The good folks at teevee.org do a much better job of reviewing the new TV show Joan of Arcadia than I was doing while trying to explain the show to my mom over the weekend. I like this show, and the best explanation I could come up with about why is that “She talks to God, and it’s a religious show without being cheesy.”
Their take:
In Joan’s world, God is working all around us, but on His terms. We don’t get to see any miracles. Human beings are the conduits for the causes that lead to effects. Bad things still happen to good people, and we don’t understand why. Yes, there is a strain of Samaritanism in Joan, and a whole lot of self-actualization. But the end result is something that’s also spiritual, serious, and searching. The characters of Joan of Arcadia are muddling through with their lives, trying to figure out what’s right and what’s wrong, trying to be good people. And in Joan’s case, trying to literally do what God says she should do. She gets it from the horse’s mouth, and it’s still not as easy as it sounds.
But do read the whole review; it’s quite good.