Joan of Arcadia is not a perfect
show by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, its a little hokey and clichéd at times, but seriously, what a bold and often
original show for CBS to pick up. Arcadia is about a young high school girl named Joan (Amber
Tamblyn, The Ring) who has the strange ability to speak to God and vise versa.
He visits her as several different people including a fellow student, a janitor and even a small child. God has come to Joan
with the daunting task of helping the world, one person at a time. Needless to say, she doesnt accept his call to her so easily.
Joan just wants to fit in like every other girl at her
school. She wants to be popular, she wants to date a cute guy and she wants to be remembered. She is more or less, a typical
teenage girl. At home, she faces a slew of other challenges including her wheelchair bound brother (Jason Ritter, the late
John Ritters son, Freddy vs. Jason),who is still overcoming from an accident that
caused his legs to be inoperable. She also puts up with her nerdy God and science loving brother (Michael Welch, Star Trek: Insurrection) who succeeds at killing her popularity. Joans parents are also heavily involved in ruining
her life, or so she thinks. Her mother (Mary Steenburgen, Back to the Future III)
works at the school and is constantly mothering and embarrassing her. Her father (Joe Mantegna, Godfather III) is the new chief of police, which isnt exactly a job you want to tell you friends about during
lunch.
Each episode, Joan is given a small task to overcome (getting a job, playing chess to name a few). She usually does
not see the purpose of the task, but, by the end, her small action paves way for huge growth for her and for several other
people around her. While the basic plot may seem like it could get old or tired quickly, Joan
of Arcadia remains fresh and fun. You never really know how Gods tasks will affect people, which is part of the shows
charm.
Each episode usually has two plots. One follows Joan and the other follows her father. Her fathers storylines are interesting,
but they dont really match the rest of the show. They feel more like outtakes from NYPD
Blue or some other cop drama. While it doesnt fully fit, its this element that makes Arcadia
original. Here we have a typical cop drama with a subplot about a girl who can talk to God. In the first two episodes, Joans
discussions with God and the actions she takes afterwards, lead to her father being able to solve the crime he is investigating.
Thankfully, the show isnt as cheesy as 7th Heaven or A Walk to Remember in its religious tone. Its more real, pulling from peoples true emotions. These are broken
people with real problems. They are not perfect, by any stretch of the imagination. Some of them dont want Gods help while
others hate God all together. As Joan says to God, I dont pray and I dont go to Church.
God comes back with the example of Saul, a man who murdered Christians for a living. After speaking to Jesus, Sauls
name was changed to Paul and became one of the strongest voices the church has ever had. God comes to Joan not hoping to grandly
change the world as Paul did, at least not yet. Right now, he just wants her to help the people around her. God wants the
people to understand him better, an idea that strongly echoes in reality.
