WIRX “Decoding Carnivale” call-in with Clancy Brown • 01-17-05

This is the transcript from Clancy’s radio call-in segment on Southwest Michigan’s WIRX/Rock 107.1, with Shelley Morgan.

SHELLEY MORGAN: I was watching it last night, and I had to turn away from the Golden Globes – as if that was a really difficult thing to do – because “Carnivale” was on HBO last night. And, because we have the connections we have, Clancy Brown, the guy who plays Brother Justin Crowe on “Carnivale” is hangin’ on the line. So, uh, are you ready? Cuz I have questions!

CLANCY BROWN: All righty!

SHELLEY: “Carnivale” last night… Man, you know, it didn’t take very long to kick into gear!

CLANCY: This episode had a lot of set-up in it. There’s a lot of stuff…

SHELLEY: Stroud!

CLANCY: He’s the man, isn’t he?

SHELLEY: He was… That was a nice little move with the homemade knife he had.

CLANCY: He is the man! He is a force of nature.

SHELLEY: I must also say that Brother Justin – a force of nature, too! Cuz he’s preach-afyin’, doin’ the whole thing on the radio, and no one else hears the things that Stroud hears.

CLANCY: But isn’t that true in life? I mean, (chuckling) don’t you find?

SHELLEY: (laughing) That I’ve seen?

CLANCY: You go through life, and you thought you heard something, and you didn’t. I find… It’s especially true when you’re married. But you’ll find that you’re convinced that you heard something that your wife said, or your boss or, ya know, your mom, or whoever, and THEY thought they said something completely different. So, that’s kinda what’s going on, I guess.

SHELLEY: All right. So, we had a quality kill in the first five minutes of the show…

CLANCY: Yeah, but did you notice, no real blood on that…

SHELLEY: No. Because he didn’t need to make a mess.

CLANCY: I guess so.

SHELLEY: It was just to get him outta there.

CLANCY: It was a clean cut.

SHELLEY: And then we had another quality kill later on when Stroud shows up at some Sheriff’s house and gets him all bloody. Talk about bloody!

CLANCY: Some Sheriff? That was the Sheriff who was the son of the woman who knew Henry Scudder. Remember, this whole show sort of folds back on itself when it needs to, and nothing was done last season that didn’t have some kind of resonance this season, and so on and so forth. So, you know, you always have to pay attention here. You never know what’s gonna be important later on. We know that the guy was a Sheriff, and that Varlyn killed him, and got a piece of the clue, and you know…

SHELLEY: And also got a nice little wardrobe, with the Sheriff’s badge, so he can walk around get into just about anywhere that he needs to get into! He’s a bright little guy! He knows what he needs to do to get the job done, to get the archangel job done.

CLANCY: Oh, yeah. Varlyn is the perfect person for this job.

SHELLEY: He’s very stoic.

CLANCY: He’s kind of attractive, don’tcha think?

SHELLEY: Uh, no… He doesn’t really do anything for me.

CLANCY: Powerful…

SHELLEY: Well, there’s definite power there.

CLANCY: Humor. He’s got great humor. He had a little smile on his face during that whole thing.

SHELLEY: Well, you gotta enjoy your work. Cuz if you don’t enjoy your work, you might as well not even be around.

CLANCY: Exactly. I see a spin-off, actually.

SHELLEY: (Laughing) Do you?

CLANCY: You’ll see what I mean as the season progresses…

SHELLEY: So we’ve got Varlyn out of prison. We’ve got Ben showin’ up at the looney bin.

CLANCY: Um-hmm.

SHELLEY: To talk to Father Kerrigan, who is completely out of his mind.

CLANCY: Right. Until Ben touches him.

SHELLEY: And that calms him down.

CLANCY: Calms him down.

SHELLEY: After Ben sees a really nice… little flashes of some little ritual, with a snake and blood and a naked guy, and wow!

CLANCY: Yeah! Well, ya know, what’s strange about that is, and I know this from experience, what Ben does in the show, is the exact opposite of what happens with Nick in real life. Whenever Nick, like, touches someone – especially a woman – they become all wacky and Beatlemania-ish.

SHELLEY: Really?

CLANCY: Oh, yeah.

SHELLEY: You’ve seen that happen?

CLANCY: I’ve seen it happen. He’s a force of nature, in and of himself.

SHELLEY: So, his stock in Benton Harbor/St. Joe must be going up pretty high!

CLANCY: That’s what I’m working toward. (laughing)

SHELLEY: (laughing)

CLANCY: That’s what I’m trying to do – trying to just move him up the ladder there, a little past Russell Crowe, a little past Tom Cruise. You know, let’s just keep him going up, keep him going up.

SHELLEY: That’s so nice of you.

CLANCY: Oh, yeah.

