First 10 Minutes - Carnivàle
Carnivàle- Milfay
Written By Daniel Knauf
Directed By Rodrigo Garcia
Download PDF script of the first 10 pages - coming soon
Buy the first season here.
The First 10 Minutes
Breakdown
The ten minutes opens with one of the characters (Samson) setting the scene for the series, he talks about god, Good and Evil the coming confrontation. We join Ben Hawkings who wakes from a nightmare (although we don't know it yet, these are mix of flash backs and flash forwards), his mother is on the brink of death, but wants no help from her son warning him to stay away. Ben's mother dies and as he goes to bury her a bulldozer comes into to knock down his home, at the point a Carnivale drives past, after watching the exchange for a while one of the carnies goes out to help dig the grave. The rest of the rag tag group of freaks, performers and crew join him for the funeral as the bulldozer takes down the house. Ben faints and the carnivale decides to take the boy with them despite arguments from some of the team.
Characters
Carnivale is a slow building series and is unlike a lot other shows out there, the long continuing unfolding plot and character revelations were slow to materialise and caused many less dedicated viewers to leave the show. However, as always it is worth looking at we learn about the characters in this opening.
Ben Hawkins: We Ben as watches over his mother, she looks at him with terror, and does not want him to touch her, we don't understand why, but because of his inability to help she dies. Outside in sand storm he attempts to bury his mother and defend his property from a bulldozer. When Jonesy approaches he notices a chain around Ben's ankle and concludes that he has escaped a prison chain gang. This might explain why his mother was afraid of him and makes the viewer ask questions about what he has done. He is not afraid of confrontation, he threatens the man with the bulldozer and although he looks thin and weak, you get the feeling that he could snap. After the funeral his house is destroyed, he stands there unsure where is life is leading. As the carnivale folk debate what to do about him he faints leaving his fate in their hands.
Samson: Although Samson delivers the opening monologue this serves little purpose other than setting the scene, it does not reflect on his character, at least not at this early point in the story. He will eventually come to understand this balance as the second series begins, but at this point he is ignorant of what is about to happen. Samson's entrance into the drama is at the head of the Carnivale with Jonesy. Looking for anything to make the journey between destinations more interesting he places a wager with Jonesy on the fate of Ben. When it comes to leaving Samson is revealed to be the one in charge. Referring to the rag tag group as children he calls the shots, but he is not without heart, when Ruthie pleads her case to bring Ben along he is reluctant, but when there is site the police in the distance he realises that Ben might well have a place on the team. I guess it is also worth mentioning that Samson is about 3 foot tall, this is never refrenced by any of the characters and does not limit his ability to lead, something that some might find hard to belive, but something that does get explained as the series progresses.
Clayton 'Jonesy' Jones: After making a bet with Samson, Jonesy decides that he will win the bet by interfering. We see him stroll through the sandstorm before pitching a rock at the bulldozer driver. His pitch is that of a baseball player, but his right leg is in brace. On confronting Ben he decides to help, despite the chains around his ankles. The charity that he gives to winning a bet does not continue when it comes to following up. When Ruthie wants to bring Ben along, Jonesy is the first to disagree. "Nothing but trouble", he says as he walks off to get the Carnivale moving. Ruthie points out that she said the same about him. Clearly Jonesy is someone who has come to the Carnivale later in life rather than growing up on the scene.
Ruthie: After the death of Ben's mother, it is Ruthie who steps into this role. As Ben faints and his home destroyed it is the aging snake charmer who insists that he joins the carnivale and in doing so she shows more care for the boy than his own mother. The fact that Samson listens to her says something about her standing in the Carnivale, she has earned her place to voice an opinion that is not instantly discarded.
This is a good example of a show that has many characters, but rather than trying to get everyone established in the first 10 minutes Daniel Knauf has decided to focus on the few who are important to tell the story. At the end of the ten minutes the scene cuts to Brother Justin in church, this character will have a story that runs parallel to that of Ben's with the aim that at some point in the future they will collide.
Themes
Samson's monologue is our primary clue to what the series is about. He talks of how good and evil is born into each generation, this sets up the basic conflict we expect to see. The Carnivale represents a rag tag group of outsiders, Samson the dwarf, Jonesy the injured baseball player, conjoined twins, an aging blind man are just a few of the characters we see. It is not hard to see how Ben, a homeless convict on the run finds a place with these characters. The idea of the outsider, hidden talents and fate are all established in this early scene and with the lack of any strong plot these themes have to come through strong.
Questions
Our questions at this point are really based on what don't know rather than what he do know. The prologue has set up the conflict of good and evil, but we know so little about the characters or where they are going that after the first ten minutes we left with little in the way of new ideas. Like "The Fool" tarot card this a journey just setting off and its diection is unknown.
Verdict
These first ten minutes show a good way to start a journey which based on an ambiguous plot. At the start of the story there are so many unknowns, such as characters and plot, that the audience need something to grip onto, something they can understand. The show achieves this with Samson's opening monologue in which he places the story in context. Interestingly this monologue was never intended to go into the script and was in fact written as part of the pitch, fortunately they realised that viewers needed context. One of the problems Carnivle suffers from is the fact that they struggle to explain who Ben is, as a main character he remains an unknown throughout the first series, his journey to discovery is slow and manipulated by past events and new desires. The first 10 minutes fails to define any of the characters in any great depth which makes an emotional connection a little harder to come to.
Go Deeper
The first series Carnivale spends time introducing the audience to the world and the characters that dwell within it. It is is slow moving continually unfolding story which might go some way to explain while it failed to draw raiting despite a promising premere. The mythology behind the show is deep and complex and not always easy to grasp. The series plays much better on DVD where you don't have to wait a week to work things out. In terms to special features there are some interesting commentary tracks and interviews.
Going into series two the pace of the show picks up as the two stories draw ever closer, the focus also moves onto other secondary characters as the climax nears. Show creator Daniel Knauf once spoke of the show running for six series, but the cost of producing the period piece and low figures meant that it got cancelled. As a result the ending leaves many doors open that need to be explored. HBO has not ruled out a film in the future, but at the moment this is all we have. Once more in terms of special features there are more commentries and some featurettes.
HBO maintains their Carnivale page which includes some exclusive making ofs and other details on the show.
