Wonderfalls

I would love to see someone pick up Wonderfalls again. I saw the four they showed in California, and now I've seen the series thanks to Netflix, but I want more! I loved the way the storyline appeared to be headed in an obvious direction, but right when I expected the foreseeable outcome, the whole story would jump into a zany twist that thrilled me and kept me entertained through all thirteen episodes. The show aired on FOX, and as I don't normally watch FOX (except for the Simpsons). I only heard about Wonderfalls through a freak channel surfing moment. I talked about the show with others, and all except one had never heard of it; and they weren't happy that after I got them turned on to the show, it immediately disappeared.

Please someone bring this cast back together and continue the show!

Fresh, intelligent, insightful and hysterically funny, Wonderfalls is a show you'll come back to time and again.

The series has oft been criticised as a cheap Joan of Arcadia carbon copy, but Wonderfalls is by far the superior of the two.

Whereas JoA has a painful tendency of falling into a soppy family drama -- tears and revelations and tight embraces and fluffy bunnies -- Wonderfalls is constantly slick and on top of it. It, too, has its share of emotional moments, but never dwells on the soap; rather, biting back with its trademark humour.

To give an example -- Jaye and Eric share a lovely moment standing at the top of the falls, where Jaye has the chance to scatter a deceased character's ashes (very cutely, in a souvenir barrel). It's a sweet moment, and as the barrel plummets into the foam, Jaye turns -- to find herself face-to-face with a cop, who promptly fines her $250 for littering.

Caroline Dhavernas is perfect for the starring role of Jaye Tyler, an underachiever whose expectation-free reputation belies her true intelligence. Jaye doesn't like people in general, revels in the role of the bitch, when suddenly she's forced to do good by the nagging of toy animals. In following these cryptic messages and helping others, Jaye herself begins to develop a warmer sense of compassion and a sharper understanding of those around her, while still retaining her delightfully badass attitude.

Dhavernas steals our hearts in a way Joan of Arcadia's Amber Tamblyn has never been able to manage.

It is sad that Wonderfalls -- by far the better of the two shows in every aspect -- was the one to get the axe, but at least we can console ourselves with the promised DVD release later this year/early 2005.

So, here we have another impressive, interesting show, that's thankfully interesting and not some sort of godawful reality mess...but it's on Fox. You know Fox, right? That network renowned for giving amazing shows a chance, then never advertising them, airing them out of order or preempting them for some tripe like American Idle, changing their place int he schedule from week to week and finally cancelling them cuz "Gee Wally, these ratings aren't so good."

I can only conclude that there are two seperate entities at work over at Fox. One likes to take these new shows and give them a place to live and grow, to go beyond the normal, dare I say crap, we see on TV. And the other entity is the one who gets to control the show once it's signed on. It's the thing that says "You're on here, opposite Monday Night Football...no wait, at 3AM on Tuesdays...no wait, Fridays at 9!" This entity is of substandard intelligence and may very well be Rupert Murdoch. But I digress.

Wonderfalls is another rare hit for Fox, if only they take the time to promote it, give it a good timeslot and keep it around long enough for it to develop a fanbase. Failing that, brace yourself for more godawful and pointless reality TV. We shall see.

This show is actually TV worth watching. If you get a chance, either rent or buy the series and watch it closely. It's intelligent, witty, and emotional with a touch of the mysterious and unexplained.

It's amazing how lame reality TV shows continue to get ratings when a show like this that's really worth something can get canceled after only 4 episodes. This demonstrates what is truly wrong with television and the media today.

Just watch the show! If you're not impressed with it you can always go back to your bug-eating, worm-slurping, jump-out-of-a-helicopter-into-a-pile-of-manure reality show. If you are impressed with it, them join the club and help get this show back on TV.

Thank you for your support.

Waterwolfie

This series caught my imagination with the very first episode and I was hooked. It quickly moved to #1 on my TiVo and I became emotionally invested in the characters.

But FOX struck its evil axe again and killed another great series. Now what are we left with? Repeats of their latest reality brain drain "The Swan". Fantastic. JUST what I wanted.

I can only hope some other channel sees the potential of this show - if nothing else, just to see the rest of the season.

RIP Wonderfalls, Firefly, Dark Angel, John Doe ....