Joan of Arcadia

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

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. 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". 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. 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. 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."

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. Mantegna had a development deal with CBS and liked the script. He was also involved in casting the other characters.
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.
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.
Michael Welch as Luke Girardi, the youngest Girardi child. Luke is a science nerd and straight-A student.
Chris Marquette as Adam Rove (Recurring Season 1; Regular Season 2), Joan's best friend and later boyfriend.
Becky Wahlstrom as Grace Polk (Recurring Season 1; Regular Season 2), Adam and Joan's best friend and Luke's eventual girlfriend.

Recurring cast

Andrew Ableson as Andy Reese, the style editor at the Arcadia Herald.
David Burke as Father Ken Mallory, Helen's friend and pastor of a nearby church.
Ivonne Coll as Marlene, Helen's co-worker in the office at Arcadia High.
Haylie Duff as Stevie Marx, a student at Arcadia High.
Patrick Fabian as Gavin Price, the unpopular vice principal of Arcadia High School.
John Getz as District Attorney Gabe Fellowes, a corrupt public servant.
April Grace as Detective Toni Williams, at the Arcadia Police Department and later at the Hogan County Sheriff's department. Often worked with Will.
Sprague Grayden as Judith Montgomery, Joan's friend from the Gentle Acres summer psychiatric camp (affectionatly referred to as Crazy Camp).
Elaine Hendrix as Elaine Lischak, Arcadia High's Advanced Placement science teacher, teaches Joan's AP chemistry and AP physics classes. She has an on-again/off-again relationship with Dana Tuchman.
Jared Hillman as Brian Beaumont, tightly wound over-achiever student at Arcadia High.
Aaron Himelstein as Friedman, Arcadia High student and Luke's best friend.
Kimberly McCullough as Beth Reinhart, Kevin's girlfriend from before the accident.
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 Roy Roebuck, initially Arcadia Fire Department Arson investigator, later Hogan County Undersheriff for Arcadia.
Morocco Omari as Stephen Chadwick, Arcadia High's principal.
Erik Palladino as Lieutenant Michael Daghlian, the senior detective of the Arcadia PD under Chief Girardi.
Sydney Tamiia Poitier as Rebecca Askew, editor and reporter at the Arcadia Herald where Kevin works, dated Kevin.
Annie Potts as Lieutenant Lucy Preston, the former head of the Hogan County Sheriff's Department's Internal Affairs Division.
Kevin Rahm as Dana Tuchman, guidance counselor at Arcadia High School. Has an on-again/off-again relationship with Elain Lischak.
Paul Sand as Rabbi Polanski, Grace's father.
Riley Smith as Andy Baker, Kevin's friend who's drunk driving put him in that wheelchair.
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.
Misti Traya as Iris, Adam's first girlfriend.
Constance Zimmer as Sister Lilly Watters, a former nun who helps advise Helen Girardi and dates Kevin.

Guest cast

Michael Badalucco as Father Payne
Hilary Duff as Dylan Samuels
Alexis Dziena as Bonnie
Louise Fletcher as Eva Garrison
Cloris Leachman as Aunt Olive
Shelley Long as Miss Candy
Lauren Mayhew as Elle
Armin Shimerman as Ronald Harbison
Tyler James Williams as hallway boy
Russ Tamblyn – Dog Walker God
Kris Lemche – Cute Guy God
Jeffrey Licon – Goth Kid God
Keaton Tyndall and Kylie Tyndall – Twin Girl God
Zachary Quinto – video assignment God
Adam Richman (from Man v. Food) – a butcher God
John Marshall Jones – commonly referred to as Chess Player God
John Kassir – Mime God
Robert Clendenin – Linesman God
Roark Critchlow – Newscaster God
Wendy Worthington – Mailwoman God
Phill Lewis – Naval Officer God
Candice Azzara – Housewife God
David Doty – Businessman God
Larry Hankin – Homeless Man God
Chris Hogan – Sidewalk Vendor God
Oliver Muirhead – Proctor God
Alphonso McAuley – DJ God
Thomas Kopache – Creepy Guy God
Curtis Armstrong - Security Guard God II
Lindsay Hollister – Computer/Library Girl God
Fred Stoller – Pizza Delivery God
Trevor Einhorn – Mascot God
Ronnie Warner – Street Guitarist God
Anastasia Baranova – Exchange Student God
Brian Klugman – Cashier God
Louis Mustillo – Garbage Man God
George D. Wallace – Old Man Walker God
Joel Murray – Balloon Sculptor God
Erin Chambers – Majorette God
Susan Sullivan – Rich Woman God
John Patrick Amedori – Loner Loser Kid God
Allyce Beasley – Woman with Cats God
Rick Overton – Bad Stand-Up Comedian God
Iqbal Theba – East Indian Sunglasses Salesman God
Rae Allen – Fortune Teller God
Christy Carlson Romano – Officious Hall Monitor God
Mike Starr – Big Tough Guy God
Sonya Eddy – Female Custodian God
Veanne Cox – Personable Woman God
Jack Kehler – Electrician God
Al Mancini – Grandpa God
Rolando Molina – Trash Man God
Adam Wylie – Skinny Kid God
Mark L. Taylor – Salesman God
Shelly Cole – Punk Girl God
Don McManus – Park Ranger God
Jane Morris – Substitute Teacher God
James Martin Kelly – Sweeper God
Michael N. Chinyamurindi – Nigerian Doctor God
John Del Regno – Locksmith God
Michael Wyle – French Waiter God
Cal Gibson – Groundskeeper God
Todd Sherry – Gay Male Secretary God
Jordan David – Geek God
will.i.am – Three Card Monte Guy God

Theme song

The opening credits roll with the Eric Bazilian-wrote song "One of Us" performed by recording artist Joan Osborne. 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 re-recorded 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. 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.'"

