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On Television |
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HBO's 'CARNIVALE' (Premieres Sunday, Sept. 14 at 9:30 p.m.; airs at 9 p.m. on subsequent Sunday nights) |
 Michael J. Anderson as Carnival Manager Samson |
This show is offbeat, but
is it too much to handle?
By DONNA J. PLESH
of TheColumnists.com
Years ago I remember being stumped when trying to tell
a friend about the then new Fox series "Ally McBeal"
without giving away too much. I told him it was quirky. Very
quirky. It was easy to explain the basic plotline--a group of
youngish lawyers working in a high-powered Boston law firm.
But I hit a brick wall when I tried to explain how the Dancing
Baby fit into the scheme of things on "Ally."
Now comes the quirky and way offbeat new HBO series "Carnivale." Basically, it¹s a drama about
two seemingly very different men traveling different life paths--both
bound by the same mysterious dreams and supernatural powers.
Right.
Not your traditional TV series by any stretch of the imagination.
But then this is HBO--the network that gave us "The Sopranos,"
about life in a Mafia family; "Six Feet Under," about
a family of funeral directors, and "Sex in The City,"
about, well, thirtysomething women looking for love in New York
City. All are quirky and different...and all are Emmy winners.
So, now there's "Carnivale," which is what you get when you blend
the supernatural, sci-fi, history and religion into one show--then
plop it down in 1934 America, a nation in the grip of the Great
Depression. Millions are jobless, drought has turned farms to
dust, people are living in unbelieveable poverty and the future
is uncertain at best.
A traveling carnival is passing by as a young man, Ben Hawkins
(Nick Stahl), buries his mother in a dusty hole in the yard on
what was left of their farm. The carnival manager takes Hawkins
in, an unpopular move with some of the carnival crew who wonder
about his unexplained ankle iron, his quietness and his mysterious
powers, i.e. a crippled girl is able to walk after he lays hands
on her legs.
Though nothing about Ben should surprise the carnival people--who
should be used to the unusual (the bearded lady, lizard man)--or
the eccentric. After all, they also count among their number
a blind psychic (Patrick Bauchau), so troubled by what he sees
in Ben¹s mind that he asks the carny manager, Samson (Michael
J. Anderson), to get rid of him. But, for unknown reasons, the
carnival¹s big boss--the unseen person referred to only
as Management--who wants him to stay.
In a parallel storyline, minister Brother Justin Crowe (Clancy
Brown) and his supportive sister Iris (Amy Madigan) tend to church-goers
in a small California town. Most of the church members seem well
off for the times, but many are growing uneasy by the influx
of new people--migrants--to their church.
After a mystical encounter with one of the migrants who had stolen
from the collection plate, Brother Justin tells Iris he¹s
had a sign from God telling him to set up a house of worship
for the migrants. His choice for the church is the town¹s
gambling house/brothel. His problem is convincing the owner to
turn it over to him for use in his ministry. Using his mysterious
powers, Brother Justin gets the location.
Meanwhile, back at the carnival, young Ben has caught the eye
of the carny¹s tarot -card reader, Sofie (Clea Duvall),
who cares for her catatonic psychic mother. The Ben-Sofie relationship,
such as it is, angers the carny¹s head rigger, Jones (Tim
DeKay), who has a soft spot for Sofie. and wouldn¹t mind
seeing young Ben gone.
At a small town on its regular circuit, the sheriff refuses to
let the carnival set up. Undeterred, Samson reinvents the carny
into a religious revival show with Ben as the star attraction--a
healer. At the same time in California, Brother Justin is preaching
old time religion to his migrant congregation, all the while
wondering what his strange dreams mean. Ben, too, is troubled
by similar dreams and is determined to find their meaning.
"Carnivale" is interesting, primarily because
it is so different. Anyone remember a TV drama series set during
the Great Depression? But interesting to watch does not translate
into "must see" TV every week. The show¹s plot,
what little I have been able to figure out after seeing three
episodes, makes figuring out what¹s going on in ABC¹s
"Alias" a snap in comparison.
"Carnivale's"
slow-to-unfold plotline,
its twists and turns, and its multi-layered characters mean this
is a show that needs to be watched week after week. It's not
a show like "Everybody Loves Raymond" where you can
miss an episode and tune in the next week without feeling you
have missed much. Miss an episode of "Carnivale" (even though it has muliple reruns during the week)
and you will be scratching your head trying to figure out what
the heck is going on.
©2003 by Donna J. Plesh. The photo is courtesy HBO.
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