninety-four episodes...
being Carnivàle lead-in. This record was broken on March 21, 2004 by HBO series Deadwood
Deadwood (TV series)
Deadwood is an American Western drama television series created, produced and largely written by David Milch. The series aired on the premium cable network HBO from March 21, 2004, to August 27, 2006, spanning three 12-episode seasons. The show is set in the 1870s in Deadwood, South Dakota, before...
, which debuted with 5.8 million viewers as the lead-out of The Sopranos
The Sopranos
The Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...
.
Viewership dropped to 3.49 million for Carnivàle second episode but remained stable for the remainder of the season. The final episode of season one finished with 3.5 million viewers on November 30, 2003. Season one averaged 3.54 million viewers and a household rating of 2.41.
Viewership for the second season opening on 9 January 2005 was down by two-thirds to 1.81 million. The ratings never recovered to their first-season highs, although the season two finale experienced an upswing with 2.40 million viewers on March 27, 2005. Season 2 averaged 1.7 million viewers, not enough to avert an imminent cancellation.
Critical reviews
Many early reviews gave Carnivàle good marks but also stated that its unique characters and story might prevent it from becoming a huge mainstream audience success. Daily Variety TV editor Joseph Adalian predicted that "it will get mostly positive reviews but some people will be put off by the general weirdness of the show." Phil Gallo of VarietyVariety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
described Carnivàle as "an absolute visual stunner with compelling freak show
Freak show
A freak show is an exhibition of biological rarities, referred to as "freaks of nature". Typical features would be physically unusual humans, such as those uncommonly large or small, those with both male and female secondary sexual characteristics, people with other extraordinary diseases and...
characters—but the series unfortunately takes a leisurely approach toward getting to a point," and Eric Deggans of the St. Petersburg Times
St. Petersburg Times
The St. Petersburg Times is a United States newspaper. It is one of two major publications serving the Tampa Bay Area, the other being The Tampa Tribune, which the Times tops in both circulation and readership. Based in St...
suggested that "it's as if executives at the premium cable network want to see how far they can slow a narrative before viewers start tossing their remotes through the screen". James Poniewozik of Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
called the first three episodes "frustrating" as well as "spellbinding." Amanda Murray of BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
said "With so little revealed, it's almost impossible to pass judgment on the show—it's hard to tell if this is just good, or going to be great."
Later DVD reviews were able to judge the series based on full seasons. While the acting, set design, costuming, art direction and cinematography continued to be praised, some reviewers disfavored the writing, especially of Season 1, as "lack[ing] story momentum" or as "sometimes gripping but mostly boring." Other reviewers pointed out that Carnivàle may "demand more from its audience than many are willing to invest. [...] Without paying close attention, it's tempting to assume that the show is unnecessarily cryptic and misleading." Carnivàle story was surveyed as long and complex, "and if you don't start from the beginning, you'll be completely lost." IGN DVD
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
's Matt Casamassina, however, praised the show in two reviews, writing that the "gorgeously surreal" first season "dazzles with unpredictable plot twists and scares", and that the "extraordinary" second season was "better fantasy – better entertainment, period – than any show that dares to call itself a competitor."
A significant portion of reviews drew parallels between Carnivàle and David Lynch
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...
's 1990s mystery TV series Twin Peaks
Twin Peaks
Twin Peaks is an American television serial drama created by David Lynch and Mark Frost. The series follows the investigation headed by FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper , of the murder of a popular teenager and homecoming queen, Laura Palmer...
, a show that Carnivàle actor Michael J. Anderson
Michael J. Anderson
Michael J. Anderson is an American actor known for his roles as the Man from Another Place in David Lynch's television series Twin Peaks, the epilogue and prologue film of the series, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, and Samson Leonhart on the HBO series Carnivàle...
had previously appeared
Man from another place
The Man from Another Place is a fictional character from the television series Twin Peaks, created by David Lynch and Mark Frost. He is an inhabitant of the Black Lodge, a realm of pure evil. Early on in the series, The Man gives Agent Dale Cooper clues to apprehending The Man's nemesis, BOB...
in. Knauf did not deny a stylistic link and made comparisons to John Steinbeck
John Steinbeck
John Ernst Steinbeck, Jr. was an American writer. He is widely known for the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden and the novella Of Mice and Men...
's novel The Grapes of Wrath
The Grapes of Wrath
The Grapes of Wrath is a novel published in 1939 and written by John Steinbeck, who was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1940 and the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962....
. When Lost
Lost (TV series)
Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
began to receive major critical attention, Carnivàle and its type of mythological storytelling were compared to Lost story approach in several instances.
