Who has watched Carnivale?: Season 1 Review

I'm very late to this HBO television series, nearly a decade late. I was a high schooler when this first rolled out. Back in the day when you actually had to purchase cable to consume anything that pushed the envelope of tv-drama, Carnivale was turning heads and pulling in viewers. There was nudity (like most of HBO shows back then), epic sets and costumes, and did I mention nudity?

I geeked out when I discovered that my Amazon Prime account allowed me to watch the series any time I wanted. I always wondered about this show I couldn't watch.

Carnivale was a supernatual drama about a band of traveling Carnies and their recent hired-hand, Ben, who senses that people around him know more about him and his healer's gift than he does. Meanwhile, a methodist-like pastor, Brother Justin, is realizing the potential of his own gift as well. Ben and Brother Justin's paths are building slowly, ever so tediously, to a snail's pace crash, complete with floaties and rubber bumpers so that no one (even the viewers) will hear it.

If you've read between the lines, you've already pieced together how I feel about this series.

Despite the actors, the set and the intricately woven stories lines, I got to the season finale still confused as to what I was watching. It felt more like a midseason finale. The mystery about Ben and Brother Justin were nearly answered, and the conflict you knew was gonna happen...didn't.

So I did some research. Apparently the writers and its creator, Mr. Daniel Knauf, worked really hard at creating the histories of all their characters. The main story line works in Templar Knights, gnosticism, and Christian ideals of good and evil. On top of that were stories about sexuality and relationships amid the suffering weight of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl South. Such a literary exploration of these themes did not always translate well to the small screen.

Nuggets of character revelations and story mythos were apparently left in many episodes. Fanatics I'm sure had fun deciphering these clues, but average viewers couldn't keep up. As I watched, I knew that something was happening, but I couldn't put my finger on it. I couldn't flip back through episodes, the way I would with pages, to piece and tie things together.

Viewership dropped steadily as Season 1 'shook dust' and moved on to the next season. I will follow them next season too knowing full well the series was axed before the creator and their writers got to fully see their vision.

Carnivale has won countless awards, 5 emmys and a bunch of other nominations. Despite this it suffered greatly for being to meta in its execution of its story. They had a hard time finding a happy medium (literally, in many ways) to present their story.

You too can watch Season One of Carnivale on Amazon, available on VoD and Amazon Prime.