SHELLEY: So when you guys come and do an appearance, you know, it will be Beatlemania here.

CLANCY: Right, when we open the mall.

SHELLEY: Clancy Brown & Nick Stahl, opening the mall… (laughing) I cannot wait!

{Editor – Now, before anyone asks… They were KIDDING about that mall-opening thing! I only wish that they weren’t… LOL!)

(Station Break)

SHELLEY: Clancy Brown, hangin’ out on the line. Clancy, of course, plays Brother Justin Crowe on HBO’s “Carnivale.” And we get to talk to him each and every Monday (“Carnivale” theme song starts up), as we “Decode Carnivale.” Cuz there’s a lot of stuff happening on that show, and you just can’t quite always pick it up, just yourself. So, we’ve talked about how awesome Nick Stahl is (giggling), so what else do we need to talk about?

CLANCY: We didn’t talk about my buddy, Stumpy, though.

SHELLEY: About how Stumpy was trying to scam some money from Samson?

CLANCY: Yeah, that might be significant.

SHELLEY: I initially thought that, when Samson said that they were coming up light, that Stumpy had been somehow gambling on the fights. Because we heard him listening to the radio the week before…

CLANCY: That’s two and two! Puttin’ two and two together, good for you! Now you’re getting’ it! That’s how you watch this show!

SHELLEY: (laughing) But then again, you never know. So, that’s a theory?

CLANCY: It’s a theory! Keep theorizing. At least you’re connecting the dots. That’s nice.

SHELLEY: So, what was the deal with the dice? It was obviously a scam…

CLANCY: Um-hmm.

SHELLEY: So, I didn’t understand how, if you put the… There was supposed to be a picture, if you lined up the dots, there was supposed to be a picture. And obviously, there wasn’t anything. So, how does he not get his butt completely kicked by fifty guys?

CLANCY: You… Well, you know, it’s a guy thing! There’s no guy who’s gonna say. “I don’t see it” in a group of guys who are dyin’ to see it.

SHELLEY: Oh…

CLANCY: Ya know? It’s a Discovery Channel, male dominance subtlety. It also harkens back to the Man Eating Chicken moment last year, ya see?

SHELLEY: Okay.

CLANCY: Ya know, we gotta remember that Stumpy is not above completely ripping somebody off, and then pulling them into the con.

SHELLEY: The thing that I like about the show is the cool little touches, the little touches that were happening last night, as Ben’s in his visions that he’s having, as he’s standing in the chapel. You see the baby Jesus statue turn and look at him. The little touch as Sofie is walking down the road, and you see the shadow behind her. I’m assuming it was Apollonia, with a veil over her?

CLANCY: Um-hmm.

SHELLEY: Um, I mean, there were just these cool little visual touches that, if you don’t watch closely, you’re not gonna pick up on them.

CLANCY: That’s right! (chuckles) That is correct! The important thing is not so much the baby Jesus as the Madonna, in that one vision. And that will pay off very quickly. We’ll understand what the vision was fairly directly.

SHELLEY: And Sofie, if I’m reading it correctly, ya know, Apollonia’s behind her. She’s always gonna be with her, no matter what. Sofie’s talking about not being able to read the cards now that Mama’s not there, but the cards keep showing up.

CLANCY: The cards keep showing up! After being destroyed and blown to the four winds…

SHELLEY: Um-hmm.

CLANCY: I really don’t know what it means, I don’t know who’s leaving the cards for her, whether they’re just appearing or whether it was Apollonia’s shadow… Well, I think it WAS Apollonia’s shadow, but… What exactly that means, I’m not sure. Whether she just can’t get rid of her, like most children and their mothers, or whether, ya know, she’s actually there on the other side, looking out for her, or haunting her, or whatever… I’m not really sure how that plays out. Or at least, if I am, I cant tell you right now, but…

SHELLEY: Okay. And speaking of things from the other side... Ruthie’s seeing dead people.

CLANCY: Is that right?

SHELLEY: Yeah!

CLANCY: That’s right, she uh…

SHELLEY: She saw the ex guy.

CLANCY: Right. Right before Samson asked her on a date. You just might, rather than have her hurt feelings, you might just say, “Well, ya know, the guy’s dead. He didn’t stand you up. He’s dead. And since you’re all dolled up with no place to go, why don’t you and I, uh, ya know?” I thought that was some pretty quick thinkin’ on his feet. Whether he was telling the truth or not, who knows? Cuz Samson’s a liar.

SHELLEY: Well, he was tellin’ the truth! I knew. I knew, well….

CLANCY: You think that guy’s dead?

SHELLEY: I think that guy’s dead. I think it’s one of the things that happened when she was dead, and came back from the dead, that she’s gonna start to see things that she doesn’t understand.

