Joan of Arcadia is an American television fantasy/family drama which aired on Fridays, 8-9 p.m. ET/PT on CBS from 2003 until 2005.
On initial release, the show was a favorite with the critics and won the prestigious Humanitas Prize, the People's Choice Award, as well as being one of the few television shows to be nominated for an Emmy Award in the first season, for Best Dramatic Series. The title is a portmanteau of Joan of Arc and the fictional city of Arcadia, Maryland.
Contents
1Premise
2Cast & characters
2.1Major cast
2.2Minor cast
3Crew
4Trivia
5Episodes
5.1Season 1: 2003-2004
5.2Season 2: 2004-2005
6DVD Releases
7International
8External links
Premise
Joan of Arcadia is about a teenage girl, Joan Girardi (played by Amber Tamblyn), who sees and speaks with God in the form of various people such as small children, teenage boys, elderly ladies, transients, passers by, etc. Joan is asked by God to perform tasks that often appear to be trivial or contrary, but the end result of which is always positive towards a larger situation.
An example is when Joan is asked to take a reclusive bully to the school dance. While both her mother and the assistant principal object, Joan follows through with God's task. At the dance it is revealed the bully has a bottle of alcohol with him but Joan convinces him not to open it. Despite this the assistant principal later reaches into his jacket and, finding the alcohol, expels him. Joan later finds out from God that while this turn of events seems rather bleak, it was the lesser of two evils: in an alternate timeline where he went alone to the dance, he got drunk and shot over a dozen students and teachers with a handgun he had also taken, before turning the gun on himself.
In other episodes, the effects of Joan's actions are not as obvious.
This was not the original version of the song. It was re-recorded by Osborne (with a noticeably less rough quality) specifically for this television show. To fit the lyrics of the song, Joan first meets God as a teenage boy riding to school on the bus with her (although they don't actually speak to each other at the time).
While the show was one of the highest rated new shows of the 2003-2004 TV season, its ratings declined in its sophomore year in spite of continued critical acclaim. The show was cancelled by CBS on May 18, 2005. Only two episodes from the second season were repeated by CBS: "No Future" and "The Rise and Fall of Joan Girardi." The network pulled any remaining reruns from its schedule.
Several online fan sites were created in response, in an effort to have the show reinstated. While in its first season it had a wide variety of fans demographically, its controversial cancellation, along with other similar moves in the media, such as cancellations of Third Watch, American Dreams, and Judging Amy, produced an outcry from many older Americans who feel that their entertainment tastes and demands were being completely ignored. Many fans believe that the network meddled with the show in the second season in an attempt to attract younger viewers, but only succeeded in alienating some of its audience. They also question the decision to air it on Friday evenings when the desired demographic segment is smaller than on other nights. Despite their efforts, Ghost Whisperer took over the show's Friday time slot in September 2005.
Russ Tamblyn (Amber's father) as one of many who have played an incarnation of 'God' (commonly referred to as Dog Walker God)
Kris Lemche as one of many who have played an incarnation of 'God' (commonly referred to as Cute Guy God)
Wentworth Miller as Ryan Hunter - a young, charming dot com millionaire who also talks to God, but with his own sinister agenda. Introduced at the end of Season Two in the episode Common Thread it was planned for him to be a recurring character in the third season.
David Burke as Fr. Ken Mallory - Helen's friend and pastor of a nearby church.
Constance Zimmer as Sister Lilly Watters, a former nun who helps advise Helen Girardi.
In a 2002 episode of The Twilight Zone, Amber Tamblyn (as "Jenna") is sent to a place called "Arcadia" as a punishment for being a nonconformist.
Scenes of Arcadia's skyline and other outdoor scenes were actually the city of Wilmington, Delaware. Arcadia itself is set in Maryland, although it does not appear to be an exact cognate of Arcadia, Maryland.
After CBS announced the show's cancellation, an effort to keep the show going, both online and through mail, was started. However, it was unsuccessful.
Props, such as pieces of Adam's artwork and Joan's signature messenger bag, and costume pieces belonging to Amber Tamblyn and other cast members were sold on eBay after the show's cancellation.
Grace's trademark leather jacket was brought in by actress Becky Wahlstrom from her own teenage years.
Deleted Scenes, Audio commentaries by the Filmmakers and Cast, Behind-The-Scenes Featurettes: The Creation of Joan of Arcadia and Joan of Arcadia - A Look at Season One, God Gallery.
Audio Commentaries on selected episodes, A Look at Season 2 featurette, The Making of Queen of the Zombies, A Tour of Joan's High School, Common Thread Table Read.
International
In Australia, the show is currently shown on Channel 9 on Sunday afternoon, check local guides for times.
In New Zealand, the show is repeated on TV3 Saturday day time. It once had a prime time slot. (Note: Whilst Joan screened in New Zealand, TV3 aired the first season only, which may have been due to low ratings). Citation on this is needed. TV3 have expressed the intention of showing the second season later this year.
In Perú, the first season is shown on Frecuencia Latina at 1:30 am.
In the Philippines the show was shown on ETC Entertainment Central and on QTV-11 (the show was canceled on the latter due to its low ratings, but the show was a modest success on the former.)
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