"Joan of Arcadia"

I often feel the need to share my enthusiasm for a movie or TV show, so here goes #1:
Joan of Arcadia is one of my all time favorite TV shows. This show started in 2003-I can't believe it was that long ago-and was canceled after 2 seasons-for what reasons I don't know. Joan was a launching point for Amber Tamblyn (later of Traveling Pants fame), which is what the show is remembered for, but it was really so much more than that. The show's premise is based on the idea that Joan has been chosen by God to help better the lives of those who surround her. God comes to her in the bodies of all kinds of people from all walks of life, often surprising her at school, on the street, etc. God is played as an asexual all mighty being with a curiously realistic sense of humor, a great sense of justice, and a very frustrating need to share as few details as possible. Joan is sent on missions: "build a boat", "join AP Chemistry", "have a yard sale". God never explains why, but lets Amber Tamblyn's typical teenager Joan (who has an AWESOME sense of style) figure things out on her own-and not without difficulty. There are many reasons why I love this show:
1) The cast: Joe Mantegna, Mary Steenburgen, Jason Ritter, and the ever awesome Amber Tamblyn-just to mention a few. All of these people work together so well to create a realistic family environment. They fight, they laugh, they sit down to dinner together. They disperse at breakfast and don't come home until late. Joan and her brother Luke have a class together, but still can't
identify with their loaner/geek statuses at school...really the most well put together cast in a long time.
2) The idea that God will speak to us, or DOES speak to us in everyday life is such an uplifting thought. Did it ever occur to anyone that God might be speaking to us all the time, but not introducing him/herself as is done with Joan?
3) I also love the idea that God comes to Joan in all shapes and sizes-from an old lady with a hunchback and glasses to a young girl at the park to a telephone line worker or a member of her AP Chemistry class. This just shows us that God is everywhere and it's okay to believe that.
4) Joan's supporting cast of friends-Grace (Becky Wahlstrom) and Adam (Chris Marquette)-are also a huge part of this show. They are the outcasts, the loaners, the people that I hung out with in school. They play their characters so well; Adam is so endearing as he walks his on path and floats around in his own little world. The fact that he calls Joan "Jane" just makes him that much more real and personal. Grace brings forth the confused and hostile teenager that we see so often and can never seem to figure out, but, just as we want to hate her for being so dark and alone, she reaches out to us and brings us back in.
5) I love that Joan's little brother's name is Luke, that he has fluffy blonde hair and big glasses, that he's super smart, totally skinny, and a big dork. I think, if MY brother Luke hadn't found his guitar THIS is the boy he would have been.:) Does anyone remember the professional theater photo Luke had done his Freshman or Sophomore year? Joan's brother Luke looks like MY brother Luke in that photo.:)
Basically, I wish that this show had continued on because it was one of the few pieces of art that have come out of TV/movies these days. This show gave us the chance to enjoy ourselves, but still makes us think about The Greater Good and how we can effect people in OUR everyday lives as Joan helped people through the vague guidance that God gave her. God always tells her that Free Will is one the best and worst things that was given to us, but the way we use it makes us who we are. I can only hope that I can approach every day with the willingness that I need to embark on the "jobs" that God might present me with-even if I don't know exactly what those jobs might be.