Joan of Arcadia

This show is stunningly good. The acting is great, the directing great, sound, visuals, sets, story etc it is all great. I can really only think of two negatives. The first being the son Kevin (Jason Ritter) that was written to whiny boohooing in the first 4-5 episodes and I also got the feeling that Jason was the least competent of the actors, but both Jason and the writing got better as the episodes pass by. The second negative is the ending episode and the end of the show which really was not that greatly done and this show deserved so much more and I would say deserve at least two more seasons.

The great is all the rest. I especially like how God is not only teaching Joan but also us in the audience. Well, not "teaching" as much as asking questions about morality, physics, religion and philosophy. This show is also wholesome family drama that do not shy away from difficult topics but also do not Hollywood linger on them for effect and gore. Topics like teenage pregnancy, sex, rape, murder, death, religion and homosexuality is brought up and discussed without being too much preachy and not with too much political correctness. This show feels real and down to earth, which is weird since God is a key player. And who can forget the main music score?

This is a real gem of a show and I highly recommend to everyone. And those of you growing up today with all the dumb shows this is what great TV used to look and sound like. I also think there is great potential to remake or continue with the show. Perhaps Joan has her own children? Or we can start with another city and another set of characters.

A slightly week 9/10 since there are 2-3 episodes that feels unnecessary or as fillers, but excluding that and my objections above this is as good as TV get and you should all watch this greatness.

This show is nothing like Touched by an Angel or anything insipid delivered on the Pax network. It is instead a deep reflection on how complicated it is to to be human. How do we find moments of consolation in those dark moments of desolation? How do we connect to ourselves and others?

It just so happens, Amber Tamblyn as title character Joan Girardi, (one of my personal favorites since her days as Emily Quartermaine on General Hospital) plays a cynical teenager who sees God. But God doesn't perform miracles. And he/she looks a little different every week. Joan is just trying to figure out who she is, like any of us she's digging around "in the trash trying to find something that matters." Joan's family is going through some real stress in Season 2 with the lawsuit against the oldest son Kevin who was left permanently paralyzed after a drunk driving accident...

Not being particularly religious, I feel incredibly drawn to the questions and issues this show raises every week.

Incisive writing, compelling acting. I can't remember what I was taping Friday nights.

CBS recently canceled this truly original and uplifting show because it had lost viewers, and the age of the typical viewer (according to the lovely Neilsen ratings system) was over 50 years old. So what does CBS do? Say that a show about ghosts would "skew younger" than one about talking to God. Shame, shame, on you CBS. You promised that the show would be moved to another time slot before you canceled it, and you canceled it after making Barbara Hall introduce a new character that would hopefully bring in more viewers, while leaving the exit point for the show all the more sloppy and unresolved.

Some other network needs to pick this show up now. It's been nominated for an Emmy, which it also might be again this year, and won the People's Choice Awards. It's got an estimated eight million viewers, which is pretty good considering it was up against Dateline and in a time slot when people are out and about (early evenings on Fridays, also not a time when a lot of the teenagers are home, so that also explains why the average age of the viewers was so high). It's really sad that a show which makes you think, feel, cry and laugh at the same time can be thrown away so easily, while all the reality TV junk and crime dramas that are all-too-similar are thriving. This show was the finest ever to grace TV, and I highly recommend it to anyone that is sick of the few choices left to watch on television anymore.

I stumbled upon Joan of Arcadia near the end of the first season and quickly found one thing out: This is a great show!

God speaks to Joan to have her try to make a DIFFERENCE in this world. The show is all about the choices we make in our lives that make a difference in the world around us. Through the choices Joan, her friends and her family make, we can learn something. Don't worry, it doesn't come off as all about religion, or all preachy. There is a great cast (especially Amber Tamblyn, Joe Mantegna and Mary Steenburgen), solid story lines and some really great music in between. I have been extremely impressed with Amber Tamblyn; she is perfect for this part.

Sometimes sad, very often funny, there is always something you can relate to. Give it a chance; you will enjoy it!

first off: yay CBS for actually making a good show!! I mean, what, are we in our 10th season of JAG?

this show reminds me of My So-Called Life. and that's nothing to sneeze at. it's certainly not _as_ good, but it has the same feel with its realistic characters (and not just the main characters, but the supporting ones, too). it seems like kids who are teenagers now would relate to this show like kids of my generation related to MSCL in the 90s. I think the writers need to make the parents a little more accessible, but the way they show the many facets of the younger characters, especially Joan and her brothers, is really impressive.

the x-factor: Joan hangs out with God. I'm not a religious person, and if there are supposed to be religious overtones in this show, I'm not feeling them. It's almost like God is the trusty alien sidekick or something like that. It's cool, because even though I personally don't believe in God, I certainly have friends who do, and who knows? They might talk to God, too. It's nice that a TV show can address religion, which is such a part of so many people's lives, in a non-preachy way.

the show, however, isn't about religion. it's about a middle-class white suburban family and their personal struggles. I feel like the show could go up or down from here. there have been some really unique and interesting story lines (Joan's tame relationship with the "stoner"/artist Adam, the questioning of Grace's sexuality, the art-teacher mother's rediscovering of the art she created after being raped) and even the story lines that seem more boring and uninspired seem to be coming around (the condescending-macho chief of police dad being demoted, the wheelchair-bound former-star-athlete older brother regaining his confidence and returning to "player" status, despite his disabilities)

I think the show's sometimes-slow pace is a testament to how long it might last. I hope it stays around for a while, at least, even if I do have to keep staying in for a while on Friday nights :)