# Joan of Arcadia 4/22, or The Truth is Revealed **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 22, 2005, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-of-arcadia-4-22-or-the-truth-is-revealed/300620 "2005-04-22T16:03:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2005, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-of-arcadia-4-22-or-the-truth-is-revealed/300620/1 "2005-04-22T16:03:49Z")
It appears the last two years have been preparation for the real [challenge](http://www.cbs.com/primetime/joan_of_arcadia/). This is the season finale. It’s a little troubling that they’re airing it before May sweeps. I want to ask everyone to send a quick e-mail to CBS and tell them how much you like this show. I’d hate to see it cancelled. See you at 9pm! ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2005, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-of-arcadia-4-22-or-the-truth-is-revealed/300620/2 "2005-04-23T04:13:30Z")
Man, this ep was creepy. It may take the show off my must-watch list. ---
**Author:** ![inkleberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f17d59/32.png) [@inkleberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/inkleberry)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2005, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-of-arcadia-4-22-or-the-truth-is-revealed/300620/3 "2005-04-23T04:20:50Z")
Arrrrrrrgh! I missed it!!! I pound my head on the wall and gnash my teeth! Quick, someone say that they have a copy I can borrow… ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2005, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-of-arcadia-4-22-or-the-truth-is-revealed/300620/4 "2005-04-23T05:30:30Z")
I was a little put off by the special effects. Seemed unnecessary. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2005, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-of-arcadia-4-22-or-the-truth-is-revealed/300620/5 "2005-04-23T06:21:57Z")
I hear you, **Snooooopy**. I got tired of all that wind blowing stuff around. It was quite effectively disturbing, though…The destruction and desecration, the doubts, Judith’s re-appearances, the various Gods, and Joan still feeling left alone to deal with Ryan. Does this show have very low ratings or something? WTF? I’ve been hearing that it’s endangered, but how can that be?? ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2005, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-of-arcadia-4-22-or-the-truth-is-revealed/300620/6 "2005-04-23T07:38:09Z")
> [@inkleberry](#): > > Arrrrrrrgh! I missed it!!! I pound my head on the wall and gnash my teeth! > > Quick, someone say that they have a copy I can borrow… Haven’t seen it yet but have it on DVR. Could burn you a DVD of it. Email me. ---
**Author:** ![threeorange](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@threeorange](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/threeorange)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2005, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-of-arcadia-4-22-or-the-truth-is-revealed/300620/7 "2005-04-23T09:58:12Z")
> [@vivalostwages](#): > > It was quite effectively disturbing, though…The destruction and desecration, the doubts, Judith’s re-appearances, the various Gods, and Joan still feeling left alone to deal with Ryan. > > Does this show have very low ratings or something? WTF? I’ve been hearing that it’s endangered, but how can that be?? It was disturbing, and a great ep because of it! There were hints a few eps back that Joan was beginning to see a larger purpose in her God encounters, and now it’s been made explicit. I like Helen’s new abilities (also previously hinted at), and how Joan’s friends have noticed her strange behavior. I will really be pissed if CBS doesn’t renew this show. I’m not sure what constitutes “good” ratings, but hopefully viewership loyalty will be factored into their decisions. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2005, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-of-arcadia-4-22-or-the-truth-is-revealed/300620/8 "2005-04-23T11:32:27Z")
[We’re waiting for CBS to announce its fall season in May](http://tv.zap2it.com/tveditorial/tve_main/1,1002,271%7C94817%7C1%7C,00.html). There’s two types of ad buys, upfront and scatter. The broadcast year runs from October to September and the networks are gearing up now to make presentations to the advertisers for upfront buys. That’s where you get the client to commit to buying ad time for the whole year. Then there’s scatter buys, where the client comes in and says, “Oh, we have an extra $X we want to spend for the next few weeks.” That can come in any time, but the big deals are made during the upfronts. So Lilly was considering returning to the nunnery a la Maria Von Trapp to escape her feelings for Kevin. Is there not a “re-intergration” therapy for ex-nuns? I’m still not clear on the whole creepy aspect of Ryan. On the one hand, he’s a fine, upstanding young man who wants to contribute to society (and a big boo to TPTB for making Ryan say he’s been lucky. Unless you win the lottery, you get rich through hard work and dedication and making smart choices, not by being “lucky”) and on the other hand he lets Joan know that he talks to God but he resents doing it? If God told him to go take a walk and help find Adam, why would he do it if he hates God? And how did Joan make the leap that he was the one destroying religious institutions? I’m thinking Ryan is more of a Prodigal Son rather than an agent of the devil. And seeing Grace huddle with her father while the synagogue burned broke my heart. Ya-Ya=Yahweh? I think so! Please, if you haven’t done so, contact CBS. If Joan is on the cusp of cancellation, maybe we can push it back from the brink. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2005, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-of-arcadia-4-22-or-the-truth-is-revealed/300620/9 "2005-04-23T13:16:55Z")
