Joan of Arcadia

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Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox television

Joan of Arcadia is an American fantasy family drama television series telling the story of teenager Joan Girardi (Amber Tamblyn), who sees and speaks with God and performs tasks she is given. The series originally aired on Fridays on CBS for two seasons, from September 26, 2003, to April 22, 2005.

The show was praised by critics and won the Humanitas Prize and the People's Choice Award. It was also nominated for an Emmy Award in its first season for Outstanding Drama Series. The title alludes to Joan of Arc and the show takes place in a fictionalized version of the town Arcadia, Maryland.

Premise Template:Anchor

Joan Girardi is a 16-year-old girl living in the town of Arcadia, Maryland. She is the middle child of her family, which includes elder brother Kevin, a former jock who has been left a paraplegic after a car accident, and younger brother Luke, a brainy nerd. Joan's father, Will, is the town's police chief. In the pilot episode, God appears to Joan and reminds her that she promised to do anything he wanted if he let Kevin survive the car crash. He appears to Joan in the form of various people including small children, teenage boys, elderly ladies, transients, or passersby. God asks Joan to perform tasks that often appear trivial or inconsequential—such as enrolling in an AP Chemistry class or building a boat—but always end up improving a larger situation.

These plotlines are interwoven with more realistic matters, such as the relationships within the Girardi family.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Various storylines that span multiple episodes deal with the consequences of Kevin's accident, Will's job as a police officer, mother Helen's career as an art teacher, and Luke's aspirations to be a scientist.

Characterization of God

God is portrayed with a very human personality, and does not appear to favor any particular religion, saying there are "different ways to share the same truth".<ref name="Lyons">Template:Cite web</ref> He quotes Bob Dylan, Emily Dickinson, and the Beatles rather than any scripture or verses. The series examines God from a more metaphysical standpoint than a religious perspective.<ref name="LABraxton" />

God is also depicted as having a sharp sense of humor.<ref name="Bianco">Template:Cite web</ref> In the episode "Touch Move", he tells Joan that he has to send her "down there". When Joan is worried he means Hell, he laughs and clarifies he meant the school basement.<ref>Hall, Barbara (writer); Brand, Joshua (director). "Touch Move." October 10, 2003. Joan of Arcadia. Season 1. Episode 3. CBS.</ref> In another instance, She appears in the form of a woman exercising and says, "Why do people always try and discern my deeper meanings? This is the kind of thinking that starts wars."<ref name="Willmore">Template:Cite web</ref>

Cast and characters

Main cast

  • Joe Mantegna as Will Girardi, the father of Joan, Kevin, and Luke. He moved his family from their home in Chicago when he was offered the job of Chief of Police in Arcadia, Maryland. After he exposes the corruption of Arcadia's infrastructure, the Arcadia Police Department is disbanded and he becomes the Chief of Detectives of the Hogan County Sheriff's Department, which assumes the town's law enforcement responsibilities. After the departure of Lieutenant Preston, Will serves as acting head of the HCSD Arcadia Station. He has a sister and a paternal half-brother, Richard, with whom he has been on bad terms since they were young. Mantegna had a development deal with CBS and liked the script.<ref name="PostHill">Template:Cite news</ref> He was also involved in casting the other characters.<ref name="avclub-mantegna">Template:Cite web</ref>
  • Mary Steenburgen as Helen Girardi, Will's wife and mother of Kevin, Joan, Luke. An artist, Helen dropped out of art school after being raped by an unknown perpetrator. She works as the secretary at Arcadia High School and becomes the art teacher in "State of Grace". She was raised in the Catholic faith but was never confirmed; after moving to Arcadia, she considers going back to the Church.
  • Amber Tamblyn as Joan Girardi, the middle child of the Girardi family who talks to God. He often gives her assignments or tasks that usually have a positive outcome, but she is frequently exasperated by the randomness of the directives and God's refusal to answer direct questions. She has an on-again, off-again romantic relationship with Adam Rove; the two break up in "Trial and Error". Joan's middle name is Agnes, and her birthdate is November 24, 1987. She works part-time as a retail associate at a local bookstore.
  • Jason Ritter as Kevin Girardi, the eldest child in the Girardi family. A year and a half before the events of the pilot, he became a paraplegic in a car accident after failing to stop a friend from drunk driving. A jock, he had planned to attend the University of Arizona on a baseball scholarship. He initially works for the local newspaper as a fact checker; later, he pursues a career in journalism and becomes a local news anchor.
  • Michael Welch as Luke Girardi, the youngest Girardi child. Luke is a science nerd and straight-A student. He has a brief romantic relationship with Glynis Figliola and later begins a relationship with Grace Polk.
  • Chris Marquette as Adam Rove (Recurring Season 1;<ref group="note">Marquette is credited as guest stars throughout season 1, even though he appeared in every episode of the series except the pilot.</ref> Regular Season 2), Joan's best friend and later boyfriend. Adam is the only child of Elizabeth (deceased) and Carl Rove. He is socially awkward and introverted but is also a talented artist and one of Helen's art students.
  • Becky Wahlstrom as Grace Polk (Recurring Season 1;<ref group="note">Wahlstrom is credited as guest stars throughout season 1, even though she appeared in every episode of the series except the pilot.</ref> Regular Season 2), Adam and Joan's best friend and Luke's eventual girlfriend. The only child of Sarah and Rabbi Polanski, Grace is very intelligent and outspoken against all authority, with a particular distaste for school vice principal Gavin Price. After putting it off for years, Grace has her bat mitzvah in "The Book of Questions".

