I’d be the first one to admit to liking HBO productions (Deadwood, Band of Brothers, True Blood, Boardwalk Empire, Game of Thrones etc) because they often include suggestive themes, bad language, violence and nudity which makes it feel more raw, closer to reality or natural if you will. Life isn't PG-13 and therefore what I choose to watch on tv shouldn't be either.
Carnivàle takes place in the 1930’s and circles around an ambivalent Methodist preacher (Clancy Brown - Gargoyles, Pet Sematary 2, Cowboys & Aliens) on the one hand and on the other an insecure young man (Nick Stahl - Sin City, Terminator 3). After his mother's death the young man, Ben Hawkings by name, joins a moving carnival show (complete with strippers, a freak show and carousels). The two men are connected through prophetic dreams and special powers of the heavenly and hellish kind.
Other notable characters are the mysterious carnival boss Samson (Michael J. Anderson – Mulholland Dr., Twin Peaks) who does his best to lead Hawkings in the right direction, and the young and unwilling fortune teller Sofie (the amazing Clea DuVall - Faculty, Ten Inch Hero, Heroes) whose wishes mainly extend to finding a way out of the carnie life.
Personally, the whole Heaven vs. Hell is getting quite old after eight seasons of Supernatural but strangely enough I still enjoy it thanks to all that's surrounds that core. The relationships between people are complicated and often quite incestuous like it is in small tightly knit groups of people. What also struck me as positive was the fact that nothing is romanticized or particularly glamorous.
I can’t pinpoint exactly what it is but the series remind me of Firefly. It has something to do with the music. And the dirt.
Oh, the dirt.
No comments:
Post a Comment