Carnivale

[Shine]

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1934. The Dust Bowl. The last great age of magic. In a time of titanic sandstorms, drought and pestilence - all signs of God's fury and harbingers of the Apocalypse - the final conflict between good and evil is about to begin. The battle will take place in the Heartland of an empire called America. And when it is over, man will forever trade away wonder for reason.

Debuting on HBO this September, CARNIVÀLE follows a traveling carnival as it wends its way across the Dust Bowl, focusing on a mysterious young fugitive with hidden talents who is taken in by the carnival, and on the charismatic, shadowy evangelist who will ultimately cross his path. The 12-episode dramatic series takes place at a time of worldwide unrest, with evil on the rise around the globe and the Great Depression wreaking economic and social havoc here at home.

As they become aware of their abilities, Ben and Brother Justin find themselves wrenched from their lives to realize that the world they thought the knew -- this tenuous, prosaic reality shared by humankind -- is actually a chessboard upon which is played the ancient conflict between Light and Darkness, and they are key players in the battle.

In addition to Nick Stahl ("In the Bedroom," "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines") and Clancy Brown ("The Shawshank Redemption"), cast regulars on CARNIVALE include Michael J. Anderson ("Twin Peaks") as Samson, who runs the show for Management; Adrienne Barbeau ("Escape from New York") as Ruthie, the maternal figure of the carnival, as well as the snake charmer and mother to the strong man; Patrick Bauchau ("The Cell") as Lodz, the mentalist who can see into the future and the past; Debra Christofferson ("Seraglio") as Lila, the carnival's bearded lady; Tim DeKay ("Swordfish") as Jones, Samson's right-hand man and the rousty manager; Clea DuVall (HBO's "The Laramie Project"), as Sofie, the tarot card reader and medium for her comatose mind-reader mother Apollonia, played by Diane Salinger (HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm"); John Fleck ("Star Trek: Enterprise") as Gecko, deformed with a rare condition that makes his skin lizard-like; Amy Madigan ("HBO's Laramie Project"), as Brother Justin's loyal sister Iris; Karyne Steben ("Cirque du Soleil: Saltimbanco") and Sarah Steben ("Cirque du Soleil: Saltimbanco") as Siamese twins Alexandria and Caladonia; Brian Turk ("American Pie 2") as Gabriel, the strong man. The carnival's burlesque family consists of the emcee father Stumpy, played by Toby Huss ("Beyond the City Limits"); mother Rita Sue, played by Cynthia Ettinger ("Thirteen"); and daughters Dora Mae, played by Amada Aday ("Meat Loaf: To Hell and Back"), and Libby, played by Carla Gallo ("Undeclared").

CARNIVÀLE directors include Jack Bender ("The Lone Ranger," HBO's "The Sopranos"), Rodrigo Garcia (HBO's "Six Feet Under" and "The Sopranos"), Tim Hunter ("River's Edge"), Alison MacLean (HBO's "Sex and the City"), Peter Medak ("The Krays"), John Patterson (HBO's "Six Feet Under"), Jeremy Podeswa (HBO's "Six Feet Under" and "The Wire") and Scott Winant ("The West Wing").

Writers on the series include Henry Bromell ("Northern Exposure"), Toni Graphia ("Roswell"), Daniel Knauf ("Wolf Lake"), Ronald D. Moore ("Star Trek: The Next Generation"), Dawn Prestwich ("Ally McBeal") and Nicole Yorkin ("Judging Amy"), and William Schmidt ("Prey").

CARNIVALE is created by Daniel Knauf; executive produced by Ronald D. Moore, Daniel Knauf and Howard Klein; co-executive producers, Nicole Yorkin & Dawn Prestwich, Gregg Fienberg and David Knoller; supervising producers, William Schmidt and Dan Hassid; producer, Anthony Santa Croce; consulting producers, Toni Graphia and Steve Oster.

My callender's marked. Considering their track record I'm expecting alot from HBO this time around, and so far it looks like I won't be very dissapointed. It looks to have a stellar cast and the story is probably the most interesting thing I've seen come out of HBO. Anyone else dying to see this?

[Despair]

Hmm, This series sounds quite interesting. I wish I had HBO to watch it

Let us know, how is it, when they start airing it.

[Shine]

It's less than two weeks away.[/waits patiently]

[Drewbacca]

Doesn't mean a thing for me. Canada doesnt get shows for almost a year after they air. We just recently got Six Feet Under on Showcase. It's a cool show, but my favorite HBO series has got to be Curb Your Enthusiasm.

[Gonzo]

I too am waiting with anticipation. Especially, since Six Feet Under won't be back until January or February.