If you have ever wondered if there is anyone left with a single fresh idea in Hollywood ... check out the new series from HBO called, Carnivàle, by creator Daniel Knauf. Set in dust bowl of Oklahoma, in the middle of the Great Depression, good and evil get ready for an epic showdown. On one side, a young man searching for his place in the world - the other, a devoted preacher seeking only to help his people through such dark and terrible times. Both have tragic pasts, and both share terrible dreams ... visions of a darkness soon to come to each of them ... perhaps, to everyone.

Nick Stahl (Terminator 3) plays Ben Hawkins, a young man bitter and alone following the death of his mother, reluctantly finding a home among traveling carnies of the sideshow called, Carnivàle . The carnival is host to a strange group of folk, and run by an ex-performer dwarf named Samson (Michael J. Anderson of Twin Peaks fame). While on the surface, Samson appears to be the king of the con artists, pulling the wool over the eyes of all ''rubes" - but, he is very protective of the cast and crew of his shows:

• Jonesy, Samson's right hand man, former baseball player who has fallen for Sophie too late - Tim DeKay (SeaQuest DSV, Robin Cook's Invasion, and The Crow 3: Salvation)
• Sophie, part of a strange daughter/mother tarot card reading act, had a longtime crush on Jonesy growing up in the carnival - Clea Duvall (Little Witches, The Faculty , The Astronaut's Wife, John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars, How to Make a Monster, and Identity)
• Apollonia, an infamous psychic turned catatonic, now can only communicate mentally through her daughter - Diane Salinger (Creature and Batman Returns)
• Ruthie, former snake charmer now a "barker" for her oversized son's wrestling act - Adrienne Barbeau (3 decades of work including, ex-hubby's John Carpenter's The Fog, Escape from New York, and The Thing; Swamp Thing, Creepshow)
• Gabriel, Ruthie's slow but large son - Brian Turk (The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Artificial Intelligence)
• Lodz, the blind psychic and former boss of the carnival - Patrick Bauchau (Phenomena, one of my favorite sleepers: The Rapture, and the lost 1996 Showtime series: Kindred: The Embraced)
• Lila, the bearded lady and Lodz's on again/off again girlfriend - (Debra Christofferson (My Favorite Martian, Wild Wild West, and The Day the World Ended)
• Alexandria and Caladonia, the Siamese twins - Karyne and Sarah Steben (trapeze duo for the popular Las Vegas show, Cirque du Soleil)
• Gecko, the reptile man - John Fleck (played parts in every Star Trek series since Next Generation - most recently the mysterious Silik in Enterprise, Babylon 5, Waterworld, Modern Vampires)
• Stumpy Dreifuss, carny veteran who now 'barks" for his wife and daughter's act - Toby Huss (soap opera and voice characters is most noted for his Frank Sinatra impersonation)
• Rita Sue Dreifuss, wife and mother running the "cootch" show stripping with her daughters - Cynthia Ettinger (Brain Dead, Deep Impact, and the sleeper hit, Frailty)
• Libby Dreifuss, older sister - Carla Gallo
• Dora Mae Dreifuss, younger sister - Amanda Aday

Meanwhile, Justin Crowe is a preacher in California, trying desperately to keep the peace between his local flock and the incoming refuges from the desolate Oklahoma. Reverend Balthus raised Justin and his sister Iris, when they were orphaned as children. Now as adults, the Reverend guides Justin into his new career, while Iris pushes him to his ultimate destiny.

• Brother Justin Crowe, devoted preacher - Clancy Brown (The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai, Highlander, Pet Sematary 2, the very cool sci-fi series Earth 2, Starship Troopers, as well as an enormous amount of voice character work)
• Iris Crowe, devoted older sister - Amy Madigan (The Day After, Streets of Fire, Field of Dreams, and The Dark Half)
• Reverend Norman Balthus, devoted mentor - veteran actor Ralph Waite (father of the beloved series, The Waltons, look for him in a recent sci-fi sleeper Timequest)

As these two worlds collide, the stage is set for the greatest show on earth between the forces of good and evil. But which side is light and which is darkness?

The 12 episode fantasy epic Carnivàle airs Sunday nights at 9pm beginning September 14, 2003 on HBO

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

 For a deeper analysis of this unique series, check out Samuel Walter's review of the entire series of Carnivàle, at Dauntless Media:

http://dauntlessmedia.net/carnivale