Recurring cast

  • David Burke as Father Ken Mallory, Helen's friend and pastor of a nearby church.
  • Haylie Duff as Stevie Marx
  • Patrick Fabian as Gavin Price, the unpopular vice principal of Arcadia High School
  • John Getz as District Attorney Gabe Fellowes, a corrupt public servant who is arrested during an investigation of corruption into the Arcadia city government.
  • April Grace as Detective Toni Williams, as Will Girardi's partner on the Arcadia Police Department and later the Hogan County Sheriff's Department in season 1.
  • Sprague Grayden as Judith Montgomery, Joan's friend from the summer psychiatric camp.
  • Elaine Hendrix as Ms. Lischak, chemistry and physics teacher.
  • Aaron Himelstein as Friedman, Luke's best friend.
  • Wentworth Miller as Ryan Hunter, a young, charming dot com millionaire who also talks to God, but with his own sinister agenda.
  • Derek Morgan as Hogan County Undersheriff Roy Roebuck. He served as head of the Arcadia Police Department Internal Affairs Division before being forced to transfer to the Arcadia Fire Department as the arson investigator. After the dissolution of the Arcadia city government, Roy becomes the Commanding Officer of the Hogan County Sheriff's Department Arcadia Station. He resigns after learning that two of his officers were corrupt and murdered a witness.
  • Erik Palladino as Lieutenant Michael Daghlian, the senior detective of the Arcadia PD under Chief Girardi. He is fired after removing evidence from an official report.
  • Sydney Tamiia Poitier as Rebecca Askew, a reporter at the newspaper where Kevin works who becomes involved with him.
  • Annie Potts as Lieutenant Lucy Preston, the former head of the Hogan County Sheriff's Department's Internal Affairs Division. She replaced Roebuck as Commanding Officer of the Hogan County Sheriff's Department. She and Will quickly got close, both professionally and personally, but Will soon became uncomfortable with her methods of policing and her apparent complicity in the death of Judith Montgomery's murderer. In "Romancing the Joan", Preston transfers to Washington, D.C. for a job with the United States Department of Justice.
  • Kevin Rahm as Dana Tuchman, guidance counselor at Arcadia High School.
  • Paul Sand as Rabbi Polanski, Grace's father.
  • Mark Totty as Detective Carlisle, Will Girardi's junk food-addicted partner on the Hogan County Sheriff's Department.
  • Mageina Tovah as Glynis Figliola, Luke's friend and onetime girlfriend.
  • Constance Zimmer as Sister Lilly Watters, a former nun who helps advise Helen Girardi and dates Kevin.

Guest cast

Incarnations of God

Template:Further The many incarnations include: Template:Div col

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Theme song Template:Anchor

The opening credits roll with Eric Bazilian's song "One of Us" performed by Joan Osborne.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It was a hit single for Osborne in the United States from 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

Osborne rerecorded the song specifically for the show. To fit its lyrics, Joan first meets God as a teenage boy riding to school on the bus with her.

