I fell in love. Intrigued with the opening snake-charmer music and montage of images from the past, I was drawn into the program. It promised something different, mysterious, and captivating. And, it delivered. By the end shot of a little girl newly healed and running past a field of dying crops, I was hooked.

I fell in love. Carnivale took me back in time and place to an era that is overlooked in the frenzy of modern living. That period in between the first World War that propelled the United States onto the world stage and into a booming prosperity land optimism of the Roaring Twenties. That prosperity and optimism were shattered by the 1930s and we teetered on the precipice of dispair brought on by The Great Depression. Carnivale captured that sense of time and place and presented a picture of the people who struggled, suffered and survived. A period piece, yes, and one in which you could virtually smell and feel the textures of their pain.

I fell in love. The characters where not one deminsional stereotypes, but living, breathing humans that we could care about. Written and portrayed with depth and honesty, they emerged, even the most dispicable of them, as interesting and captivating individuals.

I fell in love. The mystery and intrigue of these characters, some seemingly not of this time or earth, drew me futher into the plot and story. This is timeless storytelling, and the writing was imaginative and provocative. Almost lyrical. And full of questions.

Each episode brought a few answers and revealed a little more of what promised to be a deep and compelling story. Each week, I kept coming back to find out more.

However, the promise was broken. What was to be a lingering story with a beginning, middle and end turned out to be a lie. The story was cut short and now the middle and the ending are hanging out in HOB limbo. I can only say that I, for one, and angry, disappointed, and frustrated. The questions are not answered. The characters are not fulfulled. The story is not resolved. I have been cheated. We have all been cheated.