I watch Joan of Arcadia. I'm not ashamed to admit this. I have this side that loves emotional drama of the type many people would call "sappy." Really, I think some of those people just aren't secure enough to let themselves feel genuine emotion. (I'm not saying "you have to watch JoA." I'm simply saying that lots of people don't give anything even remotely in its genre a fair chance.)
So anyway, like I said, I watch Joan of Arcadia, and enjoy it. It's like Wonderfalls and Joan of Arcadia came to a clearing in the woods together, and where Wonderfalls said "I'm taking the comedy trail," JoA said "I'm taking the drama trail." That's where the elements of Felicity come in -- a little touch of emotional teen/tween drama to spike the mix. Incidentally, I did think Wonderfalls was the superior show, but since it got effing cancelled, it's not like I have a choice about which one to keep watching.
Well last night, for their season finale, JoA decided to add a touch of Tru Calling to the mix, by introducing a "works for the forces of evil" character to oppose Joan in her efforts to do good in the world. An interesting twist, I guess. The potential I see in this is lower than I feel the execution of the same idea was on Tru Calling. But, here again, one of the shows was cancelled, so it's not like I have a choice about which one to keep watching.
The thing is, JoA is struggling for survival. After a strong first year, it decided to go much, much darker in tone in year two, and apparently this turned off a lot of the viewers. I would agree year one was stronger for the show, but year two was still quite good. Anyway, the TV gossip oddsmakers are saying that JoA is about 80% likely to be cancelled. CBS announces its fall schedule in a few weeks, and then we'll know. The creators have basically conceived this "evil nemesis" plot as a sort of attempt to show new creative potential and earn a third season renewal. Problem is, we've seen how well this worked for Tru Calling.
I suppose that's Fox, and this is CBS, so Joan's fate isn't yet completely sealed. Still, it's just as likely CBS would cancel the show anyway to make room for CSI: Albuquerque or something.
Seems like too many of my favorite shows are in creative crisis, facing cancelation, or already gone. I suppose it means I might have more free time to catch up on my reading next fall, though. Who knows what I'd find to yak about on my blog, though.
6 comments:
My wife loves this show. She's watched it religiously since its inception -- no pun intended.
The most obviously analogy you're missing here is Quantum Leap. I've always seen Joan of Arcadia as a cousin of Quantum Leap. Joan is the only one who can see God in all His disguises, and He pushes her in directions to heal the lives of those around her, be they friends, family, or complete strangers.
And just like QL, the writers of JoA have to introduce a nemesis to spice things up. Granted, should JoA continue for a third season, the nemesis storyline will likely live longer than the somewhat stunted one on QL. I'm not against the idea of an Anti-Joan any more than I was against the idea of an Anti-Sam. It just has to be executed properly.
Given JoA's stronger leaning toward the Judeo-Christian tack of theism, a conflict with the Devil was inevitable. The fact that he also has an agent in the mortal world is an appropriate addition, but it might have been better had this agent somehow been hinted at before.
Now, let's just hope a hypothetical third season doesn't consistently feature Joan helping big celebrities who happen to be in Arcadia. QL fell apart when Sam started to hang out with non-ordinary people in the past.
I think I can see the parallels between JoA and QL you're talking about.
I will toss out one comment about the final season of Quantum Leap, though. You talked about QL falling apart in the last year, as they introduced the "Evil Leaper" and random intersections with the lives of celebrities to spice things up. And yes, I'll agree with you, those ideas were not among the shows finest.
However, I think those didn't cause Quantum Leap to fall apart. I think it was pretty clear the show was going to get cancelled after year five anyway, and that the writers sort of said, "to hell with it, we're going to do all kinds of wacky stuff this year since we're gone anyway." In other words, I think the show's demise led to the wackniess, not the other way around.
I'll give you that. The last season was a "to hell with it" exercise to answer all the dumb critics who kept asking, "Why can't he leap into Elvis?" FYI, I think the "evil leaper" first appeared in season three followed by a two-part appearance in season four.
It looks like the next CSI will be CSI:LA - then CSI: Albuquerque
Yeah, I was noticing how they were setting themselves up on this week's CSI for an LA spinoff starring Anij from Star Trek: Insurrection. The only trouble is, apparently all the LA forensic guys really suck, since they had to call in Warwick, Stokes, and Robbins to help.
It's not just the CSIs, either. Without a Trace, Cold Case, and Numb3rs (I know... but that's the way they spell the title) all air on CBS too.
I'm not saying crime procedural shows are by definition bad. CBS got to be as big as it is today prcisely because most of these shows are actually varying degrees of good. But there is such a thing as "too much of a good thing." Just ask ABC. Only this year did they finally crawl out of the whole that Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? dug them several years ago.
Network executives and are unimaginative and unwilling to take a risk unless they have nothing to lose, which is not to be confused with a network that has its back against the wall. FOX has been in the later position for a while and have failed to embrace the right programs. CBS found sanctuary with Survivor and a variety of BRUCKHEIMER! procedurals, of which I find Without a Trace the most pallatable and worthwhile, when they were pooh-poohed as the "Old Folks Network".
I would concur that the CSIs will eventually sink CBS the way Who Wants To Be A Millionaire sank ABC, but the Law & Order franchise seems to keep NBC afloat. Perhaps I'm mistaken.
The good news of this season is that Joey will likely not see a second season or will be tweaked so much it won't see the halfway point of the second season. NBC has learned the harsh lesson that Friends wasn't the cultural phenomenon they thought it was or that they advertised it to be. It was a largely agreeable show that appealed to a lucrative demographic, but it established no loyalty. This, and the new characters on the spinoff are unlikeable, especially the nasty sister.
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