That can only mean one thing

Hehehe... HBO is showing reruns of Carnivale which can only mean one thing...

THE NEW SEASON IS COMING!

The story is the most intriguing that I have ever seen. When you go down to the nitty gritty it's actually about the age-old fight between good and evil. But the question that arises throughout the story is who's good and who's bad.

It's the American dust bowl, 1930s, the great depression. A carnival is traveling around the dust bowl taking with them a mysterious 18 year old boy. Somewhere else, a priest is passionately fighting for the soul of his community but his methods may be questionable. So, who's the good guy? Who's the bad guy?

Is it Justin Crowe (played by the enigmatic Clancy Brown)? A priest gifted/cursed with the ability to make people witness their own sins and see the consequence of their actions. A woman who steals from the charity bowl was made to painfully regurgitate coins from her stomach. She repented and became a very pious follower of the Lord after that. A bar owner who has an unnatural liking for boys was forced to see who he really is. That night he shoot himself in the head and Brother Justin conveniently acquired the bar and turned it into a church. Is he evil?

Or is it Ben Hawkins (played by Nick Stahl) ? A boy who is gifted/cursed with the ability to cure any sickness and even bring back the dead, but not without drawing the life force of the things around him. Everytime he cures someone everything around him dies, be it plant, animals and I guess people too though I never seen him do it around people. Is he good?

One thing for sure, they're destined to meet for a final showdown. But who do you want to win?

Another thing that I love about this series is the Carny Lingo or Carnival Language. Here are some samples...
"Where do you drop anchor?"
Where are you sleeping tonight?

"We're already choking on the nut."
Our overhead expenses far exceed our current income.

"Keep your peepers on the road."
Keep your eyes on the road

"C'mon children, we got dust to shake."
Come on people, let's go.

Even more appealing when said with a southern drawl.

If this is not appealing enough maybe I should mention the Templar Order. You know, the mysterious group that can be traced all the way to King Arthur's time? Any historical mysteries that cannot be explained will surely be tied to this order. it is so mysterious that it has always managed to be intertwined in many fictitious stories. It was mentioned in the movie National Treasure, Dan Brown's book The Da Vinci Code, the computer game Gabriel Knight: Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned, and now the TV series Carnivale.

Check out the official website. It's pretty cool and complete. But be careful when browsing around because I accidently discovered who's the man with the tatoo of a tree on his body. Damn.

Update (4 Aug 2005) : I just found out the show has been cancelled! HBO cited financial reasons. Would you believe that? "Financial reasons". Financial reason my ass! But I do hope that HBO would still show the second season here. They better. If not I will 'mengamuk' like hell..