G'bye, Joan

[stoutfellow]

Well, it's official: Joan of Arcadia has been cancelled. I can't say that I'm broken up about it. The first dozen episodes - up through "Jump" (the Science Fair episode) - were brilliant, but the show seemed to stumble after that. There were a number of good episodes in the second half of season one and in season two, but there were also a number of real clunkers. Characterizations went awry, themes grew heavy-handed where they weren't disjointed, and several plotlines began promisingly but dwindled into inconsequence. (The lawsuit comes to mind, in particular.) The last two episodes seemed to herald a new direction, but it would, I think, have been difficult to execute without deteriorating into sentimentality.

But the show still leaves me with plenty of good memories. "Just Say No", "Bringeth It On", "Death Be Not Whatever", "The Devil Made Me Do It", "The Uncertainty Principle", "Jump" - these were outstanding episodes, and TDMMDI and "Jump" were stellar even in that company. Had the writers, crew, and actors maintained that level of excellence, Joan would have gone down, at the very least, as one of the great cult classics. That they did not... is frustrating.

raises glass

Comments

[filkferengi]

There were a lot of great moments, spread out among all the characters, so, overall, nobody got shortchanged. It was an excellent ensemble; kudos to the writers, for getting it right as often as they did.

[stoutfellow.livejournal.com]

Yeah. I have to admit that Luke and Grace, separately and together, were my favorite characters. Among the secondaries, Father Whatsisname and Glynis were fun, and even Friedman grew on me late in season two. Not forgetting Rabbi Polanski.