This Is Wonderland

A brilliantly written, staged and acted bit of TV.

Yes I am a big fan ever since the first season which I am glad to hear is going to be available soon on DVD.

The variety of story lines, some recurring with return visits from some of our favorite "clients" for the main core cast of lawyers and judges to deal with, keep the show from being too predictable or dull.

The show definitely deserves the classification of Dramedy as alternatively you just aren't sure if you should laugh or cry.

A cast with a lot of Canadian actors, some recognizable instantly, some familiar and many new faces with the occasional visit by a well known guest make it a Canadian Treasure.

Rumour on it's web site forum are that it has been picked up for a third year.

When I had first glance at this series I presumed that this is some old American series about brave lawyer who fight for their clients, fight the system or do some other out-of-reality tasks. But after just few scenes I realized that this can't be old - there are too many modern things. Then I realized this can't American series - it's interesting. And at the end I realized that this can't be about lawyers - it's entertaining.

I don't know how to describe this series in other words than "great idea, good actors, interesting cases", etc. It's hard to point out any downsides of this series - it reminds me of US series "Queens Supreme" (which died too early) where you can feel that this is the real thing and real people in court with their real life problems.

And on the other hand creators have left aside lawyers private lives which would make the series sink instantly (like in Grey's Anatomy). Instead of the my-sad-personal-life stories there are loads of humor in scenes which makes the whole idea work just great, f.e. when Nancy Dao lost her first case:

NANCY (to her client): You see what you did? You made me lose my first case! And... to him! I hate you!

JUDGE: May we proceed to the sentence?

NANCY: Whatever...

This is a very big rarity as far as I can tell on CBC. As far back as I can remember CBC for some reason insists on just making the worst possible comedy series. It's not just CBC to be honest, most Canadian television networks all seem to suffer from the same problem where they only create terrible shows for whatever reason, either just because they don't care about what they are making or they possibly just don't know how.

But this a rare treat to find from the CBC. A show that actually was good. Not just good but really good. The kind of show you even look forward to watching week after week and schedule it into your schedule so you don't forget.

Cara Pifko was great as the star, and the other acting ranged from average to good. Average may not sound good but again most Canadian comedy series are plagued by terrible acting. Consider Little Mosque, Insecurity and countless other shows if you don't believe me on that.

The writing was also decent with good stories and even some good jokes, bad writing is the same problem that a lot of other shows have.

It's a shame it didn't last longer but it was a fun show to watch when we did have it.

A one hour show depicting all that can go wrong in a courtroom combining the elements of drama, comedy, and lots of people in the courtoom "audience" can make it a bit chaotic for the viewing audience trying to follow what's happening. Michael Riley shines as the extroverted Elliott Saks, bringing back memories of his quick pace and quirky character in Power Play. Recognizable faces as recurring characters including Michael Murphy, Janet Laine-Greene, and Eric Peterson, best known from the CBC series Street Legal, and now on the new CTV series Corner Gas. Lots of laughs though we can sometimes empathize with the plight of those on the witness stand - accused and victims. How best to describe this to those who haven't seen the show? Imagine a little bit of the 80s sitcom "Night Court" + any prime time legal drama = This Is Wonderland.

This is really an excellent show. Despite being only an hour long the show manages to cram in wonderful stories and sub-plots without feeling rushed at all. It really is like Wonderland. Every character is insane, with their own personal, quirks, twitches and attitudes. The only exception is Alice herself (played by Cara Pifko). Unfortunately she has the task of playing the straight man, the one earnest character who isn't there for laughs but to balance out all the other weird characters. This makes her character remarkably dull. However since this show does have 3 to 4 plots going on at the same time it leaves little time for Alice and more time for the rest of the characters.

Don't flip the channel when you come across this show. It's one of the few shows worth watching.