I remember that there were several other Carnivàle fans on the board, so in case those few of you didn't notice, the second season finally made it out on DVD this Tuesday. I promptly snatched one up at a local store (I even bought the soundtrack while I was there) and went home to relish in one of my favorite TV series. It was just as good as I remembered it, and the packaging on the second season is up to the same level of quality as the first. I think these might be the best produced DVD releases I have ever seen. The physical case is very well made, with great artwork, and the menus are top-notch. It's just a shame that I'm watching this show on such crappy TV, because it's one of the best looking shows I've ever watched.

Sadly, the extras are sparse on this set too. I think there are three commentaries, a couple short clips on how they do certain effects, and two longer features. One is the broadcast of the Museum of Radio and Television interview with the cast and creators, which I can't wait to watch (the one for Freaks and Geeks was pretty interesting), and the other feature is a 30 minute behind-the-scenes-style segment explaining the meaning behind most of the show. It wasn't that informative, if you pay close enough attention to the show while watching it, but I think I learned one or two little bits of info that I didn't gleam from watching the episodes.

Anyway, I just had to share in my joy of finally seeing this show finished on DVD. I would have loved to see how the complete 6-season story would have ended, but I think that the show, at least emotionally, ended well enough. It's hard to explain, but it swelled to such a climax at the end of season 2, that the resolution, despite having a huge cliffhanger, seemed satisfactory enough. Or maybe I'm just trying to justify it so I don't feel so bad about another great, underappreciated show being cancelled before its time.

I bought the Firefly box set after a recommendation on this board and loved every episode. I am amazed at how it had zero exposure here in the UK.

So, what is Carnivàle about?

YEAP... on my Netflix list... on it's way. MAN I was bummed when they killed this show. One of my favorites of all time.

Thanks a lot for trying to describe it. I'll probably read a bit more about it and (shock! horror!) torrent an episode or two before I decide to buy the DVDs. It does sound great

I must admit, I downloaded the first 6-or-so episodes because I caught the show mid-way through its first season. Yet another support of the "tried it before I bought it" argument for file sharing. I got 6 episodes for free, then gave HBO $160 (in addition, of course, to the monthly charges for their service).