Bring back Carnivale
Tonight I just finished watching Carnivale, the HBO show, a great show which unfortunately was started and left unfinished , so disappointing.
Carnivàle was produced by HBO and ran for two seasons between September 14, 2003 and March 27, 2005. The show was created by Daniel Knauf, who also served as executive producer with Ronald D. Moore and Howard Klein. The incidental music was composed by Jeff Beal. Nick Stahl and Clancy Brown starred as Ben Hawkins and Brother Justin Crowe, respectively.
Early reviews praised the style of Carnivàle but questioned the approach and execution of the story. Carnivàle’s first episode set a new audience record for an HBO original series, but the show was unable to retain its ratings in its second season. Carnivàle was canceled after 24 episodes, cutting its intended six-season run short by four seasons. The show won five Emmys in 2004, was nominated for 10 further Emmy awards, and received numerous other nominations and industry awards between 2004 and 2006.
I loved this series, to my mind one of the finest TV shows in recent history. To end it so abruptly does not do it justice. On a further note, I was not aware of this show while it was playing. I’ve only seen it since catching a stray rerun one night, finding it interesting and then eventually purchasing both DVDs. I think many people may have missed this show, and more agressive promotion and faith in it by HBO could well pay off.
I’m not that big on television. I don’t watch a whole lot of television. For the most part, television is designed to be thin, plain, and easy to swallow. Shows like C.S.I. or Grey’s Anatomy are gray mush to be pumped into the viewer’s stomach. Sterile, tasteless, unimaginative and uninspired television programs. Television is full of these.
Carnivale was not sterile. It was not tasteless, it was not unimaginative, it was not uninspired. It was beautiful, interesting, exciting television. It had everything going for it. It had all the fantastic intrigue and wonder to match the realism of other acclaimed shows like The Wire and The Sopranos, punch for punch. And it was canceled.
It’s not too late to bring it back. It deserves another chance. There is an audience for this story. There are millions of people hungry for good television who don’t know about Carnivale.
Everyone here who has not already who wants to see Carnivale rise again needs to do the only thing they can: buy the DVDs and keep it alive. Buy both seasons and lend them to as many friends and family as possible.
If anyone at HBO cares about this great story, they can do something too. Air re-runs of the first two seasons. Give them a slot behind True Blood. Put them on Video on Demand. Test the waters, there will be a response. People love this show, they love this story. Four years down the road, they still do. They want it back. Give it another chance.
Fans, buy Carnivale on DVD and tell everyone you know who like to watch television, who love good storytelling, or just appreciate art, about Carnivale. It’s the best we can do.
It’s such a good story, and it was just beginning.
It’s not too late to bring it back.
If you liked this show and want HBO to bring it back, please sign the online petition or/and post on HBO forums. Also twitter this post, the link to the petition, tell you friends about it, ask them to watch the show….and HBO might bring it back. Also, if you have a blog or a website you should DEFINITELY mention how you’re looking forward to a 3rd season of Carnivale. They said that the online chatter was one of the big reasons for bringing it back.
Dear HBO, please bring back Carnivale, please finish the series, THE FANS ARE DEMANDING IT !!!!!!!