Critical opinion remained divided about Carnivàle in the years after the show's cancellation. Alessandra Stanley of the Australian newspaper The Age
The Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
remembers Carnivàle as a "smart, ambitious series that move[s] unusual characters around an unfamiliar setting imaginatively and even with grace, but that never quite quit the surly bonds of serial drama." Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
s Brian Lowry remembers the show as "largely a macabre fantasy" that eventually suffered from "its own bleakness and eccentricities". The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
dwelled on Carnivàle
Fandom
Roustabout
A roustabout is a labourer typically performing temporary, unskilled work. The term has traditionally been used to refer to traveling-circus workers, natural gas, or oil rig workers....
s), terms adopted from the show. Carnivàle complexity and subliminal mythology spawned dedicated fansite
Fansite
A fansite, fan site, or fanpage is a website created and maintained by a fan or devotee interested in a celebrity, thing, or a particular cultural phenomenon...
s, although most discussion took place on independent internet forum
Internet forum
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...
s. Show creator Daniel Knauf
Daniel Knauf
Daniel Knauf, sometimes credited under the pseudonyms Wilfred Schmidt and Chris Neal, is an American screenwriter, comic book writer, director and producer best known for his creation of the 2003 HBO series Carnivàle.-Biography:...
actively participated in online fandom and offered story- and mythology-related clues. He also gave insight into reasons for Carnivàle cancellation on a messageboard before speaking to the press. As of September 2007, he is still in contact with the show's fandom and posts semi-regularly on Carnivàle messageboards.
One year after Carnivàle cancellation, a major Carnivàle convention called CarnyCon 2006 Live! was organized by fans. It took place in Woodland Hills, California on August 21–23, 2006. Many of the show's cast and crew attended the event and participated in discussion panels, which were recorded and made available on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
afterwards.
Awards
Despite its short two-season run, Carnivàle received numerous awards and nominations. The show's inaugural season received nominations for seven Emmy Awards in 2004, winning five including "Outstanding Art Direction For A Single-camera Series" and "Outstanding Costumes For A Series" for the pilot episode "Milfay", "Outstanding Cinematography For A Single-Camera Series" for the episode "Pick A Number", "Outstanding Hairstyling For A Series" for the episode "After the Ball Is Over", and "Outstanding Main Title Design". In 2005, the second season received eight further Emmy nominations without a win.Other awards include but are not limited to:
- Win – Artios Award: "Best Casting for TV, Dramatic Pilot", 2004
- Win – VES Award: "Outstanding Special Effects in Service to Visual Effects in a Televised Program, Music Video or Commercial", 2004
- Win – Costume Designers Guild AwardCostume Designers Guild Awards 2005The 8th Costume Designers Guild Awards, given on February 26, 2006, honored the best costume designs in film and television for 2005. Winners highlighted in bold.-Film: Contemporary Film:* Danny Glicker – Transamerica...
: "Excellence in Costume Design for Television – Period/Fantasy", 2005 - Nominated – two Golden Reel Awards, 2003
- Nominated – two Saturn AwardSaturn AwardThe Saturn Award is an award presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films to honor the top works in science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, television, and home video. The Saturn Awards were devised by Dr. Donald A. Reed in 1972, who felt that films within...
s, 2004 - Nominated – two VES Awards, 2004
- Nominated – Costume Designers Guild AwardCostume Designers Guild Awards 2005The 8th Costume Designers Guild Awards, given on February 26, 2006, honored the best costume designs in film and television for 2005. Winners highlighted in bold.-Film: Contemporary Film:* Danny Glicker – Transamerica...
, 2005
International reception and broadcasters
HBO president Chris AlbrechtChris Albrecht
Chris Albrecht is an American media executive. Albrecht is currently the President and CEO of Starz, LLC, Liberty Media Corp.'s pay cable and movie unit. Albrecht is the former Chairman and CEO of HBO. He founded Foresee Entertainment, an independent content creation, development and distribution...
stated that Carnivàle was "not a big show for foreign [distribution]," but did not go into more detail. Reviews however indicate that the show's cryptic mythology and inaccessibility to the casual viewer were major factors. Nevertheless, Carnivàle was sold to several foreign networks and was distributed to HBO channels abroad. The DVD releases of Carnivàle extended the availability of the show further.
Countries or regions and the corresponding channels that broadcasted Carnivàle are:
- Saudi ArabiaSaudi ArabiaThe Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
on MBC ActionMBC ActionMBC Action is a free-to-air satellite TV channel that screens films and television programs from the action genre. Programs are subtitled in Standard Arabic. It is available in the Arab World by satellites BADR4 and Nilesat 102. It launched on March 5, 2007 at 6:00 P.M... - AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
on ABC1ABC1ABC1 was a United Kingdom based television channel from Disney using the branding of the Disney owned American network, ABC.The channel initially launched exclusively on the British digital terrestrial television platform Freeview on 27 September 2004. On 10 December 2004 it was launched on... - BelgiumBelgiumBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
on Canvas and Acht (Digital TV) - Bosnia & Herzegovina on RTRSRadio Televizija Republike SrpskeRadio Televizija Republike Srpske , otherwise RTRS, is the public-service broadcasting organization of the Republika Srpska entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina....
- BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
on SBT and HBO Brasil - CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
on The Movie NetworkThe Movie NetworkThe Movie Network is a Canadian English language Category A premium television service, owned by Astral Media. The service is licensed to operate east of the Ontario-Manitoba border, excluding the territories... - CroatiaCroatiaCroatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
on HRTCroatian RadiotelevisionCroatian Radiotelevision is a Croatian public broadcasting company. It operates several radio and television channels, over a domestic transmitter network as well as satellite... - FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
on Canal Jimmy, beginning 2004 (as La Caravane de l'étrange) - GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
on Fox ChannelFox Channel (Germany)Fox Channel is a German television channel dedicated to television drama series.The channel started broadcasting on the Arena platform and the Unitymedia cable network on May 20, 2008....
