Blame it on God

I recommend reading Ann Althouse's discussion of the approaching demise of Joan of Arcadia. I think her assessments are right on.

The creators can blame Christians, the very people who started out watching the show, but the real fault lies in their own terrible decisions. Muse and I watched the better part of the first season and found that it was sometimes enjoyable, and at least somewhat thought provoking on occasion. We watched it with another couple that we're friends with here. Near the 3/4 mark of season one, our schedules simply became too busy to make time for the show and we didn't really miss it that much. The other day, we saw the episode just prior to the season two finale, and we both felt glad that we hadn't bothered to keep up with it. Why?

Because nothing had changed. Sure, Joan's boyfriend had cheated on her so they weren't together anymore, and Joan's brother finally hooked up with the rebel. But the characters were basically still the same. And that highlights exactly what is wrong with the show. Every episode runs something like this:

Joan starts a normal day with her emotionally cut-off boyfriend and God shows up in some form or another to speak cryptically about some upcoming event. God tells Joan to do something that she doesn't understand the purpose of and disappears. Joan sets off to do said task as best she can. Mom gets angry about something (whatever the anger issue is that week), dad takes on another big crime and even though he's the chief, manages to get his hands into everything, usually bringing Joan and her rebel friend along with him. Smart brother is in the background usually espousing some sort of wisdom or serving as the butt of some nerd joke. Wheelchair bound brother is sagely and offers pointed advice that no one listens to. Joan finds she is having trouble with task assigned by God and in a fit yells, "I hate you! Why do you make me do this!" Then God shows up and shows Joan why she's doing the task. Joan says, "Oh! I get it, you rock! But you're way too hard on me, I'm only human." God says, "No Joan, you are capable of more!" Mom gets over anger at this weeks episode, dad solves crime, boyfriend continues to be cut-off and emotionally stunted. Then, we start the whole cycle over next week and it's like no one remembers the "progress" that they made the week before.

I like a show that can reflect human weakness. But this show revels in that weakness. It makes a display of it in place of real drama. Every week, it's the same thing. Strife, anger, and fear are rampant in these people's lives for 50 minutes until God "does something." Then everything is justified in the last 10 minutes, only to start the whole cycle over again next week.

Maybe it isn't the "theocracy" that we're living in that has made us give up on the show. Maybe it's the clear impression that the writers just don't get it. We want to see growth and progress, not cheesy drama at the expense of characters that we can really believe in.