I think Toby Huss did one of the most underrated jobs on this show. Stumpy was just a sad character, I mean he's married to a prostitute, he has his kids turning tricks, he's a degenerate gambler, he loses a fight lol....great acting, but damn what a sad character.
shareI found the family dynamics between Stumpy, Rita Sue and Libby to be one of the most interesting aspects of the show. We end up rooting for this family of charlatans, whores and theifs. There is no convential "redemption" in which they abandon their sinful ways, yet they do seem to grow as characters.
That is what makes this such a great series - the character arcs never seem to go where you would expect them. The writers seemed determined to go against the expected; hence the Messiah who is a confessed murderer, the Anitchrist who is a devout preacher, etc. Each character in the series seems to play the part of hero and villian at different times.
I am really going to miss this show.
"Not fare well, but fare forward, voyagers."
One of the most interesting scenes in the series, I think, is when Ben comes across an old man on the road, pimping his retarded daughter. He "heals" the man by looking in his eyes and showing him the truth of what he is doing, and he promises he'll never do it again.
The thing that I found interesting was that the old man was an older version of Stumpy - so much like him that I wondered if it was Toby Huss in makeup, or Toby's father. (It was neither.) His voice was the same, too.
But Ben never tried to heal Stumpy - he knew that by his standards, and those of his wife and children, he wasn't doing anything wrong.
So many levels to this show.
He also has a quick temper, is a liar, a racist, and a whiner.
shareHell NO!!! He caused SOOO many problems for his family!! All his gambling and pushing his daughters and wife to extremes with their show (the idea of the lunch counter?!)
As an actor, oh yes...him and everyone else are SUPERB! I love the whole story, but goodness...Stumpy was constantly conflicted.
Stumpy is one of my favorites on the show, I prefer him to Jonesy. I like broken, complicated characters. He's a *beep*-up but he's so human. The whole family story was the glue that kept the series "human". None of them had a supernatural story going on, they were the realistic "heart" of the show. I really thought Libby and Sofie were supposed to be together until things got crazy in season 2.
shareLike said before, he's a liar, a gambler and a hypocrite who basically sold his wife (against her will) to his friend/co-worker and went on a tantrum after she cheated on him with the same guy.
Stumpy is probably one of the most flawed characters in the show, but that's what makes him so fascinating. Because of some strange reason he's one of the most likeable characters at the same time.
Just comes to show what great writing Carnivale had.
Yes, you are right all-round on Stumpy
its why Carnivale rates as one of my ultra-rare 10* shows.