I just started watching Carnivale, the HBO show about a ragtag carnival scraping by in the 1930s Depression-era dustbowl days. In fact, I’ve only seen the first two episodes of the first season on DVD as I don’t get the fancy-schmancy cable-type channels.
But what I saw was wondrous: great characters, beautiful and strange depictions of rural Oklahoma and fertile California, and a storyline that had already put its claws around my story-hungry heart. Magic, mayhem, and madness lurked around and within the delightfully oddball characters, from the bearded lady down to the sad and wizened and diminutive ringleader. The first inklings of disastrous and magical events were just starting to take shape, and I rejoiced in knowing that I had latched onto a show that would be on agenda for a longtime to come.
Except not.
Rumors are now swirling that Carnivale has been put out to pasture after its second season on HBO.
From Ain’t It Cool News:
Fans of Carnivale woke up this morning to some very bad news. Beth Blighton, trusted source of Carnycon and she-who-knows-all posted that an "unimpeachable source" had confirmed that Carnivale is being cancelled.
I used to think that the cancellation of quality shows that hadn’t quite found a wide audience was the domain of the broadcast networks. But, sadly, even the mighty HBO, it seems, is making a sacrifice to the mighty Gods of Ratings.
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Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Dave Nalle
My impression was that the show is over, but the ending of the last episode left the possibility of a continuation very clearly open.
Carnivale was an awfully good show with a great ensemble cast. I think it outstrips Deadwood in many ways, though that's also a very good show.
It sure would be nice to see it back for another season.
Dave
2 - Eric Berlin
Apparently, the second season concluded one-third of the overall story arc.
It's too bad that we'll likely never see the completion of the original vison.
3 - Janice Druckman
What a shame to cancel such quality viewing. Although I've never seen Carnivale, the way you describe it, I feel as though it is something that I'd enjoy.
4 - Brandy
From what I read a while ago, the person that created the show had the idea of five or six seasons to complete the story. It's a shame to not see it finished.
5 - Eric Berlin
Yes Brandy, the second season concluded one-third of the overall story arc, as I mention above.
Definitely a shame.
6 - kevin
My wife and I have never missed an episode, in fact, it's safe to say that we have watched every episode 2 to 3 times (and loved every minute).
We will cancel our subscription to HBO upon the official announcement of Carnivale's cancellation.
7 - Felicity
I do not understand why great shows such as Carnivale never get the recognition it deserves. American television is filled with Deseperate Housewives fluff any intelligent show which requires the viewers to think and go deeper then sex is always the first to go! This is a prime example of why I am such a BBC fan. I refuse to watch American television. For those of you who want to write a letter to the HBO CEO to protest this here is the information.Send a letter to Chris Albrecht, Chairman and CEO, HBO Entertainment, 2500 Broadway, Ste. 400, Santa Monica, CA 90404
8 - Eric Berlin
What's depressing is that you would think that HBO would be the bastion of the quality show, not subject to the arbitary and insane winds that seem to blow at the other networks... especially Fox.
Yes, that's right, I'll never get over the cancellation of Firefly...
9 - gonzo marx
i'm still in the "believe it when you see it" camp..until there is Official word..i ain't buying it
last i had heard from HBO...toward the end of the second season...the show was signed
does anyone have anything Official that i missed?..or is this still in the rumour mill stage?
oh yeah..luv the show...lots going on here...this and Deadwood are best things on the small screen..IMO
Excelsior!
10 - Eric Berlin
I still haven't seen Deadwood, Gonzo. Looking forward to checking it on DVD.
Yeah, I believe we're still in the rumor-stage at this point, but it's been circulated to the point where it's worth at least chatting about.
Hopefully it will be back along with Arrested Development, which also falls squarely into the Don't You Dare Jerk With My Show category.
