Take 4 TV: Carnivale

Carnivale: Season One (2003)

What's Going On: Ben Hawkins, a young man with a mysterious past, is picked up by a traveling carnival and slowly begins to discover that the strange dreams he is having come with even stranger powers. From a strange, shadowy "Management" figure who never shows it's face, to an honest-to-goodness (albeit comatose) psychic, Ben ends up not being that much of misfit among the carnies and sideshows.

We're Not in Kansas Anymore: We're in the Dust Bowl of the Southern United States during the 1930's. Think Steinbeck. Think Okies. Not the most scenic of television series, but the stark and bleak mood is fitting a lot of the time. However, there's also a parallel storyline that takes place in California, involving a small-town priest who also begins experiencing strange visions and occurrences. More on this later...

Familiar Faces: You may recognize Samson, the "little person" who oversees the day-to-day operations of the carnival and answers to Management, as the mysterious Dwarf from Agent Cooper's dreams in Twin Peaks. He's played by Michael J. Anderson. There's also Adrienne Barbeau, who plays Ruthie, the Snake Charmer...I remember her from the 1980's classic film Swamp Thing (I think HBO played it three times a day for most of my elementary school years), but she was also in Cannonball Run, not to mention a slew of guest appearances on TV shows, including Hotel, Love Boat, and Fantasy Island. Finally, there's the character of Brother Justin, played by Clancy Brown. I wasn't sure where I recognized him from, but as my roommate was watching Lost on DVD, I noticed him: he played Desmond's "hatch-mate," who was introduced in the flashbacks of the final episode of Season Two.

Three Things to Look Out For: 1) A very beautiful and well-crafted opening credit sequence. 2) Several appearances by Robert Knepper, who also plays "T-Bag" in Prison Break. It's odd to see him play a likeable character for once. 3) Confusing parts that are either flashbacks, dream sequences, or some strange hybrid of the two.

And the Winner Is...: In the category of Most Succinct Plot for Revenge, the winner is Sofie, played by Clea DuVall. Short, sweet, and she even manages to take out two birds with one stone. Check it out in the final episode. It's not earth-shattering, but very concise and to the point.

Random Trivia: Nick Stahl, who plays Ben Hawkins, is rumored to be up for the role of John Connor in the next Terminator movie.

And I Quote: Justin: 'I'm reminded of the phrase "making a deal with the devil".' Tommy Dolan: 'Aw, come on. I'm not that bad.' Justin: 'No. You're not.'

Curt's Take: Not a Priority - I had high hopes for this series, and very much enjoyed the opening episode. Here you have a mysterious loner with strange powers he doesn't fully comprehend, placed against the mystical backdrop of a traveling carnival. Several states away you have a creepy priest, also bearing mysterious powers. I was expecting some sort of confrontation between good and evil, much like Stephen King's The Stand. But, you get through all twelve episodes, and the two characters never even cross paths, except for a handful of dream sequences! Major disappointment for me. Most of Season One is instead spent exploring the lineage of Ben Hawkins, and how some folks from his past may have interacted with the carnival before. There's not a lot of momentum, however, and I firmly believe that they could have condensed all the key plot points of Season One into maybe four episodes. I'll still watch Season Two, though...and just hope that there's more interaction and overlap between the two separate plots.

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Next Time on Take 4: In anticipation of new fall seasons, I'm hitting some of the shows I need to catch up on. Earlier this year, I checked out Battlestar Galactica, and was pleasantly surprised. Let's see how Season 2.0 treats me, as Season 3.0 is coming up quickly!