Not a very dramatic episode compared to last season’s finale; nevertheless, the best episode of both seasons. At long last, Joan is growing up, and showing some semblance of grasping her identity. A mature and knowing glare has replaced the kooky naive blank stare. A profound determination and strength of resolve have replaced the huffy and exasperated sighs of taking on assignments. It has been a quiet epiphany, more like an unheralded birth of awareness. Everywhere Hunter walks, random trash sullies the environment. He has charmed the friends of his enemy. He has manipulated the earth and the air to his own advantage. He has desecrated everything good and holy. He seems to have great power. And yet… Joan has all she needs to defeat him. If this show continues moving forward in this way, it will achieve its potential. The message for me has been that goodness is not about rules; it is about relationships. Goodness is whatever edifies — building and strengthening yourself and others around you. It has nothing to do with what you eat, or what you wear, or whether you go to church, or how you like your sex. It has everything to do with being a conduit through which goodness may flow. I call that love, the facilitation of goodness. And I like the message. It’s what I already believe. ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2005, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-of-arcadia-4-22-or-the-truth-is-revealed/300620/10 "2005-04-24T02:26:15Z")
Gaaaah!! The folks at _Joan_ need to talk to the folks who follow them up at _Numbers_ aobut science. That explination of the electromagnetic spectrum was horrid. I was expecting owrse from explinations of radiation on _Numbers_ but I was shocked on what an accurate and complete description of the dangers of ionizing radiation (and using this particular phrase). ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2005, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-of-arcadia-4-22-or-the-truth-is-revealed/300620/11 "2005-04-24T11:55:36Z")
Well, one _could_ argue that the electromagnetic theory explanation came from a 16 year old kid trying to explain it to his 17 year old sister in a way she could understand it. Or did Luke get it completely wrong? When Joan asked where God fit into the theory, Luke said something like, “Oh, no. That’s unified (something something) theory and that’s mine.” What was he talking about and does that mean that Luke accepts the scientific possibility/reality of God? ---
**Author:** ![threeorange](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@threeorange](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/threeorange)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2005, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-of-arcadia-4-22-or-the-truth-is-revealed/300620/12 "2005-04-24T13:25:10Z")
> [@kidchameleon](#): > > Gaaaah!! > > The folks at _Joan_ need to talk to the folks who follow them up at _Numbers_ aobut science. That explination of the electromagnetic spectrum was horrid. I was expecting owrse from explinations of radiation on _Numbers_ but I was shocked on what an accurate and complete description of the dangers of ionizing radiation (and using this particular phrase). Please explain the electromagnetic spectrum. Even with my own limited knowledge of physics, I have occasionaly wondered about the accuracy of the science on this show; but as it’s a show about theology, and not mathematics, like **Numb3rs** , I could always cut them some slack (provided they don’t delve into blatant pseudoscience like young-earth creationism). There was a lot in this episode. I suspect that some of the things introduced (and revisited) on this season’s finale (particularly Ryan’s insinuating himself into the lives of the people around Joan) may have originally been slated to be explored at a more measured pace during season three, but had to be rushed into focus to guarantee an audience response that would make a season three possible. Well, it worked on me! Whom should we contact at CBS, and how? ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2005, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-of-arcadia-4-22-or-the-truth-is-revealed/300620/13 "2005-04-24T13:52:25Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > Well, one _could_ argue that the electromagnetic theory explanation came from a 16 year old kid trying to explain it to his 17 year old sister in a way she could understand it. Or did Luke get it completely wrong? > > When Joan asked where God fit into the theory, Luke said something like, “Oh, no. That’s unified (something something) theory and that’s mine.” What was he talking about and does that mean that Luke accepts the scientific possibility/reality of God? I haven’t seen this new ep - was the scene a flashback? Because in the very first ep, Joan & Luke had a similar conversation & yes, Luke did in that conversation accept the scientific possibility of God ---
