After a leisurely debut season, HBO's stunningly creative cable-television series CARNIVALE stepped up the pace in round two of its allegorical tale of good and evil set against the surreal backdrop of a Depression-era travelling circus. By the beginning of the second season, carnival-roustie-cum-Christ-figure Ben Hawkins (Nick Stahl) has grudgingly accepted his destiny as a "creature of light" while continuing to search for his godlike father, Henry Scudder (John Savage), in a neo-Homeric odyssey that takes him from his demented backwoods clan to an eerily cloying maker of death-masks. Meanwhile, Ben's nemesis, the evil preacher Brother Justin (Clancy Brown), does his best to instigate an apocalyptic showdown via an increasingly powerful right-wing political campaign that invites obvious comparisons to early-21st-century neocon politics. When polar-opposite avatars Ben and Justin finally meet in the season's final moments, the result is one of the most terrifying, emotional, and profound climaxes in television history. Though it was unduly cancelled after the second season (the show was conceived by creator Daniel Knauf as a six-season story arc), CARNIVALE is an ephemeral gem that will undoubtedly become a cult favorite as iconic as that other benchmark of the dark and bizarre, TWIN PEAKS. This collection presents all 12 episodes of the unjustly shortlived series' second and final season.

DVD Features:

6-Disc Set - Keep Case
Widescreen - 16.9
Audio:
Dolby Surround Stereo 2.0 - English, French, Spanish
Additional Release Material:
Audio Commentary: 1. Creator Daniel Knauf
2. Executive Producer Howard Klein
3. Director Rodrigo Garcia
4. Clancy Brown
5. Clea Duvall
Documentary - "Magic and Myth: The Meaning of Carnivale" - Half-hour documentary exploring the apocalyptic writing and mythology behind the show.
Featurette - 1. "Creating the Scene" Featurettes - Find out how Carnivale's creators brought the Daily Brothers show and its Scorpion Lady, He/She and Praying Mantis-to vibrant life.
2. Museum of Television and Radio panel discussion with Cast and Crew

Nick Stahl: TV/Film Actor
Clancy Brown: American Character Actor
Clea DuVall: American actress, GIRL, INTERRUPTED, HEROES
Amy Madigan: American Actress
John Savage: American Actor
Michael J. Anderson: Twin Peaks - Little Man From Another Place
Tim DeKay: 
Ralph Waite: John Walton of TV's "The Waltons"
Debra Christofferson: Actress/"Round Numbers"
Adrienne Barbeau: American actress, MAUDE, THE FOG
Toby Huss: Actor/ STILL BREATHING
Cynthia Ettinger: Star, CARNIVALE
Carla Gallo: Actress/"Spanking The..."
Brian Turk: 
Diane Salinger: American Actress

4 stars out of 5 -- "CARNIVALE is the most baffling show since TWIN PEAKS....The narrative has a greater momentum and offers some sense of resolution..."