Assholes.

Complete and utter CRAP!

Ahh, so it's now official and I can finally speak.

First of all, I haven't commented to the press yet, so these are my
first thoughts on this matter, and I can't think of a better group
of people to share them with. Lots of you guys have been there since
the beginning, and I've enjoyed your analysis, arguments, cheers and
occasional gentle (but well thought-out) jeers.

I've read all the posts since Beth announced the cancellation (Could
somebody please tell me where this woman gets her information? Talk
about jacked-in!), have taken heart and encouragement from your kind
words, have shared your outrage and sense of loss.

If you're hoping I'll slam HBO, I'm afraid you're in for a bit of a
disappointment.

The fact is, nobody—-and I mean *nobody*-—would have even considered
financing and broadcasting a show this expensive, this different,
this technically challenging, even if the creator was a seasoned
television writer-producer. The fact that I was an untested talent
makes their courage all the more extraordinary. I will always
appreciate Carolyn's dedication and passion to this project, Chris's
support, and
Miranda's steady, guiding hand.

True, like many of you, I am ambivalent: HBO giveth, and HBO taketh
away.

I feel like a father whose baby was doomed in vitro, somehow
delivered, treated and kept alive by a brilliant team of surgeons,
only to see that same team yank the child off life-support just as
she began to show improvement.

Do I think their decision was boneheaded? Yes, absolutely.

Do I understand why they made it? Again, yes, absolutely.

Carnivale was an expensive show. Costs-per-episode have been guessed
at on this board, and in every case those estimations have been low.
Way low. Carnivale, in fact, represented one of the most costly—-if
not *the* most costly—-pattern-budget ever invested in a weekly
series in television history. If anybody has any resentment toward
HBO executives, consider this:

• They have a fiduciary responsibility toward their stock-holders;
• The show was hugely expensive;
• The reviews were mixed.
• The audience was not large enough to support it.

Game. Set. Match.

Was Carnivale thrown into a hopeless time-slot? Definitely. Could we
have done better with more promotion and support? Probably. Were
marketing opportunities missed? Undoubtedly. Would we have broken
out had we gotten a third season? I'm absolutely sure of it.

Would I bet my career, my reputation and--more importantly--tens of
millions of stockholder dollars on it?

I sincerely do not know.

Would you?

I'm not here to play apologist for the network. Far from it. But in
fairness, these things need saying, so there they are.

HBO taketh away, but, damnit...

... HBO giveth.

I was fortunate enough, for a too-brief, shining moment, to be part
of a project in which every last contributor believed with all their
hearts—-from the production assistants to the network executives.

Everybody on the show knew we were doing something special. Nobody
delivered less than their best work. This is an exceedingly rare
thing in the television world, where talented cast and crew are,
quite frankly, wasted on pabulum. When asked what they're working
on, the all-too-routine answer is "Some piece-of-s—-t cop show (or
doctor show, or lawyer show)."

Meanwhile, we all got to work on Carnivale.

Now *that* is cool.

And you guys watched it. And got it. And appreciated it.

You guys counted down to Sunday nights.

You reveled in the show's mysteries, its characters, its world. You
taped it, you TIVOed it, you played and replayed it. You caught
every blooper and anachronism, every real and imagined flaw in our
internal logic. You praised its authenticity and historocity. You
researched our mythology. Unlike many of our critics, you not only
welcomed the show's intellectual and narrative challenges, but
embraced them!

Not one teeny, tiny shred of our time, trouble and work was wasted
on you.

And that is very, *very* cool.

Folks have been asking what I want them to do in the face of this,
Okay, then. If there's one thing I want from you guys, it's to
simply know this:

Carnivale is not dead

Raymond Chandler was once asked by a reporter how he felt about
Hollywood ruining all his books. He simply pointed at a shelf behind
him and said, "Hollywood hasn't ruined my books. They're all right
there."

Similarly, I might point at my boxed set of Season 1 (and soon-to-be-
issued Season 2) and say, "The network didn't kill my show. It's
right there. Wanna watch a few episodes?"

Carnivale, and this wonderful community that's joined to celebrate
it, will continue to live as long as the work is viewed and enjoyed.
It's pretty clear now that, for whatever reasons, we never found our
audience.

But it's not too late.

Lend your DVDs to friends. Get them out there into the world.
Capture eyeballs, collect converts. Donate sets to your local
libraries. Throw viewing parties. Start discussion groups.

For God's sake, organize a Live CarnyCon!

And maybe—-just maybe—-in the (hopefully) not so distant future,
some bright young executive will say, "Hey, remember that show
Carnivale? You know, people are still talking about that! There's a
monster fan base out there!" Maybe they'll order a season. Maybe a
series of films...

Who knows? Stranger things have (and do) happen.

You can bet I, as well as many in our cast and crew, will be ready
to support you in any way we can. As for me, I'll be weighing in on
the lists, participating in chats like always. I'm not going
anywhere. You guys are stuck with me.

Granted, it'll take some effort, but as a very wise friend of mine
named Samson once said, "When it comes to livin, dyin's the easy
part." And everything's impossible, til it ain't.

Fans, the ball's in your court, now. Take it and run with it.

Dazzle me.

I love you guys.

D.

"Are you serious? There is a difference between an ambiguous ending that makes you think and an unfinished ending that leaves you hanging."

Yes. I am quite serious. And this is a case of the former, not the latter.

Enh.

I confess: I hated the finale so much I lost all emotional attachment to the show. Evil Sophie, ok. Evil Sophie kills Jonesy for no damn good reason? Not ok at all.

Besides, I liked the meandering and the mystery of the first season. The second season had none of the ambiguity or the puzzles. It was all about getting on with it.

The line to beat me up just for saying that may form to the right. Take a number, please.

my super powers...magically regenerating my serotonin levels when my favorite shows get cancelled haha