Wonderland

I'm not sure how long this series was on abc...but it was brief. The problem? This series was way to intense for prime time. The writing was top-notch, and the characters were involving, but I don't think America was ready for something like this. I almost broke into a sweat just watching it. Its in-your-face style constantly assaulted the viewer, and its gritty images and dark themes challenged mainstream television. People would rather not break the happy little bubble that is network television. And that really is a shame, because this show had a lot of potential.

Flawless writing, wonderful acting, realistic dialogue, and lots of danger - real, imagined, implied. The patients on this locked psychiatric unit are extremely ill, clearly likely to harm themselves or others because of their mental sickness. They have the psychological equivalent of cancer, and they're not gonna get better by the end of the show, folks. Many of them will die unless they get a lot of care.

Speaking of which, the caregivers are human as well, meaning they suffer from the same maladies, albeit in smaller, more manageable (most of the time) doses. However, the writing is so good that the story never relies upon cliche: no "whacky but lovable" patients, and no "crazy shrinks". Everyone is portrayed as real humans with the same problems that you and I have to cope with. And just like in real life, sometimes you do your best but things get worse, not better.

The first episode was as good as anything I've ever seen on TV, and better than most commercial films. Watch it and be awed...

I am a sufferer of major depression. I am on a medication that is very effective and am fine now with a full time job a loving relationship and a very satisfying life. However six years ago, after a suicide attempt I was admitted to the CPEP unit at Bellevue, the place that Wonderland depicts. After one day people with mental illness are diagnosed and treated with medication and a day or two later they are no longer suffering from the delusions that are so common in such a chemically imbalanced illness and are no longer violent as the patients in Wonderland were potrayed. I spent three months at Bellevue before my release and I NEVER saw anyone acting out like the patients of Wonderland. This show only continued to further the stigma that haunts all of us suffering from some form of mental illness and keeps us from finding fulfilling gainful employment. I am lucky since i work in the field of treating those with mental illness and i can understand what many are going through.

i must add that i did enjoy some of the best acting TV has ever allowed us to see. Especially Ted Levine (Jame Gumm in Silence of the Lambs) who is one of my favorite character actors but as a first hand observer the storylines were not an accurate portrayal of the reality in the CPEP Unit at Bellevue.

When people would ask what I wanted to do for a living I used to have to explain what forensic psychology was and that it did not involve gathering hair at a crime scene. Now I can just tell them to watch this truly amazing show. After just two episodes I already find myself wondering if this could be the best show I've ever seen. Both episodes left me emotionally drained and wishing for much, much more.

and severe depression and an innumerable amount of anxieties and I was not offended by this series. Sorry. And you know what I attribute this to? The mere fact that I can differentiate between the functioning mentally ill and the non-functioning mentally ill. Yes, there are both, no matter what NAMI or any other extremist group wants us to think. There are places like Bellevue. They're called state hospitals. While I can't say whether Wonderland depicted them to a -t-, I will say that I did have family in one such state hospital for a brief time and yes, there are people who act in very extreme manners. You must remember that these are the extreme cases and more often than not they cannot simply be cured by a few days of hospitilization and therapy and a prescription or two. Sometimes it takes a lot more time to find the appropriate treatments, and sometimes they simply don't have the funding to take on a single patient's case that long. And that's why it's a vicious circle, why the same people may go in and out again and again. These such people in particular were the sum of who was portrayed on "Wonderland". They were not me. They were not the kind of people that NAMI claimed to be defending. They were chronic and "non-functional". Apparently NAMI doesn't want their stories told...

Some people complained that a man was having a silly hallucination of a tiny rhino walking across the floor. They said that it was a silly stereotype, the mentally ill having hallucinations. Has anyone seen "A Beautiful Mind"? Why didn't anyone bitch about that? Probably because Ron Howard was given enough time to tell the whole story, to explain what fueled it. Unlike the ill-fated "Wonderland", which wasn't given enough time to tell that character's story. It was wildly misjudged and done a great disservice by getting stopped in its tracks. And for that, I think that NAMI shot itself in the foot. I don't think that isolating a whole segment of the mentally ill population, (no matter how big or small), is going to make their stories go away...or help us get any closer to understanding them.

If they really wanted a sympathetic portrayal of the functioning mentally ill in the media, they should've just shut their mouths about this show and waited for it. Because you know it's only a matter of time since it's becoming more and more apparent how very many of us are walking around.

This show was quality. I only saw 2 episodes and I feel cheated. I *loved* the Ted Levine character and wanted to know what happened with his kids. I wanted to know what happened to that woman's baby, how she dealt with her trauma and if she got back to work. While not a pleasant show to watch, it sure felt dirt real and rough. As it should have...

I hope they release all the episodes on DVD someday.