We really enjoyed "Joan of Arcadia" back when it was on TV (2003-2004) so I was very pleased to find this set for sale on eBay. We thought it was a great show; the characters, story lines and actors. Too bad it only lasted two seasons. We bought both seasons on eBay and will watch the last disc tomorrow. We'll probably go into withdrawal the next day (:-(
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Brilliant! When the show was first promo'ed and then aired I was very intrigued but very skeptical. My question was, "What are they really going to portray with an "interactive divinity"?" After four weeks of critical viewing, I loved it! The Truth portrayed was often profound... and fun, the family roles and interaction real, and for television, unique! For example, the father, Will Girardi, was a man of character, loving, thoughtful, a protector, and human, not the village idiot. Unfortunately, the vocal Christian community, or at least the "spokesmen", were either offended or neutral on the show. I think we were again led astray by narrow minded leaders (read pharisee) who judged before fully evaluating the project. The insights into the development of the project and the creative goals found in the Special Feature voiceover commentary of the Pilot by Creator, Barbara Hall, and Director, James Hayman were fascinating. Who am I? I dutifully confessed Jesus as Lord as a child, a Presbyterian, fifty years ago and quickly became the Prodigal's son, returned home to serve Him as a Evangelical eighteen years later, was baptised into Pentecost twenty nine years ago, and yet finally surrendered to His love four or five years ago. The last thing I would want to be accused of is being religious. Jesus was anything but. I believe God hates religion, and so do I. He's a Person, not a set of rules. I'm sad that Miss Hall and the other writers did not have more opportunity to develop this story, but I'm grateful that the DVD's are available, and 2nd season coming. Don't miss this.Read full review
I loved this show during its short run on CBS. Be careful, this is a spiritually oriented series, but without being doctrinal. This way, it will probably offend those viewers on both extremes of the spiritual spectrum. But I loved its simple premise of God calling Joan, your regular middle class high school student, to a new task each week. What makes the story lines work, is that Joan, like any of us, asks God, "why" does he need us to do these particular things at the particular time. Instead of answering, Joan is asked to step out in faith. The end result is always an unexpected blessing to someone in Joan's life, a blessing she could have never seen until she actually did what God asks her to do. Now this sounds real religious, but the fact that God appears in the guise of everyday people and asks for everday service keeps the show "real" and applicable. The acting was great and Amber Tamblyn was wonderful as Joan. Too bad the viewship was so low, but then again, Friday night, rather than the old Touch by an Angel slot on Sunday night, was not good. (Look what happened when CBS moved Angel to Saturday nights) In an attempt to gain a wider viewership, the writers took the second season in a new direction, and I didn't like as much.Read full review
Excellent cast, excellent production. Interestingly, the lighting is always a little dark. The director seems to avoid high light situations. Most scenes are indoors with indirect lighting that makes the overall scene darker, perhaps focusing the viewer on the actors. This has a lot of dialog and does not shy away from difficult topics (like death, drugs, sex, spirituality). The writing is excellent -- I never felt that any particular religion was being pushed -- with the caveat that (due to the theme of the show) it is assumed that a) God exists, b) as a monotheistic entity (i.e., Eastern approaches beware), and c) can manifest himself (herself?) in a highly communicable form (i.e., not "Wholly Other"). The material is good enough that I bought the DVD set for my 24-year-old daughter to enjoy. We're not big TV watchers (so we missed it first time 'round), but I've seen enough of the episodes that I think it has merit for old and young, alike (well, teen and up, at least).Read full review
This was a great show on for only two seasons that entertained you, but most importantly made you think, see that people and situations that come up in life are no always what they seem to be on the surface. We as humans were given free will to make decisions in life that have short term and long term effects on us. We choose to take roads that are not always good for us or others in our lives. Many things in my life that I made the choice to do or not to do that went wrong, I learned to see I had the choice and I need to except the responsibility for the action, not blame anyone else. The ability to think and free will is what seperate us humans for the animals and this is a gift that needs not to be taken lightly. I also learned to stop taking burdens placed on me by people that make bad choices for their lives like drinking or drugs, they need to make the decision to change and until they do or seek help for it they are causing the problems out of the choices they made or make. Great show that is not preachy just thought provoking and it is hard not learn something from each show. I decided to buy it to help with people in my life who are effecting many others lives with their choices and have found a lot help from it, it is a must for all young people learning to grow up and make their own decisions.Read full review
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