Dispatches

Rating: 4 .75/5

What if God was one of us?

Yes, that’s a line from the Joan Osbourne’s 1995 hit song, One of Us. And it’s also the premise of the now defunct and short-lived CBS family drama series “Joan of Arcadia’.

Source: Youtube

The series, which was aired from 2003-2005, revolves around the story of a teenager Joan Girardi (played by Amber Tamblyn) from the fictional town of Arcadia, Maryland. Her quiet and normal life took a 360-degree turn when God, appearing in various personas like janitress, little girl, elderly people, twin girls and even cute guys, started talking to her and asked her to do some errands. God talked to her for the first time through an incarnation of a young guy.

Source: Youtube

God (incarnations of God) would ask Joan to do some tasks for Him like finding a job, joining the cheering squad or taking the class bully to the school dance. The significance of these tasks were usually revealed at the end of the show. But aside from the usual sightings and conversations with God, Joan has also other problems to solve–a feeling that her life has no direction, an oversensitive boyfriend and a family members who were all having their own struggle. His father, police officer Will Girardi (Joe Montegna), has a superior who liked him. Her mother, art teacher Helen (Mary Steenburgen) , is slowly losing his faith in God. His elder brother, paraplegic journalist Kevin (Jason Ritter), struggles to live a normal life after a tragic accident and his younger brother, science geek Luke (Michael Welch), is having a relationship with the rebellious Grace Polk (Becky Wahlstrom).

Source: Youtube

In the second season, another character who can see and talk to God appeared and challenged Joan but the plot was not explored because the show was cancelled due to decline in ratings.

Not preachy

Despite the fact that the show included God among the characters, it is not preachy. People from different religion can watch the show wihout feeling alienated. During the pilot telecast, the incarnation of God said, “It’s not about religion. It’s about fulfilling your nature.”, perhaps telling the viewers that the show does not favor any religion or sect.

The strength of this show is its brilliant script and excellent performances.Its a drama series but you don’t see actors slapping one another or crying buckets of tears just to make the audience feel sad. There’s the substory of love yet the story does not revolve around it alone

The plot is very unpredictable. An episode, for instance, starts with a preparation for Joan’s first date and ends with the death of her bestfriend.Tamblyn, Montegna, Ritter, Welch and Steenburgen gave excellent performances as members of the Girardi family. Steenburgen’s portrayal of a confused mother is superb. But the only thing bad about the show is that viewers may feel sometimes that Joan has turned into God’s slave and that she cannot make her own decisions. Despite this, Joan of Arcadia is still, and will be remembered as an excellent compelling and must-see drama series.

Note:
Despite critical acclaim, the show was cancelled by CBS in 2005 due to declining ratings.

Photo source: CBS.com