‘Carnivále’ - Fantasy TV Review

[@KatalistProductionsKozzySasha]

One of the most underrated show ever

[@GeeVanderplas]

The most amazing show ever! Great depth, amazing performances all round, beautifully shot. So sad that it got cancelled. Saddest part is, if it got made today I'm sure it would be a big hit.

[@vanessamerino7726]

I was so upset HBO didn’t renew Carnivale!

[@thebottledimp]

Yeah, they had 5 series planned out. Such a shame.

[@ApustajaGearSolid]

Good review! This is one of the greatest shows of all time.

[@GregBreden]

It was really different. I thought it had a Stephen King sort of flavour to it with a touch of "Something Wicked This Way Comes". I'm always a sucker for spooky circus type atmospheres. Loved Clancy Brown, another choice role. But as for his performances "There can be only one!!"

[@thebottledimp]

+Greg Breden Yes, certainly "Something Wicked This Way Comes." Something about spooky circuses!

[@SalveRegina8]

🤣😂⚔

[@oddeagle1968]

"Another step and I will kill you where you stand. Then what will become of you, friend, I wonder." --Management

[@Slopmaster]

“It seems we are of ilk nature after all.”

[@Ulyssestnt]

This was a great show,back when HBO became the gold standard for TV with Sopranos,Rome ,Deadwood Carnivale ,etc ,the feel of it was exceptional.

[@thebottledimp]

+Scrooge Mcduck Yes, HBO started making really good dramas and continue to do so. Praise the lord for box sets and Netflix!

[@Evilgeddylee]

Its 2023, just finished a watch through of the series. Aged like fine wine, its better everytime I watch it.

[@luceatlux7087]

what a great reviewer... i love The Bottled Imp! i always thought that this was he best idea for a series, ever. but, when i watched it (during my late teens), i remember not being engaged, for some reason. maybe i'll give it another go and, perhaps, like it at my current age.

[@paulbattifora7617]

I binge this series once a year and end up frustrated each time...

[@TheWaynos73]

The show did have that really classic feeling I'd say its closest influence would be The Grapes of Wrath and The Treasure of The Sierra Madre where everyone just looked so sweaty and dirty and downtrodden.

[@eduardo_corrochio]

It was a truly special television experience. Highly immersive (listen to it with good headphones, you'll never watch it again without 'em) with such brilliant period details and production design. Once you watch the show it lingers with you for good-- you never forget certain things: like tar and feathers, or hearing Management's voice for the first time, and that dream sequence Ben has about mask making, etc etc etc. However, to be frank, Carnivale often feels like two different shows: the main story of the carny folk struggling to keep their traveling show successful, and the tale of Brother Justin and Ben Hawkins who are slowly becoming destined to find each other. This split cannot have helped with ratings. The series was a slow burn to start with, and then to focus more on one aspect seemed odd. But it's not easy to criticize the show since it was so beautifully rendered, and made a fictional world that was so specific. Even the opening credits sequence was spectacular, taking a slew of famous paintings and photos and film clips, and weaving them into something super. Yes, it is a pity and shame that Carnivale was ended prematurely by the studio, but I'm glad we at least got two chapters of marvelous and mystical story that took us away to another time and place. Pure escapism. Best regards from Pennsylvania.

[@TheWaynos73]

I would have loved it even if they finished off the remainder of the story in a series of books. Although it was cancelled I did feel strangely satisfied enough at the end of season 2, yes there were a few loose ends but it was nice to leave a little mystery.

[@taimur74]

Most underrated show of al time

[@thebottledimp]

Totally!

[@parawomenradio]

I still live with the hope it will come back (sorta like how Twin Peaks did!)

[@BibiTheLinkBuilder]

such an AMAZING show - still so so good - why did it get canceled????

[@ozzyperez3190]

Same reason all great shows get cancelled. Not enough viewers tuning on and high invesments costs. People would rather watch another Spiderman reboot or the next fast and the furious.

[@eduardo_corrochio]

@@ozzyperez3190 And Carnivale cost 4 million $ to make each episode. That is a massive budget.

[@BibiTheLinkBuilder]

@@eduardo_corrochio wooow 4 million? that's bizarre

[@eduardo_corrochio]

@@BibiTheLinkBuilder Oops, that should've been 2 million.

[@DiegoGonzalez-ct6fz]

Thats absurd 😂​@@eduardo_corrochio

[@csgrambauer5852]

What do you mean about Ben and his town?! He didn't live in a town at all but in the very small house of his and his mothers in the middle of nowhere.

[@thebottledimp]

+csgrambauer Thanks for watching csgrambauer. Yes, that's what I meant! By the way, we've created a Facebook group called The Bottled Imp Fellowship, search for that in Facebook, click Join and we'll add you in. Be great to see you there.