11 - Juan Rios
A great Show getting cancelled .The utter disdain HBO must have for it's suscribers,who pay monthly out of their hard earned money to watch the shows they enjoy,and then to have that show taken away.Carnivale is a great show it's highly original,and Dan Knauf should be commended for his great series.I heard in The Carnycon site that two of the execs of HBO like the series while one doesn't,and they still want to cancel, what a travesty.
12 - swingingpuss
I thought the show ended at a brilliant point.. the twist was awesome. The show closed with a phenomenal bang and I for one didnt see it being pushed forward for another season as it no longer held that magic over me.
On the other hand it can be resurrected like Family Guy...where there are fans there is always hopeful comeback.
13 - Eric Berlin
Thanks for not explaining what the resolution was as I have a while to catch up before I get there!
It makes sense that a major chapter would close at the end of the second season (look at Big Pussy getting whacked on The Sopranos) and that falls in line with the conclusion of the first 1/3 of the story.
Wouldn't you be curious to see what happens over the course of four additional seasons?
14 - Dave Nalle
It's hard to believe they kept that tired crap Sex in the City on for years beyond where it had become boring, yet they can't manage even 3 seasons of something as engaging and original as Carnivale.
Dave
15 - swingingpuss
I dont want to incur bad karma by spoiling the show for you;)
If they do extend the show then out of curiosity I might watch the episodes but I didn't feel the kind of heartwrenching betrayal that I felt when Stephen King initially said that he wouldnt finish the Dark Tower series.
16 - Eric Berlin
I think that Sex and the City was a strong, sexy, and funny show throughout its run.
17 - Eric Berlin
Did Stephen King ever say that he wouldn't finish The Dark Tower series? I don't recall that. I do remember him saying from time-to-time that he may not be able to finish it in his lifetime. Weirdly enough, of course, his little run-in and near-death experience with a van on the side of a road in rural Maine prompted him to get his bottom moving on that one.
I'm still not sure where I stand on his inserting himself and that story into the DT narrative, but I was left quite satisfied by the end of the seventh book.
I'm still haunted from time-to-time by the image of Roland ascending the stairs at the end of quest...
18 - swingingpuss
Well thats what I mean.. I was kid in school when I heard something to that effect and wanted to personally go and do him bodily harm for being ambiguous.
I too found the ending haunting and tried to come to terms with it thinking that his journey kept the Tower alive for eternity.
Alright now people who havent read the book can zink me with curses.
I'm a motor mouth when it comes to Dark tower series.
19 - Eric Berlin
It's a great great series. I see it as the Lord of the Rings of my/our generation, even if it won't be recognized as such for a while, if ever.
It's certainly an astounding achievement, at any rate.
Have you read the revised version of the first book? As soon as I read Book VII, I went back and read the revised version of The Gunslinger for the first time. If you're as big a fan as you sound, you'll very much enjoy it.
20 - swingingpuss
Actually I had dropped the series by book 4 as I was disillusioned by his lack of commitment but once he finished the series I decided to read from the beginning and did start with the revised version of the first book.
One thing I noticed was that his writing style evolved with his books(obviously as it spanned through most of his writing career).
In the first book he had used too many descriptive terms and bugged me to no end but then by the 7th book I loved his simple, rambling style.
Jake remains my favourite.
21 - Eric Berlin
Part of the revision process in Book One was to bring it more in line style wise with the rest of the series. It was the subtle substantive changes that really interested me, however. And it really takes reading Book Seven to appreciate them.
I have a few friends who dropped off from reading the series out of frustration and waiting over the years, and I wage a campaign every now and again to get them back on the path.
Yeah, Jake is a great character. And Oy, of course.
22 - swingingpuss
lol, Eric maybe you should do a post on the series. I'm just too lazy to do it the grand justice it deserves.
23 - Eric Berlin
I don't do it nearly justice, but I did talk about the seventh book here, in one of my earliest blog postings (and in my dark pre-BC days!).
24 - swingingpuss
Great post, how about extending it a bit more and putting it up here?
25 - Eric Berlin
Thanks very much... it would be good timing as I believe I had not yet read the revised Gunslinger at the time I wrote it.