The pitch: In the dust-bowl 20s, a messianic figure takes up with a travelling carnival as he awaits a showdown with an anti-Christ. It's a shame that Carnivale never made it to a third season. A big budget production for HBO, it simply didn't have the ratings to justify the cost - but it was a fantastic concept, with a fantastic cast backing it. The premise: Good and evil have avatars on Earth, a messiah and Anti-christ figure who are destined to clash; neither knows what he (or she) is, at least at first, and in the 1920s, the avatar for good winds up riding along with a travelling carnival. It's not the the most succinct high concept pitch, but the appeal is clear: a good vs. evil battle set (at least partially) in a carnival. The show had a fantastic cast including Twin Peaks alum Michael J. Anderson, Nick Stahl, Clea Duvall, and Clancy Brown. It moved, however, at a snail's pace, which had fans rather upset. If you could handle the pacing, however, it was an extremely rewarding show and well worth the watch.