'' is an American dramatic
Television Series produced by
HBO . Created by
Daniel Knauf , it stars
Nick Stahl and
Clancy Brown . The show ran from 2003-2005.
The series is a period drama set in the
United States during the
Great Depression . It has an overarching story about the battle between good and evil as well as the struggle between free will and destiny.
At the beginning of the first episode, the carnival's manager (a dwarf named Samson) says:
: "Before the beginning, after the great war between heaven and hell, God created the Earth and gave dominion over it to the crafty ape he called man... and to each generation was born a creature of light and a creature of darkness... and great armies clashed by night in the ancient war between good and evil. There was magic then. Nobility. And unimaginable cruelty. And so it was until the day that a false sun exploded over
Trinity , and man forever traded away wonder for reason."
This quotation offers a glimpse into the show's subject matter and framework.
The story consists of two main plot lines that are slowly converging. The first involves a young man with strange healing powers named
Ben Hawkins , the "creature of light," who joins a travelling carnival when it passes near his home in Milfay, Oklahoma. Soon thereafter, Ben begins experiencing strange dreams and visions, and finds himself on the trail of a man named Henry Scudder, a drifter who crossed paths with the carnival many years before... and who apparently possessed unusual abilities similar to Ben's own. Scudder is eventually revealed to be Ben's father.
The second plotline revolves around a Methodist preacher,
Brother Justin Crowe , the "creature of darkness," Ben's opposite and his ultimate nemesis. Justin is also learning the extent of his strange powers, which seem to include the ability to bend human beings to his will, and to make their sins or "greatest evils" manifest in the form of terrifying, traumatic visions. Justin experiences surreal, prophetic dreams similar to those of his young counterpart.
As the story progresses, the carnival travels west toward California and a confrontation seems inevitable. The westward movement parallels the migration of the
Okies (migrant workers and itinerant laborers) from
Oklahoma to
California during the
Dust Bowl era.
Samson also initiates us into the second season, saying:
: "On the heels of the skirmish Man foolishly called the war to end all wars, the Dark One sought to elude his destiny... live as a mortal. So he fled across the ocean, to an empire called America... but by his mere presence, a cancer corrupted the spirit of the land. People were rendered mute by fools who spoke many words, but said nothing... for whom oppression and cowardice were virtues... and freedom, an obscenity. Into this new land, the Prophet stalked his enemy... until, diminished by his wounds, he turned to the next in the ancient line of light. And so it was that the fate of all mankind came to rest on the trembling shoulders of the most reluctant of saviors."
In the second season opener, Ben meets the mysterious figure known as Management, the heretofore unseen presence that controls the carnival, and gives Samson his often stupefying orders. Management is actually a man named Lucius Belyakov, Ben's predecessor and the previous creature of light. Belyakov shows Ben a vision of the first atomic test near Alamogordo, N.M., and tells him that the devastating explosion he's just witnessed is "the final link in a chain of events that is unfolding even now. YOU must break that chain." The only way to do that, Belyakov tells him, is by destroying the preacher Ben sees in his visions.
Meanwhile, Justin (who's begun delivering weekly sermons over the airwaves via a local radio station, eventually drawing thousands of Okies and migrants to the site of his new ministry outside Mintern, California) is approached by a man named Smith, who identifies Justin as "the Usher" and tells him that, in order for him to attain his full measure of power and thus fulfill his destiny, he must kill Henry Scudder, the previous creature of darkness.
Fortunately, Ben eventually finds Scudder and brings him to Belyakov, who forces him to reveal the identity of Ben's opposite... Belyakov's son, Alexi (Justin and his sister Iris were raised by a minister named Norman Balthus, and given their new names, after their mother- Belyakov's wife- was killed in a train derailment). Belyakov then attacks Scudder, forcing Ben to kill him. At that point, all of Belyakov's knowledge and power passes on to Ben, who proceeds to begin searching for his nemesis.
The second season ends with a dramatic confrontation between Ben and Brother Justin in a field outside New Canaan, California.
The show mixes
Christian theology with aspects of
Gnosticism and
Masonic lore, particularly that of the
Knights Templar .
While ratings began agreeably, by the end of the first season they were down significantly. During the second season, the ratings slowly rose toward the end; however, the show became increasingly expensive to produce at the same time. Many fans suspected that, due to HBO's tradition of carrying shows through to an end, and Daniel Knauf's six-year plan, the show would be renewed, but in May
2005 , it was leaked that the series would not be returning for another season.
HBO confirmed that the show had been cancelled on
May 11 ,
2005 .
The show's ending after its second season and leaving so many plotlines unfinished has outraged many viewers. Some of them organized petitions and mailing drives to HBO in an effort to get the show renewed. According to HBO's president this generated more than 50,000 emails to the network in a single weekend.
