Red River Scrapbook
The Critical Couch Potato Reviews the DVD Boxed Set, "Wonderfalls"
By J Osborne
Jan 28, 2005

Fox Home Entertainment has scheduled the release of the television series Wonderfalls for Tuesday. You need to watch this one. It’s worth the price and your time. But, be warned, it’s addictive.

I watched it without warning. I started watching it somewhere around 8 p.m. and then finally at about 3 a.m. I turned off my computer and flaked out.

This series is good. Fox called it quirky. It is that — and so much more. It’s charming, it’s fun to watch, it’s habit forming and it has superior acting and writing. When I watched the last episode — “Caged Bird” — on disc three the next night I was ready to start season two. But guess what? There was no season two. As a matter of fact, there was just barely a season one.

According to foxnow.com, Wonderfalls’ first two episodes averaged 4 million viewers each, and the show ranked No. 1 among teens and No. 2 among males 18-34 — decent ratings for a 9 p.m. Eastern Time on Fridays. Then after three shows, Fox doomed the show by moving it to Thursdays opposite powerhouses “The Apprentice” and “CSI” in its fourth week,

The show aired in 2004, on March 12, March 18, March 26, 2004 (Fridays) and then on Thursday, April 1.

First, Fox orders the show as a midseason replacement, which means it doesn’t get the fanfare and push of a fall launch. Second, Fox moves the show after an episode or two. Third, they move the show to the Thursday night death slot.

What I found unique — and great — about Wonderfalls is that at the end of the 13th show, it was as if I had just finished watching a really long interesting movie. I wasn’t keeping track this time, but I believe all the story arcs were closed and nothing was left hanging.

But, of course, this show was destined to be cancelled. This is the decade of the bottom line and of reality shows. This show is relatively unique. It’s humorous, entertaining, a little far out yet the characters are real enough that you really care about them. I think the show deserved to have a better chance than it was given.

I found myself getting caught up in the lives of the cast and the peculiar activities of its star, Caroline Dhavernas, while she went around trying to help people. It features some of the best-written comedic dialogue on TV. Its bizarre humor and its originality is Wonderfalls selling point. I can’t think of any other television series like it.

The concept sort of reminds me of a comedic “Tru Calling” except the protagonist is talking to animal figurines and drawings to lead characters to their destiny instead of to people who were “dead before their time.”

I know it’s foolish to hope, because probably the show would change, but I would like to see the show back on the television schedule, starting with the nine episodes that were never aired and then going on from there. The show is exemplary.

Cast: Caroline Dhavernas, Katie Finneran, Tyron Leitso, Lee Pace, William Sadler, Diana Scarwid and Tracie Thoms

Wonderfalls

Rating (**** 1/2 out of *****)

Synopsis: (Courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment) From the producer of Angel and Firefly comes Wonderfalls with 9 never aired episodes. Although a recent graduate of Brown University, Jaye Tyler decides to ignore her degree, live in a trailer and work at a tourist gift shop. Set against the backdrop of Niagara Falls, Wonderfalls is a quirky one-hour family dramedy about an underachieving twenty-something souvenir shop worker named Jaye Tyler. Her life is forever changed when inanimate figures – including toys, cartoons and anything in the form of an animal, begin to talk to her. In each episode, the creatures' cryptic messages set into motion a chain of unpredictable events that invariably lead Jaye into the lives of others in need.

Throughout the series' bizarre situations and madcap adventures, Jaye seeks advice from her best buddy Mahandra and befriends Eric, a local bartender who tries to help answer her unrequited questions. Is the universe conspiring against her? Is this real or just her imagination? Should she struggle with fate or surrender to destiny? Whatever the outcome one thing is for certain - Jaye will discover that the world around her is a magical place and that the seemingly random events in her life are actually all part of something much greater.

DVD extras

Disc 1:

Episodes:

Wax Lion, Pink Flamingos, Karma Chameleon and Wound-up Penguin.

Special Features:

• Greetings from Wonderfalls (23:16)

• Wax Lion Commentary by Caroline Dhavarnes, Katie Finneran, Todd Holland and Bryan Fuller.

Disc 2:

Episodes: Crime Dog, Muffin Buffalo, Barrel Bear and Lovesick Ass,

Special Features:

• Lovesick Ass Commentary by Caroline Dhavarnes, Katie Finneran, Todd Holland and Bryan Fuller.

• Crime Dog Commentary by Caroline Dhavarnes, Katie Finneran, Todd Holland and Bryan Fuller.

• Fantastic Visual Effects (2:58)

• Music Video (5:00)

Disc 3:

Episodes: Safety Canary, Lying Pig, Cocktail Bunny, Totem Mole and Caged Bird,

Special Features:

• Safety Canary Commentary by Caroline Dhavarnes, Katie Finneran, Todd Holland and Bryan Fuller.

• Caged Bird Commentary by Caroline Dhavarnes, Katie Finneran, Todd Holland and Bryan Fuller.

• Cocktail Bunny Commentary by Caroline Dhavarnes, Katie Finneran, Todd Holland and Bryan Fuller.

DVD Running Time: 566 minutes