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Joan of Arcadia Ongoing thread (1 Viewer)

Lance Nichols

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I have been enjoying the show. It does not have the direct "church on TV" preachiness of Touched by an Angel, or Highway to Heaven.

Seems to be dealing with some real life issues, showing how people interact and the (Un?)intended consequence of your actions.

I hope that they keep God as enigmatic as possible. As stated in the first show, the Bible, Qu'ran, and other sacred texts, God is beyond our comprehension. We don't need God to become "just one of the characters".
 

Clark F

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I got the impression from some of God's comments that he talks to a number of mortals from time to time.

Also, in the pilot, God reveals Joan prayed for her brother to survive. Said she would behave, do well in school, etc. I figured she got God's attention.
 

Patrick Sun

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10/10/03 Episode 1.3

Joan is nudged into learning how to play chess (well, her inexperience lends a good amount of chaos in her play to knock off the school's top player, but she knows not what she was doing). The lessons from chess (anticipate other people's moves, and becoming offensive-minded) get applied to her "normal" life.

Joan's dad has to contend with a psychic to help with a child's disappearance. The psychic wasn't all that effective in helping with the investigation (responsible for a wild goose chase), but the 2 pronouncements she leaves with the Girardi family are a little unnerving to them: Joan has a special connection with the universe, and Kevin will dance at his wedding.

Helen is still looking for a miracle for Kevin to walk about, and is now giving a 2% chance (I guess it's better than a 0% chance).

Overall, it's a promising show, so far.
 

Ken Chan

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Not that I'm watching a lot of new shows this season, but Joan is the one I like the most (Karen Sisco is probably second). The ratings are good so far too.

//Ken
 

Jason Seaver

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Joan has really been a pleasant surprise; it could have been cloying and tacky, but instead it seems fairly clever. And the sibling interaction is dead-on; these seem like real kids.

Besides, I like the psychic being shot down. Too many shows, especially those with fantastic elements, would have left it ambiguous.
 

Steve Schaffer

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I hate the sweet/cloying/preach Touched By An Angel, but I find myself looking forward to each new episode of Joan.

Not only is it well written and acted, it also is very thought provoking and avoids cliches used over and over on other shows of it's type. I hope ratings are high enough to keep it going as it's my new favorite show.

To put this in context, I only make it a point to watch 2 or 3 tv series a week, the rest of my viewing is either movies on HBOHD, ShowtimeHD, or HDNet Movies, and dvds.

Right now I watch CSI, Joan of Arcadia, and Carnivale on HBO, and Carnivale is so glacially slow that it's about to fall off the chart.
 

Chris White

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Overall, the show has gotten better each week. The pilot may turn out to be the weakest episode.

Helen is still looking for a miracle for Kevin to walk about, and is now giving a 2% chance

This scene was poorly written or poorly acted. The doctor isn't excited about a 2% chance? The doctor doesn't think the patient would be excited about a 2% chance? Imagine a room with 50 people who cannot walk. Tell them, "If you work hard enough, at least one of you will regain the ability to walk." Do you think those 50 people would be excited by the prospect?
 

Patrick Sun

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10/17/03 - The Boat

Joan is given a directive to build a boat, and so she does...to the best of her abilities.

Will has a cop killer on his hands, and a station full of cops that don't like his management style.

Kevin tries to burn away his past life of achievements given his current state, and Will has no idea how to reach him, to make him understand how much he loves his son, walking or not walking.

By the time Joan's boat-building exercise is done, I echoed her exact words, "Cool."
 

Adam Lenhardt

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A really, really good show. Not quite Firefly level, but it fills out my Friday 8 PM slot (well usually taped shows on Saturday slot) nicely.
Next week's episode looks interesting.

I also wonder if they're ever going to introduce Satan. So far, the show has been pretty non-denominational in its portrayal of God. That's actually one of the things I like about it; stating things from a Jewish, Christian, or Muslim-specific stance would make the show preachy. That said, I think Satan would be an interesting new development. I'm also interesting in meeting one of the other instuments of God. Finally, it would be cool to find out what the rules of the universe that God follows are.

Really good show on many levels. CBS has picked it up for an additional six episodes beyond the initial 13 so that looks like a good sign.
 

Ken Chan

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I dunno, Satan is a more specific character than the non-denominational God (which was definitely a wise choice). If you introduce Satan, that opens up some more difficult questions. It would be a gimmick; I'm guessing season three :)

In fact, in this episode, God alludes to Noah in passing. You could see that trying as to motivate Joan using a story she is familiar with, but it can also be seen as establishing some Biblical truth, which would not be consistent with what they've done so far.

//Ken
 

Jason Seaver

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I also wonder if they're ever going to introduce Satan. So far, the show has been pretty non-denominational in its portrayal of God. That's actually one of the things I like about it; stating things from a Jewish, Christian, or Muslim-specific stance would make the show preachy. That said, I think Satan would be an interesting new development. I'm also interesting in meeting one of the other instuments of God. Finally, it would be cool to find out what the rules of the universe that God follows are.
Never, I hope. The show is about Joan and her family; introducing that type of fantastic/supernatural element would dilute that. Also, part of the fun is that there's a certain amount of ambiguity, that this might all be in Joan's head - sort of like an anti-Cupid (where you were pretty sure it was all in the Jeremy Piven character's head, but couldn't be sure). Making Joan just part of a larger situation would, I think, destroy the show's appeal.
 

Ken Chan

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10/31/03 - Bringeth It On

Another great episode. The moose/elk talk had me rolling. I also thought that SubstituteTeacherGod saying "thank you young man" to Grace was an interesting choice for someone that's omniscient :)

The police case was very well integrated this week.

//Ken
 

Patrick Sun

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This show is getting a little predictable for me now that I have its cadence down. I hope they'll surprise us more because it's getting a little repetitive in that whatever God tells Joan to get involved with, you know it'll affect the other subplot all too neatly.
 

Ken Chan

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I don't mind that it's neat. It's how it gets there that's fun to watch.

//Ken
 

Dan Rudolph

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This show is getting a little predictable for me now that I have its cadence down. I hope they'll surprise us more because it's getting a little repetitive in that whatever God tells Joan to get involved with, you know it'll affect the other subplot all too neatly.
This si the first episode I saw, but I didn't maind that at all. You know there's a reason God tells her these things and it makes sense it woudl tie into the other plot. If it were a matte rof coincidence, it would bug me, but it isn't.
 

Patrick Sun

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11/14/03

Joan decides to not do God's bidding, and the repercussions cost her in her personal relationship with Adam after she tries to fix things, and ends up hurting Adam by smashing an art piece he had sold just so Adam would not use the money to drop out of school.

The police case didn't leave much of an impression on me (except that Joe didn't "play ball" with TPTB and now has only 6 months to find a new job).

Kevin pushes the pity buttons of shopkeepers when he finds that a CD was accidentally caught by his wheelchair.
 

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