[@csgrambauer5852]

No problem. Oh okay fair enough. Sorry, no offence but eww. I hate Facecrook. Hated that site for many, many years but thanks anyway for the offer.

[@chazarcola7639]

Before Daniel Knauf's CARNIVALE , there was Shaun Cassidy's AMERICAN GOTHIC.

[@eduardo_corrochio]

Not fair to even mention those two together. One is sprawling and fantastic and cinematic ... while the older show was a nice supernatural drama. Totally different calibers, and also time periods. They only share a paranormal element. Just my viewpoint. I remember watching the Shaun Cassidy program (syrupy female Southern accent: "Someone's at the door") when it debuted.

[@weirdvibes2484]

Just loved it! So distraught it was cancelled.

[@thebottledimp]

Yes, was so creative and immersing.

[@SalveRegina8]

The casting really made this show. They could have dialed down the budget and kept this show going purely on the awesome cast.

[@TheAnanaki]

Ben can't heal persay. He has the ability to transfer life. It's a technicality , yes, but the fact he has to do harm in order to do good is one of the central conflicts not only of Ben himself but the entire series. That said glad to see someone finally review what I consider to be HBO's finest show to date not named Deadwood.

[@thebottledimp]

+TheAnanaki Ah, very good point about transfering life. Yeah, such a good show. Was gutted it got cancelled after 2 series. I loved Deadwood too!

[@TheAnanaki]

The Bottled Imp The producers actually released some info on where season 3 story arcs would lead in case you have that empty taste in your mouth too.

[@thebottledimp]

+TheAnanaki Ah, nice. Thanks for that.

[@cob.9831]

I never paid too much attention to that because the sacrifice always seem to be worth it. But rewatching it through the pandemic. the first episode I noticed to give that little girl her legs back that family lost their whole field of crops. I would make that swap any day for my child. but I'm not sure what that would have meant for a family back then. If it leads to malnutrition, sickness and then losing one of those kids. then was it a great deal?

[@TheAnanaki]

@@cob.9831 That's exactly the kind of thing that probably ran through Ben's head as well. And something you prob don't think about the first time viewing the show. The viewer simply sees the swap of curing her Polio for some dead crops. Discovering the little nuances like that really help the viewer get into the head space of some of the characters. It really was a brilliant short lived series. If you didn't see my follow up to my original post there are some outlines of where the series would have gone in season 3 if you are that interested.

[@EnligUlv]

Maybe an angel investor out there will pick it up and see it through...

[@kidwajagstang]

Unfortunately HBO has turned down every effort David Knauf has taken to try to finish it. I get the feeling some higher up has a personal issue with David that he’s oblivious to. Possibly said or did something that was taken the wrong way and now can’t make anything happen as a result. HBO has strangely turned down opportunities that would have given them basically free money for nothing but their permission to use the license. Very strange.

[@zzz-bu3zh]

please bring back this show!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@thebottledimp]

I know!!

[@ryancoulter4797]

Back when streaming a show meant Kazaa

[@vincentcarrot]

The sparse use of effects, the incredibly accurate (AFAIK) period where the show was set and the actors + the story made it the creepiest thing on TV ever. Close second is Sapphire & Steel.

[@justsharki]

Great review, sounds interesting. But have you read Dresden's chronicles? I have watched only the tv series and I was wondering are the books any good? May be you can make a review of on of these if you have not already ;) :))

[@thebottledimp]

+justsharki Thanks. No, I haven't. I've had a quick look online. Sounds interesting. I've added the series to the Fellow Imp's List of Suggestions. Cheers.

[@thebottledimp]

Thanks Archior. I've added it to the Suggestion List. I've seen these books in the bookshop and the covers are always appealing.

[@thewisetzar5363]

Ahead of it's time, what a shame they cancelled this, Deadwood and ROME!

[@thebottledimp]

Didn't even get his first name right! It's Daniel Knauf.

[@samsmith4216]

Daniel Knauf...not David. This show is the best TV has ever offered. Interesting and original...as opposed to The Sopranos which is just another Mob movie...albeit a great presentation of it. But Carnivale hits you from angles you never expect.

[@Motherloadrocks]

great show good entertainment

[@thebottledimp]

+brian mazzoni Our review or Carnivale? Hopefully you mean both! By the way, we've created a Facebook group. If you search on Facebook for The Bottled Imp Fellowship, click on the 'Join' button, and we'll add you in. Be great to see you there!

[@Motherloadrocks]

review is aiso very good,thanks

[@nealskrenes2612]

*Carnivàle* not _Carnival!_

[@davidetienne9404]

You're not pronouncing the show correctly. It's not "carnival".