Joan of Arcadia

In a season filled with terrible reality shows and cookie cutter sitcoms, a small show from CBS made its way into the territory of classic television in the making. While I'll admit the show drew me with the charming previews and attractive main star; I was rather hesitant to watch this but stumbled upon a gem in television, one of the rare gems in television in a shallow and short attention span audience.

Joan is the middle child in a middle/low class family who begins getting messages from god through the various forms of people who come to her asking her to perform certain deeds.

While she's not always sure what god's intentions may be for her she always manages to perform the deed and learns something that affects her life.

Many religious themed shows have rarely ever been able to send out watchable storylines with the religious undertones without completely botching them. "Seventh Heaven" a recent hit show with religious themes fails in every aspect possible by preaching of love, family, etc. while coming off as cheesy, campy, and very sappy. While that show continues to run out of steam with its horrible storylines and characters, this one manages to push it to the side.

Somehow "Joan of Arcadia" is real and that is due to many winning aspects including the excellent cast of actors who give this show the kick it needs. The often under rated Joe Mantegna gives an excellent performance as the father and leader of the family who works as a police officer while being forced to confront his rapidly feigning power, Mary Steenburgen plays the mother who often rules the household in the father's absence with a soft voice but a hard fist, Jason Ritter son of the late John Ritter plays the paralyzed oldest brother who must confront his disability while adjusting to life as disabled, Michael Welch plays the brainy youngest child who must adjust to his families problems while living as an individual, and best of all Amber Tamblyn stars as the title character who is extremely likable and charming; Tamblyn is excellent as Joan who takes God's often vague directions in stride and a sarcastic and often witty one-liner.

It'd be easy to make the character of Joan whiny and self-absorbed but the excellent writers pull her character off well and make her a heroine for the female viewers and eye candy for the young male viewers.

The writing is what make this series a joy with its often gripping and heartbreaking storylines and refreshing wit; while the earlier episodes in the series were mired in sloppy continuity and lack of any true direction, it picked up thankfully and has managed to achieve its purpose with amazing plot twists and often heart breaking character development.

"Joan of Arcadia" preaches themes without becoming preachy and becomes natural in its story telling while the excellent actors get into character flawlessly. Each character is likable and each character is more realistic and involving than any bargain basement reality show, and by the numbers sitcom and manages to mark its territory into classic television.

What make this the quintessential drama is that despite its religious backdrop it never preaches to people and never tells people that one religion is true, it only shows a young distraught girl being led by god personally and comes of age.

This is surely a godsend.

I was given a box set of Joan of Arcadia(season 1) to watch by my roommate. I remember hearing about the show but didn't think much of it, other than it being interesting. I left it on a shelf and never watched it due to lack of time. He kept asking me if I had watched it and finally I did, the night before New Years Eve (2005). I watched the pilot and was amazed. I then came home on New Years morning and continued watching the rest of disc 1, then disc 2. I ended with the episode titled "Death bringeth not whatever" I think thats what its called. By the time I finished watching this episode and heard the ending song(I think the musical director's choice of music is excellent by the way), I cried for at least 15 minutes, and by then it was 9:00 am. I've been a serious Christian since the age of 12(now I'm in my early 30's) and never have I seen a show with such depth, insight and truth as this show has. I've not yet seen season 2 but I tell you that I feel as if I've learned much more about God and how he truly relates to man from this show than my 19 years of being a Christian. This show confirms the things it took me 19 years to start to understand about God's character and how he relates to man, as well as how we should relate to each other. I'm sorry it was canceled but I'm not surprised. Anything that promotes truth, morality, and spiritual insight and positive change is often persecuted or looked down upon in this "New World Order". Our society or many that have authority in it would much rather promote the opposite of such things. I've also studied enough ornithology, anthropology, biology, zoology, archeology, geology, ancient, medieval, modern history, music and languages, and have had enough metaphysical experiences to confirm my personal spiritual beliefs. I'm not your regular Christian. Anyway, people I tell you that this world and this play that we call "Life" is an unreal reality and we're all actors in it and this show is one of the few that dared to reveal this. In the words of Maximus (Russel Crowe's character in Gladiator), "What we do in this life will echo through eternity" and in eternity I believe that many of us will look back and remember Barbara Hall and this show that changed our lives for the better called Joan of Arcadia.

Television itself is a barren wasteland of programming upon the ushering in of each new fall season. So many choices, each one with less and less quality to them. Hence, there is one show that pushed past this.

"Joan of Arcadia" is about 16-year old Joan Girardi (20-year old Amber Tamblyn), who is visited by beautiful stranger who calls himself "God." He tells her that because he let her wheelchair-bound brother Kevin (hottie Jason Ritter) survive a car crash that paralyzed him, Joan has to listen to him. Each week, he has her do something new (hold a yard sale, get a job, try out for cheerleading, take AP Chem). It's a weird world out there, and Joan's just got a little weirder.

I remember CBS rolling out the commercials for this program in July, and I was fascinated immediately. I knew I was compelled to watch this show, since I wanted to try to get into shows geared toward my age brackett (the elusive 18-25 group--I'm 21). Joan herself is completely relatable to myself (I wrote an essay on her for a college course 1 1/2 months ago--I got an A). I see that sarcastic personality in her that I had in high school. She's just trying to survive there--that's what I did.

My favorite episode was when Joan was told by God to try out for cheerleading. That cheer at the end was priceless. I was laughing and clapping. Jason Ritter (the son of late legendary John Ritter) is great as Kevin. I really think he's hot, and he reminds me so much of his dad. Thankfully, Jason will carry on the name. As Joan's parents, Joe Montenga and Mary Steenburgen are wonderful--they're like everyone's parents, and aren't most just slightly neurotic??? Absolutely. Michael Welch, as Luke Girardi, reminds me of a young Anthony Michael Hall that I came to know in the Brat Pack movies I fell in love with in the late '90s when I was a love-struck teenager in high school. I know, it wasn't THAT long ago, but still...

All in all, this is quality programming. If CBS knows what they're doing (and what's good for them) they'll keep this show on the air. This is good for whether you're religious or non-religious (I'm non-religious). I'm so glad a program this high-caliber came along. People need shows with a little faith. This is the one!

It was disheartening to see that the first review was the one negative review in the bunch. When I opened the rest a sigh of relief echoed my quiet office. I think "Joan of Arcadia" is hands down the best show on TV. It has excellent actors, great writing, and each episode is more entertaining or satisfying than the last. This show touches me every time I watch it. The vehicle used is entertaining, the characters are wonderfully written, and a profound message is sent out without ever preaching. Having just been through the most faith-rocking year of my life, the truths illuminated in this series have provided comfort, insight, and peace. With all the faithless programming available, this show is a breath of really fresh air!

I discovered this show, just this last week. My 9 year old daughter had watched once or twice before and seemed to really enjoy it. I make it a point to watch what my children watch, to see if it's acceptable viewing. Surprise! Great Show!

Without going over all the obvious details, I'll say this: Take the time for "Family Viewing" and have a look at this charming CBS Friday night show.

9 out of 10 on my scale.

2005 UPDATE....

Yup, the goons at CBS have pulled the plug. What a shame. Quality DOES equal probable cancellation, I guess.....