Joan of Arcadia

Joan of Arcadia Information

On initial release, the show was praised by critics and won the prestigious Humanitas Prize and the People's Choice Award. It became one of the few television shows to be 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 fictional Arcadia, Maryland.

Plot

In the pilot episode, God appears to Joan and reminds her that she promised to do anything he wanted if he would let her brother survive a car crash that left him a paraplegic. God appears in the form of various people including small children, teenage boys, elderly ladies, transients, or passersby. Joan is asked by God to perform tasks that often appear to be trivial or contrary, but always end up positively improving a larger situation.

One of the more obvious effects of Joan's actions occurs when she is asked to take a reclusive bully to the school dance. While both her mother and the assistant principal object, Joan follows through with God's task. At the dance, it is revealed that the bully has a bottle of alcohol with him, but Joan convinces him not to open it. Despite this, the assistant principal later reaches into his jacket, finds the alcohol and expels him. In his anger, the boy threatens the chief of police (Joan's father) with a handgun, and he is then arrested. Joan later finds out from God that, while this turn of events seems rather bleak, it was the lesser of two evils"?without Joan's actions, he would have shot over a dozen students and teachers with a handgun, before turning the gun on himself. This ending is noticeably more direct than most episodes, since it is the only time God comments so clearly on "what would have happened" rather than primarily allowing events to speak for themselves.

The series starred actors Joe Mantegna and Mary Steenburgen as Joan's parents Will and Helen, Jason Ritter as her paraplegic older brother Kevin, and Michael Welch as her younger brother Luke. The family relationships and plot situations were written more realistically than other shows with spiritual themes. Various storylines that spanned multiple episodes dealt with the consequences of Kevin's accident, Will's job as a police officer, Helen's career as an art teacher, and Luke's aspirations to be a scientist. No specific mention of any "true" religion is ever made, and God quotes Bob Dylan, Emily Dickinson and the Beatles rather than any scripture or verses. Furthermore, God is portrayed with a very human personality. In "Touch Move", he tells Joan that he has to send her "down there", and laughs when she becomes worried he means Hell, when he meant the school basement. Also, in one episode, he hands Joan a book from a store they have just left. When Joan accuses him of stealing, he remarks "Well, technically everything's mine".

Christopher Marquette also stars as Adam Rove, a close friend of Joan's who has an on-and-off romantic relationship with her. Another of Joan's best friends is Grace Polk, played by Becky Wahlstrom.

Cast

Amber Tamblyn as Joan Girardi " Middle child of the Girardi family. Teenage girl who talks to God
Joe Mantegna as Will Girardi " Joan, Kevin and Luke's father. Police chief of Arcadia PD, eventually chooses to return to detective work after he is kidnapped and bust wide open the internal corruption of the town of Arcadia's infrastructure. Mantegna had a development deal with CBS and liked the script so agreed to be part of the show. He was also involved in the casting of the other characters.
Mary Steenburgen as Helen Girardi " Joan, Kevin and Luke's mother. Secretary and eventually art teacher at Arcadia High School. She also reveals she had been raped years before she meets Will during college.
Jason Ritter as Kevin Girardi " Eldest child in the Girardi family. Became a paraplegic in a car accident while in high school. Works for the local newspaper as a fact checker at first; later pursuing a career in journalism, and going on to become a local news anchor.
Michael Welch as Luke Girardi " Youngest Girardi child. Science nerd, straight A student
Chris Marquette as Adam Rove (Recurring Season 1; Regular Season 2) " Only child of Elizabeth and Carl Rove. Joan's best friend/boyfriend, Grace's lifelong best friend. One of Helen's art students, talented artist. His mother died three years before. Has a photographic memory.
Becky Wahlstrom as Grace Polk (Recurring Season 1; Regular Season 2) " Only child of Sarah and Rabbi Polanski. Adam and Joan's best friend and Luke's eventual girlfriend. A major activist against all authority, has a particular hatred for school principal Gavin Price.

Recurring cast

Aaron Himelstein as Friedman " Luke's best friend
Mageina Tovah as Glynis Figliola " Luke's friend and one-time girlfriend
Sprague Grayden as Judith Montgomery " Joan's friend from the summer psychiatric camp. Her parents are psychologists and she takes advantage of them frequently.
Mark Totty as Detective Carlisle " Will Girardi's junk food addicted partner on the Arcadia Police Department.
Elaine Hendrix as Ms. Lischak " Chemistry and Physics teacher. Shown to be overly dramatic for physics.
Patrick Fabian as Gavin Price " Assistant Principal, Arcadia High School. Very unpopular among students.
Annie Potts as Lucy Preston " Lieutenant, Arcadia Police Department
April Grace as Detective Toni Williams " Will Girardi's partner on the Arcadia Police Department in Season One.
Derek Morgan as Roy Roebuck " Arcadia Police Department
Wentworth Miller as Ryan Hunter " a young, charming dot com millionaire who also talks to God, but with his own sinister agenda. Introduced at the end of Season Two in the episode Common Thread it was planned for him to be a recurring character in the third season.
David Burke as Fr. Ken Mallory " Helen's friend and pastor of a nearby church.
Sydney Tamiia Poitier as Rebecca Askew, a reporter at the newspaper where Kevin works. Dated Kevin.
Constance Zimmer as Sister Lilly Watters, a former nun who helps advise Helen Girardi, also Kevin's girlfriend.
Haylie Duff as Stevie Marx
Erik Palladino as Lt. Michael Daghlian

