Underplayed Gems

Carnivàle (2003)

Carnivàle poster
Genre
drama television series, thriller television series, mystery television series, fantasy television series
Country
United States
Length
2 seasons, 24 episodes
Rated
TV-MA
Rating
7.9 of 10 from 461 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this series is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

In the 1930s Dust Bowl, a traveling carnival brings together strangers whose lives are connected by a hidden battle between good and evil. The story follows a young man with strange powers and a dark preacher, as their paths slowly converge.

bleakatmosphericmysteriousslow-burnsurrealsomberspookybrooding

What happens

Carnivàle () is an American television series set in the United States Dust Bowl during the Great Depression of the 1930s. The series, created by Daniel Knauf for HBO, ran for two seasons from September 7, 2003 to March 27, 2005. In tracing the lives of disparate groups of people in a traveling carnival, Knauf's story combined a bleak atmosphere with elements of the surreal in portraying struggles between good and evil and between free will and destiny. The show's mythology draws upon themes and motifs from traditional Christianity and gnosticism together with Masonic lore, particularly that of the Knights Templar order. Nick Stahl and Clancy Brown starred as Ben Hawkins and Brother Justin Crowe, respectively. Knauf also served as executive producer along with Ronald D. Moore and 3 Arts Entertainment's Howard Klein. The show was filmed in Santa Clarita, California, and nearby Southern California locations. Early reviews praised Carnivàle for style and originality but questioned the approach and execution of the story. The first episode set an audience record for an HBO original series and drew durable ratings through the first season. When the series proved unable to sustain these ratings in its second season, it was cancelled. An intended six-season run was thus cut short by four seasons. In all, 24 episodes of Carnivàle were broadcast. In 2004, the series won five Emmys out of fifteen nominations. The show received numerous other nominations and awards between 2004 and 2006. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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