Carnivale

The first episode introduces us to the main characters and gives a sneak peak to the poverty-ridden era of the 1930s in America that we see from the carnivale people's point of view.



Carnivàle begins very slowly and the pace of the show remains that way. That is why some people will jump the gun and decide that this show is boring. But those who decide to immerse themselves to the world of Carnivàle will be rewarded.



Milfay is a good episode but the series gets better when the plot thickens, so to speak. Watch this and get sucked in to the world of the show that is Carnivàle!

A very strange, awkward but good episode. I wouldn’t call it the BEST pilot ever because it starts just very slow and confusing, but it gets much better towards the end.



It all begins very strange, first some people dig up a dead body and then they destroy someone’s house. As strange as it was, the story continues in a church where an old lady steals a coin of some kind and then when she starts praying with the pastor she starts to puke out lots of coins. I was like, WHAT? I didn’t get who or what was the pastor, he comes back later in the episode where it rains on him, blood I think it was. I was totally confused.



So anyway, a guy is brought to a house and a woman looks at him and thinks he’s cute, she asks a mind reader to reads his dreams but when he looks into them he sees some big horrors about a man running from something….or something.



So the dude, he begins to act rude against everyone and nobody really likes him, until he goes to a woman who’s child had just died. He’s able to make her calm and realise he’s dead, then the woman finally lets lose of her dead son (which was touchy scene)



So then, another freak called Sophie goes out of the city, they don’t want freaks over there and try to rape her. Ben is able to save her and they sort of fall inlove. She wants to read his cards and so she does. THAT”S where the goodness of the episode really begins. When it all gets explained a bit, so his powers were that he could bring back dead things to live. His mother said he was a Satan’s child and thought he was cursed and that’s why he hid his powers.



At the end of the episode, the young man goes to a girl who couldn’t walk. He puts his hands on her legs and is able to cure her.



The episode was impressive, specially the end. A big part of the episode was too weird and I wasn’t able to get it.

I read that when Milfay was first aired back in September, 2003 it received raving reviews for its style. However it's only in 2005 that I watched it. Its universe instantly fascinated me and I couldn't resist its charismatic and freaky characters. A circus had never been so surreal and astonishing. Moreover even if Tim Burton's Big Fish was released on January, 2004, a film with similar elements, it didn't ruin all the things that made Carnivàle's pilot such a wonderful surprise.



First the timeless battle between good and evil can only mesmerize the audience when it's so well told. Indeed the episode begins with a dark close-up on Samson's face, a dwarf brilliantly played by Michael J. Anderson who appears to be the second in command. Moreover the opening credits are amazing, insanely creative and probably the best I have ever seen. So the very first minutes you should be fully immersed in the show imaginary but contemporary world.



The other elements which convinced me of the production cult status were the performers and characters. The acting's level is astounding and the different profiles so twisted that like a wormhole they shake your feelings and make you realize how much you want to learn more about them. How did they become who they are ? Do they have any plan ? But contrary to Heroes the men and women in Carnivàle have a Freaking Factor™ that is hard to surpass. From dream reading to fortune telling and alchemy the number of fantasy and esoteric topics covered is impressive. Some mystical scenes inspired by the seven deadly sins should also shock you thanks to their seamless visual effects and marvelous direction.



Last but not least the two arcs developed obviously have connections so it makes the story even more enigmatic. When are they going to collide ? Who's Management ? Who's Ben Hawkins father ? What about the strange case of Brother Justin ? This episode arose so many intriguing questions that I don't conceive for a second that someone could resist watching the first season.

Why does this remind me of “Grapes of Wrath?”



Uh, because it takes place in the 30’s during the depression? Because Hawkins, an Okie from the Dustbowl, travels from Oklahoma to California? Because there’s a nursing woman whose baby recently died? Could they take any more ideas out of the Steinbeck classic?



Production values are very high, but interest level not so much. There’s a bunch of sidebar footage that’s supposed to give mystery to the storyline, but it doesn’t mainly because the story doesn’t resolve much in the end. What we’re left with is the kid can bring dead beings back to life. If that’s so, why wasn’t the baby brought back to life when he picked it up?



The high production values and good acting doesn’t exonerate a slow pace. I have a problem with the female lead, “Sofie.” I suspect there’s going to be a romance between her and Hawkins, but they don’t seem to have any chemistry. On top of that, her face is a little “mannish” looking. Also, I don’t care for the way the supporting characters are after Hawkins to join them so badly. Yeah, yeah, the “man at the top” wants him, but there’s a little too much pursuit of him in the episode. And I don’t understand why Hawkins doesn’t immediately take them up on the offer. I mean, where else does a starving guy with no transportation and no plan have to go? Maybe no wages, but at least he could get fed and have a roof above his head.



One other problem. I’d be more willing to believe a guy can make someone come back from the dead than a woman spewing coins out of her mouth. That little number just suspends belief and brings the storytelling to a screeching halt.



Anyway, I have more problems with the storytelling than anything else. However, the premise looks like a good one if they can keep the antics within some sort of credibility.