R.I.P. Joan of Arcadia

On last night's episode of House I was reminded of one of my all-time favorite shows, Joan of Arcadia.  Amber Tamblyn now stars on House, and her former co-star on JoA, Christopher Marquette, showed up as a patient.   With his character's references to God, I was thrown back into the whimsy of JoA.   (Though I do know House writers love to put in references to actors' former roles.  In a recent episode, Peter Jacobson (Taub) referred to Omar Epps (Foreman) as Linc from the Mod Squad.   Epps played Linc in the movie version of the Mod Squad.)  Another JoA reunion took place on Criminal Minds, where Joe Montegna (who played Will Girardi on JoA) reunited with Michael Welch (who played his son Luke on JoA).

The storyline on House was solid and this episode "Fall from Grace" had a turn at the end that was memorable which I will not reveal here.    TV really seems to be a writers' place to shine, and none more so than on the series Joan of Arcadia.  It is such a shame it only lasted two seasons.   I guess because it addressed the existence of God and discussed religion, philosophy and morals on a TV show, it may not have been appealing to a mass audience.  (Better to a "Mass" audience.  HA!  Had to get that pun in.)  Plus it was on Friday nights, which can be the kiss of death for any show.  What was great about it was that it was not a preachy show.   Just a show that was a forum and catalyst for discussing such topics.

 I have my opinions on all those subjects, but I found myself being impressed by how the proverbial door was opened to the topic.  I mean, anybody could use that show as a tool for teaching a class on how to be a decent person.    Not necessarily pertaining to any religion or faith or moral code.  Just decency.  It is really a shame that it did not continue.  Especially since the 2nd season cliffhanger finale was a great setup for furthering those sorts of discussions, but done so in a way that Joan of the story's life was mirroring Joan of Arc.   The series was just getting legs!   Oh well.  Here's hoping that some other series is written or comes along that is close to being as entertainingly meaningful as that one.