Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

Carnivale Season Two (2005) Created by Daniel Knauf

On the heels of the skirmish man foolishly called The War to End All Wars, the dark one sought to elude his destiny, and live as a mortal. So he fled across the ocean to the 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. And into this dark heartland, a 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 mankind came to rest on the trembling shoulders of the most reluctant of saviors...  Samson; opening soliloque.

Ben Hawkins (Nick Stahl) has come to accept his role in the grand scheme of things unfolding.  Ben has great power; he can redistribute life energy.  He can heal; but there is a price.  For something to live, something else must die.  He healed a little girls legs at the cost of a field of corn, he healed Gabriel's (Brian Turk) broken arm with the sacrifice of a pond of fish.  And Ruthie (Adrienne Barbeau) who died of a snake bite was brought back to life by the trade of Professor Lodz's (Patrick Bauchau) life.  Since he was the one who put the snake in her trailer, it seems apropos.

Ben's counter part is the Radio Ministry Preacher, Brother Justin Crow (Clancy Brown).  His powers are much more about persuasion and domination, and destruction.  Now, he is building a tent town of displaced migrants from the dustbowl at a place called New Canaan, marked by a distinctive tree; the tree we have seen before, only as a tattoo on a man in visions, visions that have haunted Ben, Justin, and Sophie (Clean DuVall).  Sophie saw the tattoo in the vision of the man who raped her mother; her sire.  Here, a town is growing.  Brother Justin's house, the radio tower, the tabernacle, which is still a tent, bloom almost over night.  And the migrants come, beckoned by the bread lines, and messages of hope, and entitlement.

The Crowe household consists of Justin, his sister Iris (Amy Madigan), and Norman (Ralph Waite), the priest who raised them, now felled by a stroke.  Norman's stroke was not an accident, but a direct result of his discovery of Justin's dark powers.  The last person in the house is the maid.  There are a number of them, all drawn from the camp, all driven mad by Justin's lascivious ministrations. 

Meanwhile, things in the Carnivale are strained as well; Sophie has taken to being a rousty rather than face reading the cards again in the wake of her mother's death.  Ruthie may be back in the land of the living, but she was affected by her time on the other side, and Lila the bearded lady (Debra Christofferson) is conducting her own investigation/rebellion over the matter of Lodz's disappearance.

It is to this tense situation that each antagonist strives to discover the identity of their opposite, and destroy them.  Further, there is the matter of their predecessors; One of light, one of darkness.  Henry Scudder (John Savage) is one of them, and Ben's father.  Management of Carnivale is the other.  His ties to the line are revealed as well.

Against this complex backdrop there are stories of rape, incest, lust, prostitution, self mutilation, death masks, redemption, tar and feathering, lesbianism, spirit possession, Necromancy, cunn*lingus, bear maulings, tattooing, arson, gambling debts, retribution, strangulation, fellatio, false accusations, sacrificial lambs, psychic visions, prophetic dreams, Masonic orders, burglary, adultery, Rubber boys, blind prophets, evil grannies, redemption, healing, fist fights, hazing, hermaphrodites, Jungle Fever, homosexuality, drugged cider, buggery, psychic gifts and bequests, family reunions, inbred insanity, mouths sewn shut, voices crippled, murders to keep secrets, and elephants.

Originally, Carnivale was conceived as a six year story.  This was the first third of the trilogy.  Sadly, they did not know they were being cancelled before the last episode was shot; otherwise they could have tied things up neatly instead of laying in the foundations for the next season.  That would have made for a much more satisfying experience. 

As it stands, it is still a remarkable achievement.  It has a sensibility that has not been seen since David Lynch's epic Twin Peaks.  Rarely is the feeling of numinous mystery the point of a show.  And rarely does a show deliver it so well.

Part of what doomed the show was the perfection of the show.  It was filmed on site, with meticulous detail to recreate the world of 1934 America.  It was rife with topflight actors, who of course command good salaries.  Each show cost about $2 Million to produce.  When the second season did not command the same audience as the first, it became cost prohibitive to continue.  This is a great pity; rarely has a show brought together such disparate elements so successfully.  Part historical drama, part spiritual journey, part trip over a very dark rainbow, Carnivale shows us a mirror of our past; of course, appropriately enough, it is a funhouse mirror with strange distortions. 

Part of what makes this work is the caliber of talent; from the cougarish Ruthie, to the mighty Samson, from the elusive Hack Scudder, to Justin Crowe, the actors are all seasoned veterans, with long careers and stellar work.  These folks can act.

And Carnivale understands the appeal of the sideshow.  Show the people something different, something beyond the scope of their everyday lives, and they will wake up, and pay attention.  Give them conflict, the battle between good and evil, give them violence, and its counterpart compassion, give them romance, and its dark sister, lust.  Sex and violence.  On the sex front, we are treated to several frontals, particularly the Cootch dancers, Rita Sue, (Cynthia Ettinger) and Libby (Carla Gallo).  For the men folk, it is rear shots, the delicious Nick Stahl, who plays the sweetly pure Ben, the strong Jonesy (Tim DeKay) and the remarkable Clancy Brown.  His tattooed glory is stunning.

Sex and violence, good and evil, a song and dance; this is entertainment folks.

"Let's shake some dust, children!"  Samson.


Gay Movies:

La Mission***Burnt Money***8: The Mormon Propo$ition***In The Flesh***The Sensei***The 24th Day***Wrangler: Anatomy of an Icon***ZMD: Zombies of Mass Destruction***East Side Story***Dorian Blues***Creatures From the Pink Lagoon***Satyricon***Ice Men***Richard O'Briens Rocky Horror Tribute Show***Prom Queen***The Kids are All Right***Between Love and Goodbye***The Mudge Boy***That Man: Peter Berlin***A Single Man***Almost Normal***Outing Riley***Outrage!***Law of Desire***Love is the Devil***Cowboy Junction***Horror in the Wind***Bedrooms and Hallways***Cut Sleeve Boys***Big Eden***For A Lost Soldier***Midnight Cowboy***Redwoods***The Massuer***Boy Culture***Breakfast With Scot***The Fluffer***Flesh***Little Ashes***L.I.E. ***Dorian Gray***9 Dead Gay Guys***Shank***I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry***Beautiful Boxer***Bangkok Love Story***Schoolboy Crush***Shelter***Back Soon***Dog Tags***Theft***The Mulligans***The Velvet Goldmine***Swashbuckler***Smoke Signals
***C'Thulhu***Milk***The Picture of Dorian Gray***Brideshead Revisited***Notes on a Scandal***RocknRolla***Mamma Mia!
***Priscillia: Queen of the Desert***The History Boys***Brokeback Mountain***The Broken Hearts Club*** Yaji and Kita: Midnight Pilgrims ***Surge of Power ***In & Out ***Mambo Italiano ***Touch of Pink ***To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar ***Wolves of Kromer ***Rocky Horror Picture Show ***Taboo ***Deathtrap 


Gay Themed Series:

Spartacus: Blood and Sand
Dante's Cove
Hex
Carnivale Season One
Carnivale Season Two
Rome Season One
Rome Season Two
True Blood
True Blood: Season Two
The Book of Daniel: The Complete Series
Torchwood: Children of Earth
Torchwood: Season One


Gay Animation:

Pirate's Booty***Sensitive Pornograph***Loveless: The Complete Series***Loveless: Hope on the Run***Loveless: Soul of Chains***Loveless: Lost and Found***Embracing Love: A Cicada in Winter***Embracing Love: Cherished Spring ***Stonewall & Riot***Drawn Together Movie: The Movie***Drawn Together: Season 2***Drawn Together: Season 3

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age