, beginning January 6, 2009 - GreeceGreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
on Star ChannelStar ChannelStar Channel is a Greek television network that broadcasts a mix of foreign and Greek programming. It launched in December 1993 and is owned by Nea Tileorasi A.E.. The main news bulletin is called Star Eidiseis, which is currently hosted by Aimilios Liatsos... - IsraelIsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
on Yes+ - ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
on Jimmy - RomaniaRomaniaRomania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
on Pro TVPro TVLaunched in December 1995, Pro TV reaches almost 99% of Romania’s 21.5 million people and has 48% of its broadcast schedule comprising locally-produced programs...
and HBO Romania - IrelandIrelandIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
on TG4TG4TG4 is a public service broadcaster for Irish language speakers. The channel has been on-air since 31 October 1996 in the Republic of Ireland and since April 2005 in Northern Ireland.... - NetherlandsNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
on VPROVPROThe VPRO was established in the Netherlands in 1926 as a religious broadcasting organization. Falling under the Protestant pillar, it represented the Liberal Protestant current...
- NorwayNorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
on NRK2NRK2NRK2 is one of the TV channels of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation . It was launched in 1996. It has traditionally concentrated on more on cultural and in-depth programmes than its mother channel NRK1 and has also shown drama series, comedies, and news. When not broadcasting regular... - New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
on TV2 - PortugalPortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
on SIC RadicalSIC RadicalSIC Radical is a cable television channel in Portugal owned by Sociedade Independente de Comunicação.SIC Radical is an entertainment channel targeted at teens and young adults. Programs are mostly imported, mainly from the United States and the United Kingdom... - SloveniaSloveniaSlovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
on RTV SloRadiotelevizija SlovenijaRadiotelevizija Slovenija – usually abbreviated to RTV Slovenija – is Slovenia's national public broadcasting organization. Based in the country's capital, Ljubljana, it has regional broadcasting centres in Koper and Maribor and correspondents around Slovenia, Europe and the world... - SwedenSwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
on Canal+ ScandinaviaC More EntertainmentC More Entertainment is a premium television company, operating under the banner CANAL+, that targets the Nordic Countries and with one separate channel in Sweden ....
and SVTSveriges TelevisionSveriges Television AB , Sweden's Television, is a national television broadcaster based in Sweden, funded by a compulsory fee to be paid by all television owners... - South AfricaSouth AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
on M-NetM-NetM-Net is a subscription-funded television channel in South Africa, established in 1986 by Naspers.... - FinlandFinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
on NelonenNelonenNelonen is a Finnish commercial TV channel. It started out as Helsinki's local television channel PTV in 1989 on the HTV cable network, which name was changed first to PTV4 and then to Nelonen. It started on June 1, 1997. Nelonen, in Finnish, means the glyph of the number four. The channel is...
(Channel 4) - TurkeyTurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
on CNBC-eCNBC-eCNBC-e is a hybrid business/financial and entertainment channel operated in Turkey by CNBC Europe and the NTV Group.The channel shares its name with a co-owned magazine about CNBC-e.... - United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
on FXFX (UK)FX is a television channel in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, owned by Fox, launched in 12 January 2004. It was originally branded as FX289 in reference to its Sky EPG number. It was rebranded to FX in May 2005 as the channel moved in the Sky EPG.FX targets a demographic between 25...
and Sky Atlantic - AsiaAsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
on HBO AsiaHBO AsiaHBO Asia is a franchise of HBO in Asia. HBO Asia is now a joint venture of media giants Viacom and Time Warner . Sony Pictures Entertainment and Universal Studios exited the fifteen year-old HBO Asia premium movie joint venture on January 16, 2008.... - Central EuropeCentral EuropeCentral Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...
on HBO Central Europe - Latin AmericaLatin AmericaLatin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
on HBO Latin America
Lawsuit
On June 9, 2005, a lawsuit was filed in United States district courtUnited States district court
The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of law, equity, and admiralty. There is a United States bankruptcy court associated with each United States...
by Los Angeles writer Jeff Bergquist. He claimed that the creators of Carnivàle did not originate the idea for the show, but rather stole it from his unpublished novel Beulah, a quirky drama set amid a traveling carnival during the Depression that Bergquist had been working on since the 1980s. Bergquist sought both recognition and punitive damages by arguing that HBO and Carnivàle creator Daniel Knauf
Daniel Knauf
Daniel Knauf, sometimes credited under the pseudonyms Wilfred Schmidt and Chris Neal, is an American screenwriter, comic book writer, director and producer best known for his creation of the 2003 HBO series Carnivàle.-Biography:...
violated his copyright on Beulah, but HBO and Knauf denied any claims as having "absolutely no merit." The matter was settled amicably with no admission of liability and an order of dismissal was filed on February 17, 2006.