Had the series continued, several things would have occurred, according to Knauf. The series would have been composed of three "books", with two seasons per book, spanning several years. (Thus the first book was completed.) It would also have been revealed that neither Brother Justin nor Jonesy had permanently died at the conclusion of the second season. As there is no indication of whether the show or its storyline will continue in any form, Knauf's intentions behind mentioning these points are unknown.
This information was dispersed to the fanbase on the internet by the show's creator, Daniel Knauf, around the time of the end of season 2. There was much online debate going on about the official "rulebook" of the show's underlying pseudo-religious battle between Good and Evil, before the rules were finally laid out through and through by Knauf. Some information is added with this addendum to Wikipedia.
- Two Houses, Light and Dark;
- Two Avatars per generation - eldest males, one light, one dark;
- An Avatar's nature is random - dark can beget light and light can beget dark;
- One Prophet (Dominant/eldest male) per House;
- One or more Princes (Ascendant males), depending on the number of generations alive at any one time (the whole thing is not altogether different from the ascent of royal families, except... );
- A Prince must kill the Prophet with his own hands in order to gain his full measure of power (per Wilfred Talbot Smith, who knows a thing or three about such things).
- Free choice is operative.
- Though tougher and more resilient than normal humans, Avatars are still mortal.
- The Usher of Destruction - an Avataric Prophet who has been foretold as a harbinger of the End Times (again, per Talbot Smith); as for the TRUE function of the Usher, it has yet to be revealed.
- The Alpha was the first Avatar - a female. Her story has been lost since the destruction of the Royal Library of Alexandria by Theophilus, Patriarch of Alexandria (incidentally, the patron saint of arsonists). The Omega (which had erroneously been considered synonymous with the Usher by most scholars) is the last Avatar - also a female. Her story has yet to be concluded.
To clarify:
- The line of Avatars is passed from generation to generation within families (called Avataric Dynasties), but not necessarily from father to son... instead, the line passes to the eldest male of each generation (in other words, an elder nephew or possibly even a second cousin could inherit the line, even if the previous Avatar has a direct male heir).
- A certain portion of the population carries 'avataric blood' (the potential to sire or give birth to an Avatar). If the next generation of the current Dynasty contains no male heir, the line passes to the next male child, born anywhere in the world, with the most avataric blood. A person with avataric blood (who is not himself an Avatar) is called a Vectorus.
- Any woman who gives birth to an Avatar will quickly go insane afterwards (witness Flora Hawkins, Emma Krohn, and Appollonia), and will never again be capable of bearing children.
- A nascent Avatar (one who has not yet attained his full measure of power) is called a Prince. Once he kills the previous Avatar and receives his Boon (the sum of his predecessor's knowledge and power), he becomes a Prophet. ("By the hand of the Prince, the Prophet dies; upon his death, the Prince shall rise.") The eldest Prince still becomes a Prophet if his predecessor dies by some other means, but will never attain the full potential of his power.
- Light Avatars possess the ability to heal (either physically or spiritually) with the laying on of hands, but only by drawing life from surrounding creatures. They can also raise the dead, but only by taking someone else's life in return for each one they restore. After receiving his Boon, a Light Avatar has the power to divine an enemy's location or direction of travel, to conjure places and objects out of thin air (but possibly only temporarily), to see through another person's eyes, and to project his consciousness or 'astral body' to remote locations.
- Dark Avatars have the power to impose their will over the minds of others, to make their sins or 'greatest evils' manifest, to communicate with and control people over great distances, and possibly to control the workings of machines and other inanimate objects as well. It is unclear exactly what new abilities a "creature of darkness" gains after receiving his Boon.
- Knauf also revealed the nature of the relationship between Scudder and Lodz (the two worked a sideshow attraction together in Europe; Lodz was blinded when Scudder unsuccessfully attempted to rid himself of his powers by passing them on to his friend), and the reason Ben was a fugitive when he first crossed paths with the carnival (he accidentally killed a security guard who tried to restrain him when he went to confront the bank manager who was trying to foreclose on his mother's land).
Though Daniel Knauf's comments on various message boards have cleared up many of the plot threads left dangling by the show's untimely cancellation, many questions still remain, including:
- What is Sofie's ultimate purpose as the Omega?
- What is the significance, if any, of the vision Ben and Sofie share, of the two of them kissing as an atomic bomb explodes in the background?
- What is Lodz's agenda? What exactly does he mean when he says that he will soon return 'in the flesh'?
- How will Jonesy survive his gunshot wound?
- What is Brother Justin's true function as 'the Usher'?
- How does 'the fate of all mankind' hinge upon the explosion at the Trinity site?
According to an
article on Mediavillage.com, HBO may be considering developing a movie or miniseries that would wrap up many of these plot lines. The article goes on to state that if the ratings are good, HBO may consider renewing the show for a third season.
