Re: Joan Of Arcadia too subtle for American audiences?

Steven Rubio <srubio@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:v8vs31hrlqdicon3epblumjqsjnf24b55l@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> There have been 41 episodes shown so far, I believe. The show is good
> enough, but it doesn't have the depth to keep going this long, which
> is why Season Two seems worse than Season One ... what else does this
> show have that we haven't already seen? The subplots involving the
> parents are less interesting than the main storylines featuring Joan
> ... ten episodes in, it wasn't so bad, but 40 episodes in, it's hard
> to care about that part of the show devoted to mostly uninteresting
> cop drama that has done better elsewhere. And the attempt to create
> interest in the adults by forcing changes in their life that are not
> integral to their characters but are merely designed to create
> something new in a show that is already getting stale gets irritating
> over time. (He's a chief of police, no, he's a detective ... she's a
> housewife, no, she's a teacher, no, she's gonna be an artist.)
>
> The first time Joan talks to God and acts on God's wishes, it's pretty
> interesting. The tenth time, the growth in the character and her
> ongoing relation****p to God is intriguing. Her crisis of faith at the
> end of Season One was touching. But at this point, what do we have?
> The same thing we've seen 41 times before: God asks Joan to do
> something, she does it grudgingly, it turns out different than she
> expected, repeat next week. Meanwhile, the rest of the show just isn't
> very special: standard high-school drama combined rather clunkily with
> standard cop drama and standard home-life drama.
>
> It's not about the treatment of God, subtle or not ... it's about a
> show that passed its usefulness some time ago but is still on anyway.
> Me, I'm still watching out of habit, but if it gets a third season, I
> don't know that I'll return.
>
> Steven

I think you're right on target here...I feel there are too many subplots
with the parents. I will be into what Joan is doing then there's a switch
to
some murder being solved...Helen getting back into church kind of fits but
I
say drop the other events in art class...I think the focus should be on
Joan
and how her friends handle teenage life with her sort of their leader
based
on what she has learned from God and her experiences...I never understood
from the first show why they added all the other...it's like they can't
make
their minds up on what the show's even about. You just can't crowd that
much
into an hour without turning out some weak plot points and not enough
background to have a satisfying resolution...we aren't given time to care
about the meat of the story...Joan and her life experiences and whether
they
help her grow as a person...

Peace,
Giuditta