The best, most gripping TV show in years. Carnivale is like nothing else made (if anything Twin Peaks for odd-but-works) and the genius is never far from the surface. After 3 episodes I was immersed and cared about the fate of the characters, intrigued by the unique settings and the storyline baffled/elated/hypnotised me.

Bored of the flat characters and overdone stunts of modern TV? Able to predict storylines and plot before they happen? This will leave you boss-eyed and sorry that you even attempted to guess what happens next.

Buy it, watch it. If you don't like it, buy a cup with a ball on a string.

I have to say that at first I wasn't too keen on Carnivale but the characters really absorb you into the story. It's very well written and has some good plot twists that you won't see coming. I think that the second series is even better (although also weirder) and obviously you need to see this one first. It's just a shame that they had to cancel it after the second series (mostly due to high production costs and HBO being a complete set of idiots). Anyway, you should definitely get the DVDs if you haven't seen it before, I recommend it very highly!

a truely groundbreaking series,one of the best things that has ever been on.at its dark heart is the tale of good vs evil but setting it in americas dust bowl during the depression was a stroke of genius.a twisted,scary,explicit tv show worthy of david lynch and with fantastic production values,all shot in a sepia tone.dwarves,mind readers,whores and a lead character who may be ( or not ) christ.pitted against an evil which spreads outwards and onwards and who could turn out to be the devil.sounds simple but its so engrossing and complex that it deserves repeated viewing.throw in references to world war 1,the knights templar,monsters and you are left with a spellbinding show that should have gone on for more than 2 seasons.damn the networks !