Production

Development

Joan of Arcadia took shape during Barbara Hall's time as a producer on Chicago Hope in the mid-1990s and evolved while she was an executive producer on CBS drama Judging Amy.<ref name="LABraxton">Template:Cite news</ref> Hall said "the concept meshed her fascination with Joan of Arc...her longtime interest in physics and metaphysics, and her desire to use drama and comedy to explore the existence of God in a 'scary, not benign universe.'"<ref name="LABraxton" /> Hall added, "I started thinking, what would it look like if God tried to contact a teenager today? I made the decision that God would have to come to a teenage girl visually. Joan of Arc heard voices, but kids today aren't going to hear voices because you'd have to get the iPods off their heads."<ref name="Rice">Template:Cite web</ref>

When Hall pitched the series to CBS, she and executives agreed they were not looking to make another Touched by an Angel.<ref name="LABraxton" /> Among the differences between it and Joan is that Joan is not religious and "the show’s tone is grittier".<ref name="LABraxton" />

CBS greenlit the show in 2002 "when public discourse about spirituality seemed more gentle: post-9/11 prayer services rather than heated debates over 'The Passion of the Christ'".<ref name="Aurthur">Template:Cite news</ref> The acquisition was made as part of an effort by the network, which was known for its adult-skewing shows, to appeal to younger viewers.<ref name="LABraxton" /> Hall developed the series with Hart Hanson and Jim Hayman, her Judging Amy production associates.<ref name="PostHill" />

As a guideline for the series' writing staff, Hall wrote a list of "Ten Commandments of Joan of Arcadia", which enumerated what God can and cannot do in the show. These guidelines included points like "God can never identify one religion as being right", "The job of every human being is to fulfill his or her true nature", "God's purpose for talking to Joan, and to everyone, is to get her (us) to recognize the interconnectedness of all things", and "the exact nature of God is a mystery, and the mystery can never be solved."<ref name="PostHill" />

Filming

Though Arcadia is in Maryland, the series was mostly filmed at various Los Angeles locations.<ref name="LABraxton" /> Establishing shots of Arcadia's skyline and other outdoor scenes were filmed in Wilmington, Delaware.<ref name="NewsJourn">Template:Cite news</ref> Scenes at the fictional Arcadia High School were filmed at El Segundo High School.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Episodes

Template:Series overview

Season 1 (2003–04)

Template:Episode table

Season 2 (2004–05)

Template:Episode table

Reception

Critical reception

Joan of Arcadia received widespread acclaim from critics. On review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, the first season has a rating of 92% based on 25 critics’ reviews,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> while Season 2 has a rating of 100% based on 5 reviews.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Greg Braxton of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "the series is a veritable squeezebox of genres...[including] a family drama, a coming-of-age saga of a teenager, a high school drama and a gritty police show, all tossed together with a mix of fantasy and religion.”<ref name="LABraxton" /> Robert Lloyd, also of the LA Times, said "the real miracle here is how deftly the show avoids the soggy cliches of redemption so many of its forerunners have embraced."<ref name="Lloyd">Template:Cite news</ref> Rob Owen of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette called it "the best new broadcast series of the season,"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the Associated Press said the show has an "intelligent quirkiness."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

James Poniewozik of Time wrote that the series' "marriage of the sacred and the mundane has made Arcadia the rare TV show about spirituality to win over both audiences and critics. Whereas its predecessors have been either panned but popular marshmallow halos (Highway to Heaven) or controversial, swiftly canceled critical darlings (Nothing Sacred), Arcadia has avoided, Goldilocks-style, going too soft or too hard."<ref name="Time">Template:Cite magazine</ref> He added, "by separating God from religion, Arcadia takes away what makes faith divisive—a reasonable goal for a major-network series that needs to draw a broad audience to thrive."<ref name="Time" />

Melanie McFarland of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer wrote, "Only a few episodes into its season, Joan has proved deserving of its growing reputation. It's alive with everything television so desperately lacks: genuine heart, wit devoid of crassness, dramatic situations mirroring so many of our realities that the Girardis sometimes feel more like neighbors than a television family."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Nancy Franklin of The New Yorker wrote the show is "both thought through and open-ended, and it should prove especially rewarding for those who think that belief has more to do with asking questions than with getting answers."<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Criticism of the series focused on the police procedural plots involving Will Girardi, which many said did not tonally fit with the show.<ref name="Bianco" /><ref name="Lloyd" /> Devin Gordon of Newsweek wrote that the series' cop drama and its fantasy elements felt like "two shows stitched awkwardly together."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Tom Shales of The Washington Post wrote "the premiere suggests viewers are being asked to wade heart-deep into a drearily portentous muddle."<ref name="Shales">Template:Cite news</ref>

