Joan of Arcadia
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Joan of Arcadia is an American television family drama which aired on Fridays, 8-9 PM ET/PT on CBS from September 2003, until its cancellation after the 2004-05 season. The show was a favorite with the critics and won the prestigious Humanitas Prize, the People's Choice Award, as well as being one of the only television shows to be nominated for an Emmy Award for Best Dramatic Series in its first season. The title is a word-play on Joan of Arc. The "Arcadia" of the title is the fictional city of Arcadia, Maryland.
Joan of Arcadia is about a girl, Joan Girardi (played by The Ring's Amber Tamblyn), who sees and speaks with God in the form of various people such as small children, teenage boys, elderly ladies, transients, passersby, etc. Joan is asked by God to perform tasks that often appear to be trivial or contrary, but the end result of which is always positive towards a larger situation.
The opening credits roll with the song "One of Us" by Joan Osborne, a number one single in the United States off her 1995 album Relish:
- What if God was one of us?
- Just a slob like one of us
- Just a stranger on the bus
- Trying to make his way home
It stars actors Joe Mantegna and Mary Steenburgen as Joan's parents, Jason Ritter (son of the late John Ritter) as her paraplegic older brother, and Michael Welch as her younger brother.
While the show was one of the highest rated new shows of the 2003-2004 TV season, its ratings declined in its sophomore year in spite of continued critical acclaim. The show was cancelled by CBS on May 18, 2005. Reruns of the 2nd season will still be shown during the summer of 2005.
Several online fan sites were created in response, in an effort to have the show reinstated. While in its first season it had a wide variety of fans demographically, it's controversial cancellation, along with other similar moves in the media, such as cancellations of American Dreams and Judging Amy, produced an outcry from many older Americans who feel that their entertainment tastes and demands are being completely ignored. Many fans believe that the network meddled with the show in the second season in an attempt to attract younger viewers, but only succeeded in alienating some of its audience. They also question the decision to air it on Friday evenings when the desired demographic segment is smaller than on other nights.
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Major cast
- Amber Tamblyn as Joan Girardi
- Joe Mantegna as Will Girardi - Joan's father
- Mary Steenburgen as Helen Girardi - Joan's mother
- Jason Ritter as Kevin Girardi - Joan's older brother, partially paralyzed in a car accident
- Michael Welch as Luke Girardi - Joan's younger brother
- Christopher Marquette as Adam Rove - Joan's (now seemingly ex-)boyfriend
- Becky Wahlstrom as Grace Polk - Joan's friend, Luke's girlfriend
Minor cast
- Mageina Tovah as Glynis Figliola - Luke's friend
- Sprague Grayden as Judith Montgomery - Joan's friend, died after several episodes.
- Aaron Himelstein as Friedman - Luke's friend
- Elaine Hendrix as Ms. Lischak
- Patrick Fabian as Gavin Price
- Annie Potts as Lucy Preston
- Derek Morgan as Roy Roebuck
- Russ Tamblyn, Amber's father, as one of many who have played an incarnation of 'God'
- Wentworth Miller as Ryan Hunter- Young, charming millionare who also talks to God with his own sinister agenda. Introduced at the end of Season Two and planned to be a major character throughout the now-truncated third season. (See: Sympathy for the Devil)
Crew
- Barbara Hall as Executive Producer
- Jim Hayman as Executive Producer
- Stephen Nathan as Executive Producer
- Hart Hanson as Consulting Producer
- Peter Schindler as Co-Executive Producer
- Randy Anderson as Co-Executive Producer
Trivia
- In a 2002 episode of The Twilight Zone, Amber Tamblyn (as "Jenna") is sent to a place called "Arcadia" as a punishment for being a nonconformist.
External links
- Save Joan of Arcadia Website (http://www.savejoanofarcadia.com)
- Save Joan Of Arcadia Petition (http://www.petitiononline.com/sw34fr56/petition.html)
- Sony Pictures official site (http://www.sonypictures.com/tv/shows/joanofarcadia/tvindex.html)
- Mysterious Messages (http://www.mysteriousmessage.net/)
- Fan Site and Forum (http://www.joanofarcadia.com/)
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- Another fan site (http://www.joanofarcadia.net/)
- Joan and Adam site (http://www.joanandadam.com/)
- Watching Joan of Arcadia Study Guide (http://www.pcusa.org/today/joan/)fr:Le Monde de Joan