CLANCY: I thought it was just a brilliant opportunity taken advantage of by Samson.

SHELLEY: (laughing)

CLANCY: (laughing)

SHELLEY: You weren’t reading anything mysterious or mystical into it at all, it was just…

CLANCY: It was a great pick-up line!

SHELLEY: Oh, it was a great pick-up line! Yeah, yeah, yeah… But I think it’s more.

(Station Break)

SHELLEY: Rock 107/WIRX. Big thanks to Clancy Brown for taking time out today to help us “Decode Carnivale” on HBO. It was on last night at 9:00, it’s gonna be on HBO2 tonight at 8:00, and if you didn’t see it last night, you might wanna watch it tonight, cuz it was NAKED CITY last night on “Carnivale”! (giggling)

CLANCY: Yeah, it was a real skin show last night.

SHELLEY: (laughing) It was, wasn’t it? Because we not only get the Cooch Show…

CLANCY: That’s always so much fun, isn’t it?

SHELLEY: (laughing) Cuz it’s just so twisted!

CLANCY: (laughing) Oh, and it’s so hilarious – ya know, what they do and their choreography. It’s just so funny.

SHELLEY: It was way before porn. We’re very jaded now.

CLANCY: And they walk around, the strippers walk around like they’re SURPRISED their clothes are coming off! (chuckling)

SHELLEY: Exactly. It’s like, “Ooh! Look, hey! Here’s a nipple! I didn’t know it was there!”

CLANCY: “Oh, dear!”

SHELLEY: (laughing) Like, “My clothes, they’re just falling off!” It’s all very innocent.

CLANCY: (laughing) It’s all very innocent… and baffling!

SHELLEY: We not only see that, we see the new maid and Brother Justin have this MOMENT between the two of them.

CLANCY: What was that about?

SHELLEY: Um, I think that was… I think that was him kind of reading what kind of person she was.

CLANCY: Okay, good for you. That’s what I think, too. Although I’ve been informed that maybe it was me making her do it.

SHELLEY: Ya know, I thought that was a possibility, too. But I was giving Brother Justin a little bit more of the benefit of the doubt.

CLANCY: I… I really don’t know how to interpret it. I would stick with what we know about Brother Justin, that somehow, he’s looking inside her, and that’s her own…

SHELLEY: Her own pain, her own…

CLANCY: And I just got a glimpse of it.

SHELLEY: Well, we all got a glimpse of it!

CLANCY: (laughing)

SHELLEY: Yes, we did!

(Station Break)

SHELLEY: Oh, hey! Let’s do it! Let’s finish up “Decoding Carnivale” – HBO’s “Carnivale” on each and every Sunday night, and it will be on tonight again, on HBO2, at 8:00, in case listening to the “Decoding” thing is piquing your interest. Clancy Brown, hangin’ on the line, and being so gracious about doing that, each and every Monday. We really, really appreciate that. (“Carnivale” theme starts up) Clancy, I gotta talk to you about somethin’. Something that I learned last night, that I had absolutely no idea about. We find out that the tiny Japanese women who do tattooing, do it with an open robe, and pretty much close to naked.

CLANCY: Well, some of ‘em do, I guess. This one did!

SHELLEY: (laughing) Yes, she did! So that’s what was happening last week, as Brother Justin goes to see the tiny Japanese woman.

CLANCY: Yes… (teasing) I guess you were wrong, weren’tcha Shelley?

SHELLEY: Well, of course, I was!

CLANCY: You were wrong! That’s part of the fun, isn’t it?

SHELLEY: It definitely is! But you gotta give me some credit for hoping that, ya know, Brother Justin is getting rid of some of that sexual frustration. We don’t see him flogging himself any more.

CLANCY: No, ya don’t!

SHELLEY: (laughing) And I mean that in the literal sense of the word, and not the figurative sense of the word.

CLANCY: No, he’s gettin’ tattooed!

SHELLEY: A very elaborate, very painful tattoo.

CLANCY: In a way... It’s probably as painful as flogging. Maybe it has the same effect! You know, PAIN is a necessary side effect, if you remember from last season.

SHELLEY: Well, certainly, because you need to take on the pain that Jesus felt…

CLANCY: Right.

SHELLEY: As he was being crucified.

CLANCY: That was an unavoidable side effect.

SHELLEY: Sure!

CLANCY: So, ya know, just go ahead… Live in the gutter, and then in the next episode, we’ll make you ashamed of yourself.

SHELLEY: Oh, I’m never ashamed of myself.

CLANCY: (laughing)

SHELLEY: These are just natural reactions that I’m going to have. I’m a red-blooded American woman.

CLANCY: Oh, okay, well…

SHELLEY: I’m always thinking along those lines!

CLANCY: Maybe that’s why the show isn’t quite as watched as it should be, is because all these red-blooded Americans are tired of having themselves fooled. (laughing) That could be!

