HBO’s Carnivale keeps rolling along

Larry Grieco

2/3/2005 - The HBO series Carnivale is unbelievably good. It began its second season a few weeks ago and didn’t lose a beat from season one. The story follows a circus troupe as it wends its way across dust bowl Oklahoma and west Texas in depression era America. The supernatural abounds in this eerie tale, and one is drawn in unerring fashion to this little universe where the eternal conflict of good versus evil is taking place, and nothing short of the world is at stake. 

  In the beginning Ben Hawkins, played by Nick Stahl, is found burying the body of his mother as a tractor is about to level his farmhouse during the Oklahoma dust bowl era. The circus caravan is passing by and Ben, who has lost everything, is recruited, not entirely by chance. The circus is run by an unseen entity, a voice behind a curtain in one of the trailers, known as “Management.” Management’s orders are relayed to everyone by Samson, played with style by Michael J. Anderson (formerly of Twin Peaks). Management says to “bring the kid along,” and he is hired on, although his job description is a little vague.

  While the story of the carnies is unfolding on the road, in California a preacher named Brother Justin (Clancy Brown) is on the rise. In alternate segments we follow the career of Justin and his loyal sister, Iris (Amy Madigan), as they slowly gain power and influence, first with a congregation of migrant workers, and later a radio program in which Justin’s sermons go out to thousands of listeners along the West Coast. A colleague of Justin, the Rev. Balthus (Ralph Waite), has a moment of clarity in which he recognizes the unspeakable evil that resides within the charismatic preacher, but immediately suffers a stroke that leaves him powerless to stop Justin or to warn anyone else. Slowly but surely we feel the seemingly unrelated roads of Ben Hawkins and Brother Justin are destined to cross sometime in the future—they even share the same nightmares.

  There are many subplots going on, all of which are interesting. Young Sophie receives telepathic messages from her semi-comatose mother, Apollonia, which enables her to read people’s fortunes with Tarot cards. Her all-knowing mother is also pretty good at nagging her coming-of-age daughter from inside her head, especially about her love life and who she should have as friends. Ruthie, the snake charmer (Adrienne Barbeau), has not been quite the same since she died and Hawkins resurrected her—she seems to see, and even communicate with, people who are long dead. And then there’s the poster family for dysfunctional—husband/father Stumpy is emcee for wife Rita Sue, and daughters Libby and Dora Mae, who have a striptease act (Dora Mae doesn’t make it out of Babylon, Texas, in perhaps the most intriguing, and by far the darkest episode.) When Stumpy finds out that Jonesy, the carnival’s rousty manager, had an affair with his wife, he doesn’t get jealous—he just charges Jonesy a fair price for the pleasures rendered. 

  In the largest sense, what is going on is that the world is headed for oblivion, possibly connected to A-bomb tests in Alomogordo, New Mexico, and certainly threatened by the devil himself in the form of Brother Justin. On the side of good we only have young Ben Hawkins, who has the power to heal, and even to restore life to another (always at the cost of something precious). Ben is searching for his father, Henry Scudder (John Savage), from whom he inherited his gift of healing. And there’s Management, a voice behind a curtain, who is pitting Ben against all that is evil, but refuses to help in any way. As for Samson, well, he just follows orders. 

  Last September, Carnivale received five Emmy Awards, including: Main Title Design; Hairstyling for a Series; Costumes for a Series; Art Direction for a Single-Camera Series; and Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series. Next year, at awards time, look for some major nominations, including Anderson for best actor in a supporting role. The New York Times described Carnivale as "richly imagined," calling the show a "spooky supernatural adventure that tightly entwines magic and the mundane," and Time termed it "magical" and "spectacular."     

  (Be forewarned:  Like most cable television series, Carnivale is an adult drama, not intended for children of any age. It contains adult themes, sexual situations, explicit language, and occasional nudity.)