When Hall pitched the series to CBS, she and executives agreed they were not looking to make another Touched by an Angel. 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. Scenes at the fictional Arcadia High School were filmed at El Segundo High School.

Episodes

Season 1 (2003–04)

Season 2 (2004–05)

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, while Season 2 has a rating of 100% based on five reviews.

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.” Rob Owen of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette called it "the best new broadcast series of the season," and the Associated Press said the show has an "intelligent quirkiness."

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." 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." 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."

Criticism of the series focused on the police procedural plots involving Will Girardi, which many said did not tonally fit with the show. Tom Shales of The Washington Post wrote "the premiere suggests viewers are being asked to wade heart-deep into a drearily portentous muddle."

Though critics were divided about the show's tone and plot elements, there was across-the-board praise for Amber Tamblyn. 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."

| 2 || 2004–2005 ||22 ||September 24, 2004 || April 22, 2005 || 8.0

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. 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. Fan campaigns ensued to have it reinstated. 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.

Awards and nominations

{| class="wikitable"

!Year

!Association

!Category / Recipient

!Results

| rowspan="2" |2003

| rowspan="2" |Online Film & Television Association

|Best Actress in a Drama Series / Amber Tamblyn

| rowspan="2" |

|Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series / Mary Steenburgen

| rowspan="28" |2004

|America Film Institute Awards

|TV Program of the Year / Joan of Arcadia

|ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards

|Top TV Series

(composer) Jonathan Grossman

|Casting Society of America

|Best Casting for TV, Dramatic Pilot

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

|Environmental Media Awards

|Primetime Television for ("Bringeth It On")

| rowspan="2" |Gold Derby Awards

|Drama Lead Actress / Amber Tamblyn

| rowspan="2" |

|Drama Supporting Actress / Mary Steenburgen

|Golden Globes

|Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series — Drama / Amber Tamblyn

| rowspan="2" |Humanitas Prize Awards

|60 Minute Category (creator) Barbara Hall for ("Pilot")

| rowspan="2" |

|60 Minute Category (director) Joy Gregory for ("The Uncertainty Principle")

| rowspan="3" |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

| rowspan="3" |

|Best Actress in a Drama Series / Amber Tamblyn

|Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series / Mary Steenburgen

|People's Choice Awards

|Favorite Television New Dramatic Series / Joan of Arcadia

| rowspan="3" |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

| rowspan="3" |

|Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series / Amber Tamblyn for ("Pilot")

|Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series / Louise Fletcher for ("Do the Math")

| rowspan="2" |Satellite Awards

|Best Actress in a Series, Drama / Amber Tamblyn

| rowspan="2" |

| rowspan="5" |Teen Choice Awards

|Choice Breakout TV Show / Joan of Arcadia

| rowspan="5" |

|Choice TV Show – Drama/Action-Adventure / Joan of Arcadia

|Choice Breakout TV Star — Male / Jason Ritter

|Choice Breakout TV Star — Female / Amber Tamblyn

|Choice TV Actress — Drama/Action-Adventure / Amber Tamblyn

|TCA Awards

|Outstanding New Program of the Year / Joan of Arcadia

| rowspan="3" |Young Artist Awards

|Best Family Television Series (Comedy or Drama) / Joan or Arcadia

| rowspan="3" |

|Best Young Adult Performer in a Teenage Role / Amber Tamblyn

|Best Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama) — Supporting Young Actor / Michael Welch

| rowspan="2" |2005

|Primetime Emmy Awards

|Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series / Cloris Leachman for ("The Cat")

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.

{| class="wikitable"

!Season!! DVD cover!!Discs!!Release date!!Ep#!!Additional information

| style="text-align:center;"|1 || style="text-align:center;"|75px || style="text-align:center;"|6 || style="text-align:center;"|May 10, 2005 || style="text-align:center;"|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

| style="text-align:center;"|2 || style="text-align:center;"|75px || style="text-align:center;"|6 || style="text-align:center;"|November 28, 2006 || style="text-align:center;"|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

| style="text-align:center;"|Complete Series || style="text-align:center;"| || style="text-align:center;"|12 || style="text-align:center;"|June 6, 2017 || style="text-align:center;"|45 ||

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

Joan of Arcadia

Premise

Characterization of God

Cast and characters

Main cast

Recurring cast

Guest cast

Theme song

Production

Development

Episodes

Season 1 (2003–04)

Season 2 (2004–05)

Reception

Critical reception

Awards and nominations

Home media

See also

References

Further reading

External links