:: Oh, Look, A Tumbleweed ::
Guildenstern: Our names shouted in a certain dawn...a message...a summons...There must have been a moment where we could have said no. But somehow we missed it. Rosen-? Guil-? Well, we'll know better next time. Now you see me, now you- -Tom Stoppard, R&G Are Dead
:: Tuesday, September 16, 2003 ::
oh, I forgot to talk about Carnivale.
I was pleased. It definitely had it's strong moments, such as the vision of snow in front of the brothel from the preacher (Justin, I believe) and when the women was vomiting silver coins. That having been said, this show is going to get into trouble with religious groups.
The opening begins with Michael J. Anderson explaining how to every generation, a creature of light and a creature of darkness is born, and how the two opposing sides are currently gearing up for war. The premise is shown repeatedly as the Carnival people being "damned" and how Justin works for the lord and how the lord saves everything. So it's pretty clear, right? Justin should be the creature of light, and Ben Hawkins (Nick Stahl) should be the creature of darkness. Not so. The previews have clearly indicated Ben Hawkins is the creature of light (He can heal ailments, like a certain famous Jewish carpenter) and Justin is the creature of darkness. The devil? Working for god? I all ready hear the protests in the background.
But...back to the show. The show has potential. The first episode of every show always sucks compared to the rest of the episodes, but that's because the first episode has to set up the premise and the characters, which this premiere episode does extremely well. Of course, Nick Stahl and Clea DuVall (My pick for the best Young Adult Actor and Actress, respectively) together is an amazing combonation. They play it to the nth degree. DuVall can make having an actual conversation with a catatonic person seem real, and Stahl's resistance to joining the carnival is perfectly displayed.
Brilliant last shot of the girl running through the field with her healed leg as the plants around her die. The show seems like it's going to be the Mulholland Drive of television, and this is where one consideration comes into play: Hawkins can apparently heal ailments (The girl had two paralyzed legs) but he takes life from something else to do so. I give the episode an A-. Looking foward to it next week
:: Nick Tuesday, September 16, 2003 [+] ::
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