Friday, October 05, 2007

Wonderfalls: The Complete Viewer Collection

Wonderfalls - The Complete Series

I realize that I still have one more disc to go before I'm done watching this series. But I have to go ahead and weigh in that I'm watching that last disc under duress.

Why? Because despite the fact that I honestly don't like the main character, that I think she has no one to blame but herself, I still want to know what happens in the end. Darnit.

The story is just inventive enough to pull me in, it's just interesting enough that I want to push play on the next episode. And I blame every bit of that on the character Eric, the poor bartender who is in love with our heroine Jaye. That and Mahandra, Jaye's best friend. I can only hope that the two of them, with a little help from talking animals, will actually convince Jaye to stop being miserable and get on with it.

Wonderfalls was canceled before they finished airing four episodes. Many people have said that it was stupid to cancel it so early, and a lot has been said about what a missed chance it was.

Honestly, the show suffered unfairly from airing around the same time as Joan of Arcadia. You can't really avoid the fact that both shows were different takes on the same idea: modern day Joan of Arc reluctantly follows cryptic advice and helps people.

Joan of Arcadia took a more literally approach, and a more religious one. But it did it very well. God was cryptic, but not overly so. Joan didn't want to listen, but she did. As the first season progressed, she was more adept at doing what was needed, at solving the riddle of what she should be doing. The second season fell apart, but Wonderfalls was long gone by then.

Jaye isn't a lovable character. She doesn't recognize the things her family does for her, or how they care for her. She focuses only on their flaws. She doesn't recognize the fact that her life in retail is partially her fault. She complains constantly about following the animals' advice, and she never gets better at following it. The animals, for their part, never get any better at giving it. "Give him heart!" What in the world is THAT supposed to mean? No wonder Jaye gets it wrong.

Eric, as much as I like him, is also hopeless for Jaye and there's no reason for him to be that I can see. Mahandra is the only character I can believe, because she doesn't let Jaye make excuses. The storylines are also completely over the top. Runaway nuns? Mating macaws? It's so hard to take it seriously, and you can't really view it as a comedy either.

I realize Jaye is realistic, and actually a lot like me. But I see no reason for me to watch a tv show about myself.

If you're curious about the premise, it might be worth renting the first disc of Wonderfalls. But don't expect the next big thing. It's just decent.