Joan of Arcadia

"Joan of Arcadia" was a terrific show about a 16-year-old who received regular visits from God, asking her to do different tasks. Joan, the titular character, was often cheeky and annoyed by God, who appeared in various forms like a Punk teen, a young girl, and and old woman to name a few. Joan never understood why God was asking her to do what he did until the end of the episode, where she would begin to learn about how we are all connected and that our actions, large and small, can make the biggest of changes.

Joan, of course, had the small circle of friends including Grace, Adam, her younger brother Luke and his on and off friend Friedman. Her family had recently been through the car accident of her older brother Kevin that had left him paralyzed from the waist down and left her mother questioning her faith. Over the two seasons, Joan's mother began to rediscover her faith (and realize that there was more going on in the world than she thought), Kevin began to create a new life for himself, her father struggled to make the world a better place and Luke just tried to get by.

The final few episodes introduced a new character, Ryan Hunter (played by "Prison Break's Wentworth Miller). Ryan seemed to be the ideal citizen, involved in not only the local school, but with the police, newspaper and community in general. Eventually he, or God (can't remember), that he could also see God, but had chosen a different path...one where he perhaps listened to someone else. God tells Joan that the past two years were practice for what was to come, preparation for her greatest challenge. Joan quickly discovered Ryan's darker side and it was clear that her greatest challenge would in some way involve him, though everyone thought he was a wonderful person.

Despite my best efforts, I have not been able to find anything concrete about what would have come in the third season. There are rumors that the show's creator/writer, Barbara Hall, will one day write a book about Joan's "greatest" challenge. I've e-mailed her without response (yet...I'm holding out hope). A poster on the Internet Movie Database claims the third season would have centered around twins--one who spoke to God, and the other the Devil, and the Devil himself (possibly Ryan?). Another website claimed that Joan's friends would eventually learn her secret and become her "army."

So nothing concrete...but I'll keep searching. In the meantime, fans can show their support at www.savejoanofarcadia.com.