Wonderfalls

December 04, 2006

Here’s the thing about the premise of “Wonderfalls:" it’s part coming of age comedy, part science fiction drama, part Joan-of-Arc-narrative. And all of it is nearly impossible to pin down. Nevertheless, for a show that lasted on-air for only four episodes, “Wonderfalls” is repeatedly on every list of shows marked brilliant, but cancelled.

One of the most (if not the most) critically acclaimed shows of the 2004 season, “Wonderfalls” had a flawless creative team. Spearheaded by Todd Holland, Bryan Fuller (“Dead Like Me,” “Heroes”) and Tim Minear (“Firefly”), the show boasted a perfect cast and an inventive idea.

“Wonderfalls” told the story of Jaye Tyler (played with great energy by Caroline Dhavernas), an Ivy League-educated philosophy major who moves back to her hometown near Niagara Falls. She gets a job working retail in a souvenir shop, lives in an “I Dream of Jeanie”-looking trailer, and is spoken to by inanimate objects. The show not only crosses genre boundaries, it twists and shapes them into something fantastic, and something brand new. It is also a reason why Fox, and some viewers, didn’t know what to make of it.

Each episode begins with an inanimate object (a souvenir teddy bear, lawn flamingo, mounted fish -- to name a few) speaking to Jaye, and giving her instructions in the form of a cryptic quote. She must follow their instructions, even if she doesn’t know what they mean, or face the consequences -- which vary from her father getting run over in the driveway to one of the objects keeping Jaye up all night with his singing. She then finds herself performing good deeds, intentionally or not, and helping those around her.

One only needs to go to the show’s many sites to begin to understand the complexity of pinning a show like this down. IMDB.com lists the show’s keywords as “inanimate objects” and “supernatural”. Wikipedia lists it under “fantasy television”, “comedy-drama” and “LGBT-related television” (Jaye’s sister Sharon, played beautifully by Kate Finneran, is a closeted lesbian). TV.com categorizes it as a “drama”, while TVIV.org calls it a “romantic comedy”. All of those descriptions are correct, but it made Fox’s job of finding the right audience difficult.

Of course, airing the show only four times (three of which in a dreaded Friday night slot), and out of chronological order (similar to Joss Whedon’s “Firefly,” another adventurous Fox show cancelled that season), may have had something to do with “Wonderfalls” failing to find its niche.

So Fox aired three episodes on Friday nights, and then one last one on a Thursday night, opposite “The Apprentice” while it was at its most powerful. Another episode was advertised, but the plug was pulled, and the show was cancelled.

However, in those four episodes, “Wonderfalls” caught the well-deserved attention of some viewers, and a grassroots effort by the show’s fanbase to keep the show on the air emerged. They wanted to either move the show to another network or, at the very least, release the remaining episodes that never aired. They were successful in their efforts, and all 13 episodes are now available on DVD and also currently air on LOGO. While “Wonderfalls” didn’t get the Nielsen attention it deserved while on Fox, the show’s loyal fans saved it from obscurity, for the benefit of discerning television viewers everywhere.