- Nick Stahl as , an Okie; Son of Henry "Hack" Scudder; Avatar of Light
- Clancy Brown as (Alexi Belyakov) {Deceased - Ben Krohn Hawkins}, a corrupt Methodist minister; Son of Lucius Belyakov; Younger brother of Iris Crowe; Sofie Agnesh Bojakshiya's father; Avatar of Darkness; Usher of Destruction
- Amy Madigan as (Irina Belyakov), Brother Justin Crowe's older sister; Daughter of Lucius Belyakov; Sofie Agnesh Bojakshiya's aunt
- John Carroll Lynch as , an escaped convict; Brother Justin Crowe's searcher for and finder of Henry "Hack" Scudder
- Ralph Waite as (Deceased - Brother Justin Crowe), Brother Justin Crowe's righteous Methodist mentor and former adoptive father; Crippled stroke victim
- Robert Knepper as , successful radio host who launched Brother Justin Crowe's "Church of the Air"; Framed for arson and murder (actually committed by Iris Crowe)
- K Callan as (Deceased - Iris Crowe), an Okie; Devoted follower of Brother Justin Crowe
- Time Winters as (Deceased - Henry "Hack" Scudder), occult advisor to Brother Justin Crowe
- Glenn Shadix as , a councilman in Mintern, California; Brother Justin Crowe's candidate for congress
- --- Matt McCoy as , another councilman in Mintern California; Assistant to Val Templeton
- John Savage as (Deceased - Brother Justin Crowe), previous generation's Avatar of Darkness; Formerly the "Gentleman Geek" of the carnival; Father of Ben Krohn Hawkins
- Linda Hunt as (voice) , or '''Lucius Belyakov''' (Deceased and Ascended - Ben Krohn Hawkins), previous generation's Avatar of Light; Owner of the carnival; Father of Brother Justin Crowe and Iris Crowe
- --- Michael Massee as (body) , or '''Lucius Belyakov'''
- Michael J. Anderson as , head of the carnival; Former dwarf-strongman; Ex-husband of Sabina Engstrom
- Tim DeKay as (Shot and left for dead - Sofie Agnesh Bojakshiya), leader of the roustabouts; Husband to Libby Dreifuss
- --- Bill Moseley as , the carnival's cook
- --- Scott MacDonald as , a roustabout
- --- Blake Shields as , another roustabout
- Clea Duvall as , fortune teller; Daughter of Apollonia Bojakshiya and Brother Justin Crowe; Currently exhibiting hitherto unknown powers: These powers seem to be like Ben's as she touches Brother Justin and the field around him begins to die
- Diane Salinger as (Deceased - Suicide by fire), catatonic fortune teller; Mother of Sofie Agnesh Bojakshiya; Could communicate telepathically with her daughter
- Patrick Bauchau as (Deceased - Ben Hawkins/Part-time possessing Ruthie), blind mentalist; Ex-assistant of Management
- Debra Christofferson as , the bearded lady; Professor Ernst Lodz' lover
- Adrienne Barbeau as (Part-time possessed by Lodz), a snake charmer; Ex-flame of Henry "Hack" Scudder; Mother to Gabriel
- Brian Turk as , a strong man; Ruthie's son
- Toby Huss as , manager of the "cootch show" (strip show); Rita Sue Dreifuss' husband; Father to Libby Dreifuss-Jones and Dora Mae Dreifuss
- Cynthia Ettinger as , main cootch show stripper; Felix "Stumpy" Dreifuss' wife; Mother to Libby Dreifuss-Jones and Dora Mae Dreifuss
- Carla Gallo as , cootch show dancer; Daughter of Rita Sue Dreifuss and Felix "Stumpy" Dreifuss; Former older sister of Dora Mae Dreifuss; Widow of Clayton "Jonesy" Jones
- Amanda Aday as (Deceased - Murdered in Babylon by Stangler), cootch show dancer; Former youngest daughter of Rita Sue Dreifuss and Felix "Stumpy" Dreifuss; Former younger sister of Libby Dreifuss-Jones
- Bree Walker as , "The Scorpion Queen" ( Ectrodactyly ) of the rival Daily Brothers Carnival; Ex-wife of Samson
- Matthew McGrory , as a giant
- John Fleck as , a lizard man (Season One)
- Karyn Steben as , Conjoined Twin of Caledonia (Season One)
- Sarah Steban as , conjoined twin of Alexandria (Season One)
- Don Swayze as the , a symbolic representation of the Usher of Destruction found in Avataric dreams
On
June 9 ,
2005 a lawsuit was filed in United States District court by writer Jeff Bergquist. Mr. Bergquist claimed that the creators of ''Carnivàle'' did not originate the idea for the show but rather stole it from his unpublished novel ''Beulah''. Mr. Bergquist claimed that HBO and ''Carnivàle'' creator Daniel Knauf violated his copyright on ''Beulah'' and sought both recognition and punitive damages. The case was dismissed with prejudice on
February 17 ,
2006 .
