Wonderfalls

I caught this show on a cable network this year and was totally intrigued. It was amazing! Quirky! Fun. You never knew where it was going to go.

Well, I saw the boxed set of DVDs when I was Christmas shopping so I bought myself a gift! It was my best present this year. I sat down and watched the last 7 episodes, some of which had never aired which tied up some loose ends.

I really can't believe they took this one off the air! The characters were funny but totally believable, and frequently the interactions between the characters veered into those little spaces that are a bit uncomfortable for us to touch.

If you can find the set, pick it up. If you are a producer for a non-Fox network, pick them up! You won't be disappointed. I sure wasn't.

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.

I am stunned that Fox chose to axe Wonderfalls after just one series. I read that they didn't give it a chance by continually changing it's scheduling and missing weeks etc. I picked up on the series on Sky one (who seemed to do the same thing - I could never figure out when it was next on) so finally bought the DVD from the States.

Wonderfalls is an excellent, gentle, quirky comedy, with a great performance from Caroline Dhavernas in the lead role as Jaye Tyler, a somewhat disaffected graduate, in a dysfunctional family, to whom inanimate objects start to speak and give her advice. This leads her into all kinds of comical situations.

From Caroline to the whole of the rest of the cast, faultless performances are given. It isn't laugh out loud mostly, but engaging and humorous. There are one or two really hilarious moments though.

Caroline, I hope you go on making shows and films as good as this one - you have a real talent for comedy.

Fox - you must be mad for killing such an excellent show. Think again!

What the heck was Fox thinking? OK what do the network execs ever think? Do they think? Did they ever listen and lick the light switch? Sheesh... Wonderfalls was one of the most fun series Fox has ever had on the air..and they AXED IT without giving it a chance! Obviously they are NOT as in tune with their viewers as Jaye Tyler was with her inanimate objects! Check the other many viewer comments here on IMDb.COM and you will see the truth. There are so many reviews here and I haven't read all of them, but out of those I did see, NONE of them were negative. Amazing! This fabulously quirky show was so much better than the one it was 'up against' - Joan of Arcadia. That show was B.O.R.I.N.G. All of the characters and the acting on Wonderfalls was so much better - not to leave out the great script writing and plot development! The dialog and scenarios were hilarious! Perhaps this show was more original than the producers at Fox could fathom? I was so let down when it was unduly canceled...I had a void...wanted more! Crazy you say? Maybe...but it was one show that was so enjoyable that I looked forward to each episode knowing that I would definitely be entertained. I was so happy to get the DVD set and even my skeptical husband ended up looking forward to watching each episode. The strange part here is he always assumed that Wonderfalls was a 'chick show' and wouldn't watch it when it was live. He ended up really liking it when I 'forced' him to watch the first episode on DVD...he insisted on watching the rest of the shows! Fox failed this show by lack of true marketing and shifting of time slots! Fox has done that with so many other great shows. Where's the justice? Fox needs to lick the dang light switch and get with it! Bring back Entertainment and get rid of the idiotic 'reality' shows you want to shove in our faces.