SHELLEY: Nah! That’s not it! It’s just too smart for most people.

CLANCY: You think so?

SHELLEY: Yeah, I think so…

CLANCY: All right. So most red-blooded Americans are stupid? (laughing)

SHELLEY: Uh, no. I’m saying the red-blooded Americans are watching.

CLANCY: Well, I wish more of them were!

SHELLEY: This is why we’re performing this public service…

CLANCY: No, I appreciate that. And it is a public service. I just need more people to watch this show!

SHELLEY: Ya know, and maybe, if you keep showing your ass, they might!

CLANCY: Yeah…

SHELLEY: (laughing) How about that?

CLANCY: Yeah, well, you know. You sign up for the journey, you sign up for the trip. You know, I just want to do a shout out and a big thank you to the director of photography and the lighting cameraman for putting enough shadow in the right places! So…

SHELLEY: You looked good!

CLANCY: Yeah, isn’t that nice? They did a good job putting the shadows in the right places.

SHELLEY: Did you do a lot of squats before?

CLANCY: Ah... No, I didn’t.

SHELLEY: Ya didn’t? Cuz I know, a lot of times, when guys are gonna do the shirt-off thing, they completely pump up their muscles and do that. You didn’t do that?

CLANCY: No. But Jonesy does… Tim DeKay looks great in this show. Tim DeKay is definitely the beefcake in this show.

SHELLEY: Oh, I would beg to differ. So, when are we gonna get to see you naked again?

CLANCY: I dunno… I dunno.

SHELLEY: Cuz you know, this is pretty much all I’m really interested in.

CLANCY: I’ll tell ya what’s really strange about this… I was sort of, like, cruising the internet, just to make sure I didn’t embarrass myself too badly last night. And nobody mentioned the weirdest thing about those shots -- to me. The weirdest thing about me in those shots: there’s not a hair on my body!

SHELLEY: No, that’s true.

CLANCY: And that’s not natural. There’s not a single friggin’ hair on me! Nobody’s seen that. Take a look at it. There’s not a hair on me.

SHELLEY: Okay.

CLANCY: (laughing)

SHELLEY: Okay, I’ll freeze frame and look closer. I’ll zoom in.

CLANCY: That’s weird enough. That’s as weird as it gets, as far as I’m concerned.

SHELLEY: Well, if you’re a spawn of Satan, maybe there isn’t hair! Maybe they’re hairless.

CLANCY: That could be one way to interpret it. (laughing) Once again, it’s that misdirection. It’s like, you think you’re looking at this thing, but really, what’s weird and what’s informative is this thing over here. It’s like the Sheriff. Ah, it’s just an angry Sheriff. Whoops, wait, no, there he is. He’s integral to the rest of the story.

SHELLEY: We’ve brought him back.

CLANCY: Yep.

SHELLEY: And we get to kill him.

CLANCY: Kill him for a reason.

SHELLEY: Always! Nobody dies for no reason.

CLANCY: No.

SHELLEY: There’s always a reason.

CLANCY: Not on TV, anyway.

SHELLEY: On “Carnivale” they kinda do.

CLANCY: Yeah, “Carnivale” always gives you a reason someone dies.

SHELLEY: We’ll find out, even, there’ll be something else about Lodz, I’m sure. Even though it was, ya know, so Ruthie could live. There’ll be somethin’ else.

CLANCY: Oh, yeah. I can about promise you that, without gettin’ in too much trouble.

SHELLEY: Well, we don’t want to get you in trouble.

CLANCY: No, no…

SHELLEY: Cuz we like it that you do this with us every single week.

CLANCY: (evil laugh)

SHELLEY: As Clancy laughs maniacally.

CLANCY: Shelley, Shelley, Shelley… Last episode was answering a lot of questions from the first episode that, ya know, they wanted to… The answers the critics were looking for, and the critics weren’t satisfied with those answers, so… This episode, we’re kinda back into how we tell our story. Which it seems, like, all set up… until the thing happens.

SHELLEY: And it looks as if there’s going to be some pretty fun stuff happening, some pretty huge, some pretty like, “Whoa, you’re kidding!”

CLANCY: Yeah, there’s some fun stuff going on.

SHELLEY: Can’t wait to see it!

CLANCY: Alrighty!

SHELLEY: Thanks Clancy.

CLANCY: Any more questions you have before you sign off?

SHELLEY: I think we’re good.

CLANCY: You think you’re good. Okay. (laughing) All right… Seeya later, Shelley.

SHELLEY: Have a great day!

CLANCY: Bye-bye.

SHELLEY: Bye. And don’t forget, “Carnivale” on tonight at 8:00, on HBO2. And now you have all the answers, as you watch the show!