Rating: 
Summary: More twists than a carnival 'twister'
Review: "Carnivale" exists on the knife-edge between reality and dreams. It has the passion and dream-like quality of a Gabriel Garcia Marquez novel, deeply imbued with the full emotional, carnal and physical spectrum of human existence. It exists simultaneously in the middle of dust bowl life and in the `promised land' of California, creating a place that's ultimately without time or bounds. Even the environment is a character into itself -- gritty, wind blown landscapes interspersed with auburn vistas of California. A lone, twisted tree in a desertscape. Terrain that's thirsty for something yet to be defined. (Kudos for setting high standards for production - and thanks to Rodrigo for carrying on the family tradition with his own unique visualizations.)
Characters and their relationships with each other are carefully drawn yet subject to change without notice. Just as you begin to believe you can count on something as constant, something shifts. Even characteristics thought final in "reality" (blindness, lameness, time, death) are changed as characters progress through the interwoven story lines. Like the foreshadowing of a gun placed casually on a mantelpiece, you must watch the series carefully to understand how the slightest movement, glance, action or even shadow seems to influence outcomes in later episodes.
The supernatural plays a role here, but it's a shape-shifting one, and it's not clear what the outcome will be or how long it will take to get there. It is clear to me however that the writers intend to shake our belief in the black-and-whiteness of good and evil by showing us just how little distance exists between the two - and that what we see isn't necessarily what is real - or even if what is real is what matters most.
If your passion is for clearly drawn characters that progress and change during the events they encounter towards some concrete good-triumphs-over-evil finale, this series will likely dunk you rather unpleasantly in the deep end and leave you gasping for air. If you however appreciate the wonder of a multi-faceted story that twists and turns and makes you question what's relevant to its progress, by all means dive in.
I do keep wondering though if some character will wake up at the end of the series (a la Robert DeNiro) and make you wonder if it was all just an opium hallucination, as ethereal and elusive as smoke. But in the meantime... what a ride we have in store!
Rating: 
Summary: All smoke and mirrors.....
Review: At first, the music (something that sounds like it came direct from a Cirque du Soleil CD) and the premise draw you in. A depression era carnival show, the dust bowl at its worse, the muscular but broken carnies, the coo chi, coo chi girls, the bearded lady, the lizard man and the mysterious guy who runs the whole thing known only as "management." Who could resist all that? Not to mention the tall, darkly troubled minister in the throws of discovering that he has powers beyond those of any mortal man.
But around episode six, you realize that while the characters are interesting and the situation compelling, the writers seem to think, that after creating that canvas they could just put their feet up and rest. Nothing happens. Aside from the handsome and confused minister, played with class and skill by Clancy Brown (probably best known for his role as the evil Kurgan in the first Highlander film), everybody else predictably moves through their lives, doing a lot of nothing, having a bunch of manufactured dilemmas that no one cares about.
This is a DVD set you'd probably want to rent....and never watch again. My opinion.
Rating:
Summary: Carnivale - seductive, intelligent and addictive viewing...
Review: Having seen the reviews, transcripts and postings on Clancy Browns fan run website I could not wait for this to be shown in the UK and had a friend ship me episodes from the US.This is an intellectual show, mixing myth, magic and the deviance of human nature. Set in the poverty of the 30's in a crumbling travelling Carnivale show we meet a strange array of freaks both real and false. A multi layered show, dirty and repugnant but addictive in a voyeuristic way. With its roots set firmly in the X-Files we are made to think and to feel and to turn away disgusted but are left with the need to turn around and glimpse again the evil that men and women do. Get your brain cells primed before watching this as its no show for the mind numbed followers of Mutant X, Enterprise and Sliders. It surpasses the highly rated Nip Tuck, Cold Case and 24 - watch it, its beautiful and sickening all in one!
Rating:
Summary: freaks and geeks.
Review: I am not as articulate as some of the others reviewing here. All i can simply say about this is that we need this type of entertainment so desperately. This series fuses together the many various beliefs in the supernatural, the paranormal, religion , and the side of humanity that often hides in the dark away from us because we lack the heart to accept who or what they are. This is a carnival full of freeks and geeks. Who will fight to the death for one another. This is a magical show set in a desolate place. Which is perfect. The feeling of isolation only adds to the mystery and magic of this program. The freaks are real. And we get to live amoung them for an hour at a time. And, after a while, you'll begin to forget how different they are. Except to realize that maybe this world was made for them. And , not for us. Maybe we are the freeks. NUF said. This show is brilliant.
Rating:
Summary: Light and Darkness
Review: I bought the hole first season on dvd, and watched it in a couple of days. The pictures which you see are awesome! The actors acted good and the storylines where interesting. Oh and the opening credits (before each episode starts) are really nice, too. I loved the music.
