Apocrypha

HALLELUJAH!
Atmospheric as can be I felt like I was watching a collaboration between John Carpenter and David Lynch.
This is the kind of TV I have been waiting for.

Tom Banjo

It's hard to judge a series based on the pilot, where everything is biuld-up, but this definately peaked my interest.
***Spoilers***
I'm glad that Clancy Brown's character seems more of a conflicted person than the stereotypical evil preacher.
The audience is apparently supposed to assume that Nick Stahl is that generation's embodiment of good, while Brown is the embodiment of evil, but it wouldn't surprise me if there was a twist later on that revealed just the opposite. The biggest hint for that was how much death was actually caused around Stahl (in the crops) when he healed the girl's legs. IMHO.
I look forward to next week.

Josh-da-man

Kind of hard to judge just with the first episode, but I'm definitely interested.

I was a bit surprised to see a television series paced out like a novel. Quite literally, this entire episode could be seen as the first chapter of a book, with the small snippets of the preacher as short interludes that hint of a larger scope coming later.

Also interesting to see Tarot cards used reasonably accurately in a film/television series.

Spiderbite

It was a little slow but hey...it has to set everything up. I am definitely interested it catching it next week.

It looked great on HBO-HD. The 5.1 had quite a bit of surround use & rumble as well.

Patman

It got interesting towards the last 15 minutes of the pilot episode. You have to wonder how the balance of life and death is exacted given Ben's powers.

mrpayroll

The most impressive thing about this series so far, is the wonderful recreation of the times (1934) with regards to the clothing and especially the sets (buildings, cars, etc.) When you compare this to other HBO series, it looks like they have to go thru a lot more trouble to get the proper effect for the period and time.

I wonder if that little girl was running away with the Carnivale at the end? They kind of left that in the open! Pretty good first episode and I think we shall see more good stuff in the remaining 11 episodes.

Chris

Tom Banjo

I agree, and even commented on it to my girlfriend. I was prepared for an ominous prediction when the Death card was dealt, but to my surprise they accurately described that it doesn't have a negative connotation and simply means a "re-birth."

Kudos to the writers.

Blaster1

Anyone think that preacher is his father?

Decker

I'm undecided so far. It shows promise.
A few random thoughts:

Liked the opening credits. Maybe they were done by the same folks who did Boomtown last year? Too bad the theme is so boring, though

Was I the only one who expected the dwarf to start talking backwards in the opening shot?

It was driving me nuts trying to figure out who the Preacher was. Thanks for the name. I guess I recognized him from Shawshank. Thanks to IMDB, I now know that he's the voice for both Mr Krabs and Dr Neo Cortex. Cool!

Just like any 80's horror fan, I'm happy to see Adrienne Barbeau get some work. Didn't do much in the pilot

Tom Banjo

I thought the opening credits were nice, but way too long. I didn't clock it, but it felt like it was close to 2 minutes.

Ralph Wiggum

I really enjoyed the first episode and will be tuning in for quite awhile. This show looks to have a ton of promise.

I agree about the production value; it's top-notch.

das Monkey

• Quoth Tom Banjo •<HR SIZE=1>
The audience is apparently supposed to assume that Nick Stahl is that generation's embodiment of good, while Brown is the embodiment of evil<HR SIZE=1>

It doesn't seem that way to me. In fact, most of the scenes with Crowe cast him positively; while many of the scenes with Hawkins were negative. It's just two characters ... I didn't get any feeling that they were trying to cast them one-dimensionally or misdirect the audience.

Btw, everyone keeps calling this the pilot. I thought the pilot was a couple years ago. This is just the premiere.

Hard to make any judgment on this introduction to the series other than I get the feeling I'm really going to enjoy it. I was a bit annoyed at the language they used as it seemed too modern, but they really captured the setting well in every other way. In fact, as the episode drew to a close, I almost felt dirty from all that dust.

I've been looking forward to this (and Deadwood) for what must be a couple of years now, so it's great to finally get underway. I can't wait to get deeper into the story in the coming weeks.

das

FranksAndBeans

Very interesting. Do tell. I did some searching on the net, but I couldn't find any information about this.

Patman

The cured girl at the end running was not running to catch up with the carnivale, but rather, she was showing that Ben's powers don't come without a price, which appear to be that use of his gift to cure take away life elsewhere (in this sequence, the plant life in the fields that the girl ran past turned dark and died).

das Monkey

• Quoth FranksAndBeans •<HR SIZE=1>Very interesting. Do tell. I did some searching on the net, but I couldn't find any information about this. <HR SIZE=1>

Not sure what there is to tell or if it's interesting. Like most shows, unless my memory is mistaken, they shot a pilot a couple years ago, it went over well, they changed some things (I think they added Crowe's sister) and then produced a series for which last night's episode was the premiere.

das

cliffzig

Can someone figure out the date/time of the replay? Missed last nights

das Monkey

• Quoth cliffzig •<HR SIZE=1>Can someone figure out the date/time of the replay? Missed last nights <HR SIZE=1>

http://www.hbo.com/carnivale/

das

DeputyDave

I enjoyed the show and am looking forward to watching it develope. If it were on Fox I would worry about it being canceled after 4 weeks. At least HBO will support it till the end of the season.

I could have sworn I have read a book with this, or avery similar plot. Does anyone know if this is based on any previously existing work of fiction?

marty888

Found it intriguing and enjoyable enough so that I'll definitely be back for furture episodes. Great looking production!

hgar78

sadly disappointed in carnivale...

it just really bored me. i was looking forward to it, but it was just way too slow (even if it was building up for next week).

visually i loved it, but the story and characters just didn't do it for me. not your typical HBO show, IMHO. sopranos, SFU, and sex/city all peaked my interest immediately.

Pistol Pete

The first 40 minutes or so bored me. When the story turned to Ben's powers, I started getting interested. I'll give it a couple more episodes to develop. I had the same initial reaction to the first season of The Wire. I toughed it out and the payoff was definitely worth it.

Apocrypha

Interesting side note DAS.
What impressed me most besides the production design, credit sequence etc.. was the deliberate long takes, that permeated the room if you let them. I was choking on the dust during some scenes. The fact that the TAROT was also at long last shown in a realistic fashion on television or in film was most heartening.
Also Samson's cold tag opener was a killer.

Patman

I kept thinking that if you lightened up Sophia's hair, you'd have Claire Danes' sister on the show, and a prequel to the Terminator franchise.

spainlinx0

I was extremely impressed by the atmosphere on the show, and will definitely be tuning in to see how the development of the show goes. I didn't mind the slow pace because I was so drawn in by the setting.

I agree with das in that you can't tell yet which of the 2 characters will be on the side of good or evil yet. I have a question though. Did Ben resurrect the baby? The guy (I assume father) started crying, but I'm not sure if it was because he finally got to hold his dead child or because the child was alive. I'm assuming he didn't bring him back because I didn't see him use any effort like he did with the girl's legs.

I was also shocked just how many crops died to restore that girl's legs. I thought at first that 2 rows was a decent trade-off, but it looked like their entire crops were being destroyed. Could the use of such powers by Ben or other be the cause of the dustbowl?

Apocrypha

I think the healing that went on in that scene was with the mother accepting the death she says "he's dead" peacefully.