Wonder-Full

Wonderfalls
(Todd Holland and Bryan Fuller, 2004)

4.5 Stars

I watch too much TV. I’ll freely admit that. And in my never-ending quest to find the world’s greatest programming, I inevitably stumble upon some godawful shows along the way. Many of said shows run for years, bringing about that age old question “why is there never anything good on tele?”

And I shall tell you why there’s nothing good on, dear reader; it’s because that elite group of absolute genii that make up the high-earning producers of TVLand keep cancelling the good shows before anyone knows about them. Give plenty of advertising to brainless trite like Two and a Half Men (season eight now is it??) and Keeping up with the Kardashians, and no wonder the world is such a depressing place.

So we turn to Bryan Fuller, a man who has paved his way into cult culture by creating some of the most wonderful and life-affirming shows of the last decade. None of which made it past a second season. Shows such as the wickedly dark Dead Like Me, and the Technicolor wonder of Pushing Daisies, both of which were axed by foolish producers long before their time, and have since garnered huge followings via the wonder of DVD and the interweb. Not even fellow victim of cancellation Joss Whedon can live up to Fuller’s “success”; Buffy ran for seven years. And ended on Whedon’s terms.

Wonderfalls (which I admit I did not discover until researching last week’s Tarquin’s Top Ten, and would’ve certainly made the list of premature cancellations) is, like Fuller’s other creations, a bright yet somehow maudlin take on the world, shot in brilliant colour, juxtaposed with a delightfully depressing and altogether life-affirming story. It’s all really quite complex actually… Fuller is masterful in his depiction of a world that is so dreadful to live in, that we can’t help but want to enjoy it. And life. Hmm…

Anyways. Wonderfalls centres around underachieving Niagara Falls gift-shop employee Jaye (palyed with wonderfully sardonic air by Canadian actress Caroline Dhavernas) who one day discovers that inanimate objects talk to her, giving her cryptic advice and ordering her to help her fellow man. It’s kind of a modern day Joan of Arc story. And a better one than Joan of Arcadia certainly. On top of her new found animal muses, Jaye must deal with her overly obtrusive family (including the wonderful Lee Pace, who would later star in Fuller’s Pushing Daisies, as her theologist brother), a blossoming relationship with a married man (Tyron Leitso - Dinotopia, House of the Dead), and having the horribly pushy Tracie Thoms (Rent, Cold Case) as a best friend. It’s a tough life.

Thankfully, the all too few thirteen episodes of Wonderfalls encapsulate an entire self-contained story, and although it could clearly have run for seasons to come, this is one of those rare cancellations that manage to leave the audience just sated enough when the final credits roll. Bitterly funny, hopelessly romantic and altogether beautifully crafted, Wonderfalls is a real piece of rare TV gold, and one that alas, like so many, remain buried save for we merry few that traverse the mines to find them.

Keep it together Bry; one day we’ll cause a gold rush.