Guest cast

Hilary Duff as Dylan Samuels
Lauren Mayhew as Elle
Alexis Dziena as Bonnie
Shelley Long as Miss.Candy
Tyler James Williams as hallway boy

Incarnations of God

Some of the many incarnations included:

Juliette Goglia " Little Girl God
Kathryn Joosten " Old Lady God, or occasionally as Mrs. Landingham God
Russ Tamblyn (actress Amber Tamblyn's father) " 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
Jane Morris " Substitute Teacher God
James Martin Kelly " Sweeper God
Michael N. Chinyamurind " 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

Crew

Barbara Hall, Executive Producer
Jim Hayman, Executive Producer
Stephen Nathan, Executive Producer
Hart Hanson, Consulting Producer
Peter Schindler, Co-Executive Producer
Randy Anderson, Co-Executive Producer

Theme song

The opening credits roll with the song "One of Us" written by Eric Bazilian and performed by 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 (repeated)

Osborne re-recorded the song (with a noticeably less rough quality) specifically for the show. To fit the lyrics of the song, Joan first meets God as a teenage boy riding to school on the bus with her (although they don't actually speak to each other at the time).

Production

Scenes of Arcadia's skyline and other outdoor scenes were actually the city of Wilmington, Delaware. Arcadia itself is set in Maryland.

Reception and cancellation

Joan of Arcadia debuted on the heels of Touched by an Angel, which had ended its nine-year run in April 2003.

While Joan of Arcadia was one of the highest rated new shows of the 2003"2004 television season, its ratings declined in the second season, in spite of continued critical acclaim. The show was cancelled by CBS on May 18, 2005. Fan campaigns were created in response, in an effort to have the show reinstated. Only two episodes "No Future" and "The Rise and Fall of Joan Girardi" from the second season were repeated by CBS, and remaining reruns were pulled from the schedule. Near the end of the second season, a menacing character was introduced to the series, an amoral "tempter" (aka "The Adversary" with Rolling Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil" as his musical motif), seemingly destined to cause a significant amount of conflict in the show's characters. The show's cancellation left that premise unexplored. Ghost Whisperer took over the show's Friday time slot in September 2005.

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. Grace's trademark leather jacket was not included as the jacket was brought in by actress Becky Wahlstrom from her own teenage years.

Viewers by season

"During its first season, Joan of Arcadia averaged 10.1 million viewers, respectable numbers for Friday, a quiet night for television. [The following] year, viewership sank to 8 million, according to Nielsen Media Research."

Nielsen ratings

Season		Episodes	Premiere	Season finale	Viewers (in millions)	Rank
1	2003"2004	23	September 26, 2003	May 21, 2004	9.9	#54
2	2004"2005	22	September 24, 2004	April 22, 2005	8.0	#70

Episodes

See List of Joan of Arcadia episodes for more information

Awards and nominations

Year	Association	Category
2004	Saturn Award	Saturn Award for Best Actress on Television - Amber Tamblyn
	Golden Globe Award	Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama - Amber Tamblyn
	People's Choice Award	People's Choice Award for Favorite New Drama Series
	Primetime Emmy Award	Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series
		Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series - Amber Tamblyn
		Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series - Louise Fletcher
	Satellite Award	Satellite Award for Best Actress - Television Series Drama - Amber Tamblyn
	Satellite Award	Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress " Series, Miniseries or Television Film - Mary Steenburgen
	Teen Choice Awards	Teen Choice Award for Choice Breakout TV Show
		Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Show - Drama/Action Adventure
		Teen Choice Award for Choice Breakout TV Star - Female - Amber Tamblyn
		Teen Choice Award for Choice Breakout TV Star - Male - Jason Ritter
2005	Saturn Award	Saturn Award for Best Actress on Television - Amber Tamblyn
	Primetime Emmy Award	Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series - Cloris Leachman
	Satellite Award	Satellite Award for Best Actress - Television Series Drama - Amber Tamblyn

DVD releases

Season	DVD Cover	Discs	Release Date	Episode #	Additional Information
1	style="text-align:center;"	style="text-align:center;"\|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	style="text-align:center;"	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

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