Wonderland

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.

Hmm..... I still don´t know why they stopped Wonderland. I mean, isn´t the series about the fact, that we are all mentally ill in some way or another, that the line to mentally illness is very thin? Sure, it´s not a boring series, there are still jokes in it, but I don´t think they are meant to hurt mentally ill persons. Wonderland is really the best series I EVER saw on TV. I saw the first 8 episodes and I hope they begin to think about there decision to kick it off television. Well, that´s just my thougts I had after the last episode.

With the departure of the superb Homicide series last year, I did not expect to see another show that would be as dense with detail and as intelligently written again, never mind anytime soon. Well, it has aired only one episode so far, but Wonderland is a remarkable piece of work. The pace is faster than Homicide and the storylines are perhaps even edgier (given the setting is an urban psychiatric hospital, this was, I suppose, inevitable). It is great to see the remarkably talented Michelle Forbes working again. Ted Levine and Martin Donovan (remember Hal Hartly's Trust?) are two of the other fine actors who make up this talented ensemble cast. Like Homicide, the characters are multi-faceted, vulnerable and living on the edge in very stressful lives. The opening episode shows a central character who is pushed to an emotional breaking point by events that result in a reaction not unlike one of his patients. It is as if someone had seen Samuel Fuller's Shock Corridor and decided to make a Homicide style series out of it. If the first episode is an accurate indication, this series will be a keeper.

Ditto AltonMann review. This new presentation is almost "too good" for TV. It does follow in Homicide's quality footsteps. I'm a psychiatrist by trade and can attest to the show's accuracy and realism in the chaotic ward/emergency scenes and the feeling tone generated in the action (which wondrously persists as a realistic backdrop to the personal conflicts of the principal charactors in the drama). The group therapy sessions were terrific and revealed even more depth in terms of the principal's personality and professional attributes. These are great actors, and I'm extremely impressed with Peter Berg's writing and directing skills. I wish to add my appreciation for the inclusion of Ted Levine to the fine cast. I sincerely hope this show can outlast the scheduling maneuvers and dilemmas. NYPD BLUE finally made it, Homicide died too fast (and never found a large audience), and the superior West Wing apparently is finding an audience and may surprise us by sticking----perhaps Wonderland will survive--hope so, but experience tells me not to hold my breath.

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...