**Author:** ![SiXSwordS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/49beb7/32.png) [@SiXSwordS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SiXSwordS)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2005, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-of-arcadia-4-22-or-the-truth-is-revealed/300620/14 "2005-04-24T14:08:10Z")
> [@threeorange](#): > > I suspect that some of the things introduced … on this season’s finale … may have originally been slated [for] season three, but had to be rushed … I got the feeling that the whole show had been retooled. It seemed like a different show, less about adolescence and other life problems and more about mysterious phenomenon and spooky devil stuff. I didn’t do any research, but I even wondered if they had new writers. It could just be the season ending, but I have a feeling next season will be more like that ep and less like previous eps. ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2005, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-of-arcadia-4-22-or-the-truth-is-revealed/300620/15 "2005-04-24T14:31:42Z")
> [@vivalostwages](#): > > Does this show have very low ratings or something? WTF? I’ve been hearing that it’s endangered, but how can that be?? Roughly twice as many people watched it last season. That’s a big drop. ---
**Author:** ![Julius\_Henry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8797f3/32.png) [@Julius\_Henry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Julius_Henry)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2005, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-of-arcadia-4-22-or-the-truth-is-revealed/300620/16 "2005-04-24T15:03:14Z")
> [@SiXSwordS](#): > > I didn’t do any research, but I even wondered if they had new writers. Barbara Hall, who created the show and serves as Executive Producer, wrote that episode. > [@vivalostwages](#): > > Does this show have very low ratings or something? WTF? I’ve been hearing that it’s endangered, but how can that be?? According to the television critic in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, JoA may not be renewed for a third season, but no decision has been made yet. The fact that the season finale was not shown during the May sweeps does not bode well for Arcadia. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2005, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-of-arcadia-4-22-or-the-truth-is-revealed/300620/17 "2005-04-24T21:32:27Z")
> [@threeorange](#): > > Whom should we contact at CBS, and how? I’m not going to provide a direct link because of the ban on e-mail campaigns. (See the sticky at the top of MPSIMS.) But if you go to [cbs.com](http://cbs.com), at the bottom of the website is a link to Feedback. Click there, and it will take you to a form you can fill out. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2005, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-of-arcadia-4-22-or-the-truth-is-revealed/300620/18 "2005-04-24T22:00:42Z")
> [@threeorange](#): > > Please explain the electromagnetic spectrum. Even with my own limited knowledge of physics, I have occasionaly wondered about the accuracy of the science on this show; but as it’s a show about theology, and not mathematics, like **Numb3rs** , I could always cut them some slack (provided they don’t delve into blatant pseudoscience like young-earth creationism). > > There was a lot in this episode. I suspect that some of the things introduced (and revisited) on this season’s finale (particularly Ryan’s insinuating himself into the lives of the people around Joan) may have originally been slated to be explored at a more measured pace during season three, but had to be rushed into focus to guarantee an audience response that would make a season three possible. Well, it worked on me! Whom should we contact at CBS, and how? Yes, explain how they knew magnetism and elecricity were the same and how the then discovered light was too and how they came to realize gravity was too and how they reconcile the idea that so were the “weak” and “strong” ? 😕 forces. ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2005, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-of-arcadia-4-22-or-the-truth-is-revealed/300620/19 "2005-04-24T22:13:12Z")
> [@SiXSwordS](#): > > I got the feeling that the whole show had been retooled. It seemed like a different show, less about adolescence and other life problems and more about mysterious phenomenon and spooky devil stuff. I agree. I’m wondering if Joan has jumped the shark. As **SmackFu** noted, ratings are down, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this wasn’t a desperate attempt to grab viewers. If so, I’m disappointed and probably won’t continue watching. One of the things that draws me to the show is the subtlety of Joan’s lessons and her relationships with friends and family, _not_ Omen IV (or whatever was the last version of Omen).