Though critics were divided about the show's tone and plot elements,<ref name="Bunn">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> there was across-the-board praise for Amber Tamblyn.<ref name="Shales" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Poniewozik wrote, "If God, however, is simply asking Joan to do what all teens have to do—develop an identity—Arcadia works because Tamblyn reminds us so well how tough that job is. Joan may talk to God, but she has to do the work her own, mortal self, from accepting life's unfairness to finding her niche at school...Unlike most prime-time teens, Joan is neither a babe nor a brain, neither a Goody Two-Shoes nor a sarcastic rebel. She's the most extraordinarily average teen to crop up on a TV show in years—yet after a few episodes, you realize you would watch her story even if God stopped showing up."<ref name="Time" /> Praise was also given for Mary Steenburgen<ref name="Lloyd" /> and Jason Ritter, of the latter of whom Robert Bianco of USA Today wrote, "Indeed, the often painfully realistic treatment of the familial anguish that swirls around Kevin (Ritter), who lost the use of his legs in an auto accident, is one of the show's greatest achievements."<ref name="Bianco" />

Critics have written retrospectively about the series. In 2015, Margaret Lyons of Vulture wrote, "Somehow Joan of Arcadia is one of vanishingly few shows to bring up two extremely common questions that shape the human condition: 'Is there a God?' and 'Am I a good person?' The answer to both is, it depends whom you ask. And you can only ask so many people in two seasons."<ref name="Lyons" />

For IndieWire, Alison Willmore wrote, "the show balanced [Joan's] missions with the mistakes a well-meaning but impulsive high school girl might make, allowing the show to also be a very fine portrait of life at a certain age."<ref name="Willmore" />

Nielsen ratings Template:Anchor

Season Episodes Premiere Season finale Viewers
(in millions)		 Rank
1 2003–2004 23 September 26, 2003 May 21, 2004 9.9<ref name="season1" /> #54<ref name="season1">Template:Cite web</ref>
2 2004–2005 22 September 24, 2004 April 22, 2005 8.0<ref name="season2" /> #70<ref name="season2">Template:Cite news</ref>

Joan of Arcadia debuted on the heels of Touched by an Angel, which ended its nine-year run in April 2003. An estimated 12 million viewers tuned into the series premiere in September 2003.<ref name="Bunn" /> Though Joan was broadcast in the 8 p.m. time slot on Friday nights, a traditionally quiet night for TV, it became a modest hit for CBS and averaged 10.1 million viewers during its first season.<ref name="usatoday">Template:Cite web</ref> The show regularly drew in young adult viewers for its time slot, which led NBC to change the schedule for the competing comedy-drama series Miss Match.<ref name="Rice" />

The next year, "viewership sank to 8 million, according to Nielsen Media Research,"<ref name="usatoday" /> despite continued critical acclaim, including three Emmy nominations.<ref name="Aurthur" /> Partly at the network's request, Barbara Hall introduced the character of Ryan, a menacing figure and amoral "tempter" (with The Rolling Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil" as his musical motif) seemingly destined to cause significant conflict for the show's characters.<ref name="usatoday" />

Cancellation

While Joan of Arcadia was one of the highest-rated new shows of the 2003–04 television season, its ratings declined in the second season and CBS canceled it on May 18, 2005.<ref name="cancellation">Template:Cite web </ref> Fan campaigns ensued to have it reinstated.<ref name="usatoday" /> A promotional campaign by CBS sent street teams into cities to do good deeds, such as buying a cold person a cup of coffee.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Only two episodes from the second season, "No Future" and "The Rise and Fall of Joan Girardi", were repeated by CBS, with remaining reruns pulled from the schedule. The cancellation meant the show ended on a cliffhanger, with Ryan potentially facing off against Joan.<ref name="usatoday" /><ref name="Lyons" /> Ghost Whisperer took over the show's Friday time slot in September 2005.<ref name="cancellation" /><ref name="usatoday" />

After the show's cancellation, props such as pieces of Adam's artwork and Joan's signature messenger bag and costume pieces belonging to cast members were sold on eBay.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Awards and nominations

Year Association Category / Recipient Results Template:Abbreviation
2003 Online Film & Television Association Best Actress in a Drama Series / Amber Tamblyn Template:Nominated <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series / Mary Steenburgen Template:Nominated
2004 America Film Institute Awards TV Program of the Year / Joan of Arcadia Template:Won <ref name="Georgia">Template:Cite web</ref>
ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards Top TV Series

