Carnivale

I wish I had watched it from the beginning.

That was a hair raising episode (or head raising episode depending on how one looks at it!) The episodes are repeated all week, husker, so you can watch it from the beginning. Check your HBO schedule (it also shows up on my VOD but not in hi def). I'm curious if this is only going to be two seasons as they ads at the end do not say "end of the second season."

I'm curious too. It looks like they are headed for the final Brother Justin/Ben Hawkins showdown. I'm not sure where the story can go after that.

Unless the world ends, I could see Hawkins battling other evil forces bent on the same agenda. I guess we'll have to wait and see. The series won Emmys for its artistic and technical attributes including the great opening titles (love those).

I don't know. So much is based on the unique enemy concept. Hawkins' whole destiny is wrapped up with Brother J. And, who's to say that he will be the one to come out on top? There's no guarantee in my mind that the good will triumph over the evil. Maybe they'll destroy each other simultaneously? The only possibility I see for continuing the story is through Sophie -- especially if she's knocked up with Ben's kid.

Too too interesting.

Yes it does get curiouser and curiouser -- it's like "Alice in Wonderland" on drugs. I had a thread running on "Carnivale" and was basing it on a comparison to Tobe Hopper's "Freaks." It's almost an extension of the themes in that classic but I have to say, "Carnivale" is rather light weight on the freaks. Well, at least the outwardly freaky. Ben is somewhat of a Christ figure, especially with his healing powers. There may be a confrontation at the end of Season Two as a cliffhanger and there has been a hint that it is apolyptical with the atom bomb imagery earlier in the season. It also has an LOTR feel to it with the preacher as Sauron.

This show is so amazing. I absolutely think it might be my most favorite show ever. It's so thought-provoking. I live for my Carnivale these days! Last week's episode was TOTALLY nuts - I can't believe some of the stuff that happened. And Sophie - totally surprising me these days. What does it mean that she is "the omega" according to Lodz's writing on the mirror?

Holy crap! Last night's show just about gave me a heart attack. So it looks like Brother J is definitely Sophie's father. I wonder what will come of that.

I realized last night that I really really want the good to triumph over evil -- that is, I want Ben to win. But I know that there is no guarantee of that with this show. And I'm having trouble figuring out who is on whose side. The sister, for instance, is either really good at playing both sides or she's changed her loyalty.

I read a review of this show, but, unfortunately, was unable to watch a single episode. The review was very favorable.

Is the show anything like Twin Peaks?

No, it's a bit more logical than Twin Peaks. Every now and again they'll have a review night where they play the first or second several episodes in a row.

Do you have HBO, gus? It's about the only thing worth watching. Sunday nights are a pure treat -- Deadwood followed by Carnivale. I'm quite sure you, especially, would love Deadwood.

No HBO. I refuse to pay for premium channels. I pay enough for cable. You're right about Deadwood though; I think I would like it. A friend of mine is going to loan me the set.

I hear you. TV is expensive. We're already paying for high speed internet with cable, so it wasn't much more for the premium channels. There's just nothing worth watching (well, besides Monk on USA) on the other channels. I wish I could cancel all channels except for HBO and Nick Jr. (for the little ones).

Oh well, they will probably all be out on dvd soon enough. And then you'll have the added benefit of not having to wait a whole week for the next episode.

I resigned up for cable after having VOOM satellite and the deal was hard to beat. $5.00 for HBO and $5.00 for Showtime. I suppose I could wait for the shows to show up on DVD and rent them from NetFlix but, sorry, can't give up knowing as soon as possible what's up, among others, "Deadwood" and "Carnivale." This is the last episode of this season coming up which begins the real confrontation between Ben and Brother J so it could go just about anywhere. Neither series is predicatable, that's for sure! I'm sure it's going to be an excruciatingly suspensful cliffhanger so "Carnivale" enthusiast will have to go through withdrawal.

If Ben kills off Bro Justin then there is no evil enemy to battle and so continue the series. I am thinking that it will be an exciting battle of good and evil next week and Ben will lose. Then, Sophie, realizing that Ben was right and that Justin is her father, will take off with the Carnivale again - only to discover that she is pregnant with Bens child. Will the child be good or evil? Will it be both? Will Justin chase after her to destroy the child because it is the offspring of Ben and could potentially destroy him?

Maybe Bro Justin and Ben will kill each other. Also, since both Justin and Ben were alive at the same time as their predecessors, isn't it possible that there is another pair already out there? Or does "Sophie is the omega" mean that there will be no more prophets of that sort?

I think there was word of this next season being the final one as far as telling the complete story the scriptwriters had in mind. I think Ben could not be exactly defeated but will fail in his attempt to kill Brother Justin, leaving us with a cliffhanger of whether he survives. Maybe they will give us some hope that Sophie will realize that Brother Justin is evil. The last scene with Sophie seemed to infer she was losing doubts of what Ben told her and the previews telegraphed a snippit of what happens to her.

I think whatever happens, we're in for a wild ride next Sunday night. And will be able to look forward to the next "Six Feet Under" and "The Sopranos" (which may not be their last season).

I was just thinking about Six Feet Under yesterday -- wondering when the new season starts. Since the last one ended with a bang (pun intended) I am curious to see how the new one starts.

I found last season to be the weakest and that's not saying that it's not still superior to most of the lame stuff on network TV. I think they need more of the gentle humor and eccentricity of relationships that made Season One such a winner and was the surprise winner of the Golden Globe. Last season became way to angst ridden with the culmination in David's kidnapping (a indictment of picking up hitchhikers).