CARNIVALE - Another show bites the dust bowl...Why is it so many great shows are cancelled before their time? American Gothic, Space: Above & Beyond and Millennium were all great TV series that I enjoyed enormously yet never lasted the distance. Gothic and S:AAB only lasted a measly season, while Millennium at least reached three (but never saw in 1999's New Year).
And now I can add the fantastic Carnivale to the list...
Carnivale's second season ended last year on America's HBO, but despite my love of the show I forced myself to stay away from the UK Sci-Fi Channel's airings in hope of another marathon DVD run. Well, I gave up on that a few weeks ago and turned to other means (wink, wink) to watch season 2. It's taken me 2 weeks to get to the finale, and every episode was a gem. The pace was much faster than the fairly plodding first season, with far more emphasis on the aspects of the show I enjoyed the most (i.e, the creepy mythology of the Creatures of Dark and Light...)
For those of you who don't know, Carnivale follows a traveling carnival as it wends its way across the Dust Bowl, focusing on Ben Hawkins, a mysterious 18-year-old fugitive with hidden talents who is taken in by the carnival, and Brother Justin, the charismatic, shadowy evangelist who will ultimately cross his path. The series takes place at a time of worldwide unrest, with evil on the rise around the globe and the Great Depression wreaking economic and social havoc at home...
I've mentioned the show on DMDB before, but it's just so great it's worth mentioning again! As with nearly all cancelled shows, the finale sets things up for future episodes that we'll never see. But there is internet chatter about a mini-series or graphic novels to complete creator Daniel Knauf's remaining "chapters".
Whatever the future holds for Carnivale, I recommend all lovers of intelligent supernatural fantasy with strong dramatic overtones buy Carnivale Season 1 DVD (the best way to let HBO know we want more!), and the Season 2 box-set when it's finally released (some say Play.com has it scheduled for August). You won't regret it, I assure you!
Time to shake some dust, children...