Day 1 - how exciting!
Wonderfalls was a phenomenal (though short-lived) show on Fox. If you know anything about the Fox network, then you know it has a (well-earned) bad reputation for cancelling great shows before they have time to find an audience. This is one of those casualties - I believe they only aired 4 of the 13 episodes that had been produced, but luckily we got to see the whole shebang on DVD. It was written by Bryan Fuller, who is currently helming Pushing Daisies on ABC. And let's just say you might see his name attached to one of the other shows I'm giving my stamp of approval to this week...
In the opening of the first episode, we learn the legend of Wonderfalls and the Maid of the Mist -
an indian woman given up to the angry Waterfall God as a sacrifice. The Maid freely surrendered to her destiny in the end, with the God supposedly enchanting Niagara Falls for cenuries to come. The thing with destiny, though, is that it sometimes comes for people who want nothing to do with it...
The show is set around Niagara and focuses on Jaye Tyler, a character with equal parts intelligence, cynicism and humor. We learn early on that after graduating from an Ivy League school, Jaye found the pressures of the real world to be too much. She ended up working at Wonderfalls - a gift shop in this tourist trap hell. She cut herself off from her well-respected family and moved into a trailer park, just to prove she could make it on her own. Just listening to her snarky responses to customers, fellow employees and her disfunctional family would probably have been enough to carry the show, but the mythology the show sets up is much more fun - or insane, depending on your point of view.
Here's the basics: inanimate objects start talking to Jaye. From a wax lion to a muffin buffalo, and any animals in between, these guys start telling her to do things. Simple, one-sentence statements from toys and the like. Obviously she's losing it, right?
Wrong. It turns out when she listens, she starts helping people (much to her chagrin, considering her narcissistic personality). But how can you feel like your losing your mind and continue listening to the voices? Well, that balancing act is what makes the show so perfect in its absurdity. As Jaye slowly surrenders to being "fate's bitch" (her words, not mine), the show gets solid footing. Unfortunately, Fox canned it before it aired that long. Too smart for its own good, as it turns out - but a bite-sized series that is the perfect fit for these barren t.v. times.
But now you can:
Amaze! - As Jaye saves countless dumb people!
Enthrall! - To the budding relationship between Jaye and bartender Eric (don't worry, he's equally screwed up)!
Recognize! - That yes, Jaye's brother Aaron is indeed played by Lee Pace, who is the Piemaker in Pushing Daisies!
Have fun with this one, and I'll have another pick tomorrow...
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