Episode 1536
Characters of Carnivàle
Mon, 2021-Jul-19 03:34 UTC
Length - 3:03
Direct Link
Welcome to featured Wiki of the Day where we read the summary of the featured Wikipedia article every day.
The featured article for Monday, 19 July 2021 is Characters of Carnivàle.
There are several main characters in Carnivàle, an American television serial drama set in the United States Depression-era Dust Bowl between 1934 and 1935. It aired on HBO from 2003 to 2005. It follows the disparate storylines of an ensemble of fictional characters, with the two central characters of Ben Hawkins, a young man working in a traveling carnival; and Brother Justin Crowe, a Californian preacher.
Carnivàle has a large cast, with eighteen regular actors over its two-season run. Most of them are introduced in Ben's storyline: Samson, a little person co-running the carnival with Management; Jonesy, Samson's right-hand man with a crippling knee injury; Apollonia and Sofie, two fortunetellers working a mother-daughter act; Lodz, a blind mentalist, and his lover, Lila the Bearded Lady; the cootch (striptease) Dreifuss family; the snake charmer Ruthie and her son Gabriel, a strongman; and many other sideshow performers. The supporting characters of Brother Justin's storyline are his sister Iris, his mentor Reverend Norman Balthus, the radio show host Tommy Dolan, and the convict Varlyn Stroud. Several characters appear in mysterious dreams and visions connecting the slowly converging storylines.
Show creator Daniel Knauf's original story pitch to HBO included elaborate character biographies, which he gave to the actors, the writers and the studio as an overview over the series' intended plot. These biographies were rewritten before the filming of the first season began. Receiving little to no mention in the series afterwards, the original character backgrounds were summarized on the official HBO website. After the show's cancellation, the writers revealed future character arcs and forwarded all original biographies to fans as part of the show's so-called "Pitch Document". Due to their nature, these sources do not offer canonical information as such, but provide a frame for the characters' motivation throughout the series.
The thematic and period setting of Carnivàle required an unusual casting approach. While some actors were hired for their genetic disabilities, most actors were specifically cast for their unique and distinct looks to fit the series' 1930s setting. Award-winning costumes and make-up enhanced the illusion. Reviews generally lauded the actors and characters, and several actors received awards for their performances.
This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 03:34 UTC on Monday, 19 July 2021.
For the full current version of the article, see Characters of Carnivàle on Wikipedia.
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This has been Matthew Standard. Thank you for listening to featured Wiki of the Day.
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