Barbara Hall was supposed to come to our Act One: Writing for Hollywood class this summer, but she had to pass due to scheduling conflicts related to Joan of Arcadia being nominated for the 2004 Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series. Too bad...
Barbara Hall's Joan of Arcadia moves me nearly everytime, and I am always grateful.
Last night's episode, the first of the new season, finds Joan back from her summer at "Gentle Acres", a summer camp for crazies, where she has successfully brought her hallucinations (so the therapist calls them) under control. No more talking to God for Joan. So she thinks. Of course, God's not interested in disappearing, so as Joan encounters him in his various guises, she writes him off, sends him away, and finally, as he stands there as the handsome young man, Joan "dumps" him.
The episode was all about secrets, the way familys drift apart when they don't tell each other the truth. Luke's making out with Grace 5 minutes a day, but they're contractually bound to keep it a secret; Helen's considering confirmation in the Catholic Church; and Will's coping with a new lawsuit against the Girardi family concerning the accident that crippled Kevin. I'd hoped--just for conflict's sake--that a few of these secrets would last more than a week, but we got Helen's and Will's out in the open, and Luke spilled the beans about Grace to Kevin. Family reconnecting in a big way, but Joan's still out in the cold.
(I can't believe I'm talking this way about a TV show. Feels like I'm doing a soap update for the local paper. Yikes!)
But the writing is simple, intelligent, packed with metaphor (my daughter commented on the God-as-a-little-girl-playing-with-a-ball-that-looked-much-like-(but not exactly, not too obvious)-the-earth image, and underscored by innovative, alternative music--music video put to narrative use. And the story rarely goes where I think it's going to. (The dead rabbit? Felt a little clunky, but I loved it...)
My favorite lines: God says "Don't you miss me a little?" Joan: "No." God: "Do you miss yourself?" Joan looks confused, has no idea (or does she?). God: "I do."
I thought, Thomas Merton would be proud. God is the only who knows our true selves, and when we walk away from him, we lose the very selves we're looking for.
Thanks again, Ms. Hall...
9:09:23 AM 
|