(composer) Jonathan Grossman

Template:Won <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Casting Society of America Best Casting for TV, Dramatic Pilot

(casting director) Vicki Rosenberg for ("Pilot")

Template:Nominated <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Environmental Media Awards Primetime Television for ("Bringeth It On") Template:Won <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Gold Derby Awards Drama Lead Actress / Amber Tamblyn Template:Won <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Drama Supporting Actress / Mary Steenburgen Template:Nominated
Golden Globes Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series — Drama / Amber Tamblyn Template:Nominated <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Humanitas Prize Awards 60 Minute Category
(creator) Barbara Hall for ("Pilot") 		Template:Won <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
60 Minute Category
(director) Joy Gregory for ("The Uncertainty Principle") 		Template:Nominated
Online Film & Television Association Best Writing in a Drama Series
(writer) Randy Anderson
(writer) Sibyl Gardner
(writer) Tom Garrigus
(writer) Robert Girardi
(writer) David Grae
(writer) Joy Gregory)
(writer) Barbara Hall
(writer) Hart Hanson
(writer) Stephen Nathan
(writer) Joshua Ravetch
(writer) Antoinette Stella 		Template:Nominated <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Best Actress in a Drama Series / Amber Tamblyn Template:Won
Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series / Mary Steenburgen Template:Nominated
People's Choice Awards Favorite Television New Dramatic Series / Joan of Arcadia Template:Won <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Drama Series / Joan of Arcadia
(producer) Tom Garrigus
(executive producer) Barbara Hall
(executive producer) James Hayman
(co-executive producer) Peter Schindler
(co-executive producer) Randy Anderson 		Template:Nominated <ref name="Emmy">Template:Cite web</ref>
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series / Amber Tamblyn for ("Pilot") Template:Nominated
Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series / Louise Fletcher for ("Do the Math") Template:Nominated
Satellite Awards Best Actress in a Series, Drama / Amber Tamblyn Template:Nominated <ref name="Georgia" />
Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Drama / Mary Steenburgen Template:Won
Saturn Awards Best Actress in a Television Series / Amber Tamblyn Template:Won <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Teen Choice Awards Choice Breakout TV Show / Joan of Arcadia Template:Nominated <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Choice TV Show – Drama/Action-Adventure / Joan of Arcadia Template:Nominated
Choice Breakout TV Star — Male / Jason Ritter Template:Nominated
Choice Breakout TV Star — Female / Amber Tamblyn Template:Nominated
Choice TV Actress — Drama/Action-Adventure / Amber Tamblyn Template:Nominated
TCA Awards Outstanding New Program of the Year / Joan of Arcadia Template:Nominated <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Young Artist Awards Best Family Television Series (Comedy or Drama) / Joan or Arcadia Template:Nominated <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Best Young Adult Performer in a Teenage Role / Amber Tamblyn Template:Nominated
Best Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama) — Supporting Young Actor / Michael Welch Template:Won
2005 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series / Cloris Leachman for ("The Cat") Template:Nominated <ref name="Emmy"/>
Saturn Awards Best Actress on a Television / Amber Tamblyn Template:Nominated <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Home media

CBS Home Entertainment (distributed by Paramount) released both seasons on DVD in Region 1 in 2005 and 2006.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released all seasons in Region 2.

On June 6, 2017, CBS Home Entertainment (distributed by Paramount) released Joan of Arcadia: The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Season DVD cover Discs Release date Ep# Additional information
1 File:Joan of Arcadia (season 1).jpg 6 May 10, 2005 23 Deleted Scenes, Audio commentaries by the Filmmakers and Cast
Behind-The-Scenes Featurettes: The Creation of Joan of Arcadia and Joan of Arcadia – A Look at Season One
God Gallery
2 File:Joan of Arcadia (season 2).jpg 6 November 28, 2006 22 Audio Commentaries on selected episodes
A Look at Season 2 featurette
The Making of Queen of the Zombies
A Tour of Joan's High School
Common Thread Table Read
Complete Series 12 June 6, 2017 45

Note: each disc in the season, except the last, contains 4 episodes.

See also

References

Template:Reflist

Further reading

  • Coker, Stephanie L. "Joan of Arcadia: A Modern Maiden on Trial" (in Part 1. Personal and Political Desires). In: Pagès, Meriem and Karolyn Kinane (editors). The Middle Ages on Television: Critical Essays. McFarland & Company, April 16, 2015. Template:ISBN, 9780786479412. Start: p. 31.

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