Now I am really looking forward to season 2.
Rating:
Summary: The only reason to watch television
Review: I despise television, I could never sit down once a week to watch any particular show. Calling this a TV show is almost an insult. The work put into Carnivale rivals that of any motion picture. It's like watching an amazing film, that will be continued next week. Every episode leaves me wanting more. For someone who can barely sit down to watch five minutes of any show, I could not tear myself away from the eight hour marathon of all the episodes up to the last one of the season. I've watched the entire first season three or more times, and I'm dying having to wait for the second. If you get HBO for nothing else, if you watch TV for nothing else, if you make time for nothing else, Carnivale is worth ten times more.
Rating:
Summary: YES IT"S WORTH FIVE STARS!!!
Review: I knew that this show was going to be incredible when I heard the buzz about it and saw the previews on television. Well, I watched it from start to finish, and it was unbelievable. This show even rivals my all-time favorites: Xena and The X-Files. This show is very complex and could take some time to get into for the superficial viewer, but it's worth the experience, although it can be mind-boggling and horrific sometimes. The scariest episode was the one where one of the "hoochie coochie" dancers was garnered the fate of "scarlet" and killed to please the restless souls of evil men. In the end her soul was restless and only to serve as the tortured soul herself, but as the souless men's sex partner. On the last part of that episode when the head of the carnival glimpsed at the window and saw the "hoochie coochie" girl standing there as if she was beginning her fate in the eternity of being sad and then being pulles away to have sex by a souless man that scared the heck out of me. The show I speak about above isn't the only horriffic or mind-boggling episode of this season, but one that scered me the most. their are many more. Bottomline, this show is unbelievably entertaining. A must see!
Rating:
Summary: Mind blowing and original
Review: I thought from the previews and a behind-the-scenes special that I would very much like this series. But after seeing the first episode, that hardly described it...fantastic, amazing, beautiful, thrilling...choose your word, Carnivale has everything you could want. It's really the best series to ever make it on the air and truly the most unique show I've ever seen in my life. I generally don't like TV, I'm a movie person, but Carnivale completely stole me away. The plot is so wild and keeps you guessing - even through season one's high intensity finale. It's very, very original and the story is both creepy and moving. The things that happen in it are out of this world and frightening, and the most engaging thing you'll ever see on the air. If you haven't seen Carnivale, I highly suggest that you buy the DVD. You'll be hooked from the first moment. Just the intro itself is stunning...gypsy-like music playing over a series of beautiful shots that weave in and out of tarot cards, turning the painted pictures to live action and vice-versa. It's one of the only two TV series that I have ever deemed worthy of spending money on. It's probably the hardest show to explain because of how incredibly complex it is, but if you watch it you will understand, and I guarantee you will NOT regret it.
Rating:
Summary: Best show HBO has ever produced...period.
Review: I'm a fan and collector of HBO series. They consistently deliver the goods. Carnivale is the latest in a string of amazing television series that includes the Sopranoes, Curb your Enthusiasm, Six Feet Under, Sex in the City, OZ, The Wire, etc. However, with Carnivale, HBO has outdone themselves. I doubt anything has ever been attempted on television quite to the scale of this show. Amazing.
Great Cast, Great acting, great set design and art direction, amazing attention to detail. This show is often compared to Twin Peaks, or X-Files because of its round about storytelling and elements of strangeness. Let me assure you there is one big difference between the shows...the makers of Carnivale actually know where they are going with the story, instead of making it up as they go along. This is one satisfying show. WARNING: Product is highly addictive!
Now if they would just hurry the damn second season along....
Rating:
Summary: COOL PRODUCTION DESIGN
Review: If you missed HBO's eerie, mesmerizing series that starts out in the Dust Bowl during the Depression, check out CARNIVALE THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON (Warner).
Moody, atmospheric, ambitious, mysterious, kinky and addictive, this episodic, novel-like tale follows Ben Hawkins (Nick Stahl) who has lost his mother, is dirt poor (literally) and alone when he joins a passing carnival en route to the West.
Samson, the diminutive carnival manager (Michael J. Anderson) is like a father to his "family" of fringe dwelling freaks and other side show professionals -- some of whom appear to have otherworldly powers, including one Hawkins reveals about himself.
This period drama dabbles in supernatural, spiritual, and fate-tempting conflicts that are not always clearly resolved, but certainly not unsatisfying if you surrender to the mystical journey that binds them in a time and place they cannot escape.
Fabulous production design and cinematography heighten all facets of this drama that is much more about the process of revealed destiny than resolution of conflict.
Like life, there are always loose ends, but it is the moments of mystery and wonder that catch our attention. And that is gift enough.
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