# Joan of Arcadia 5/21, Or Are You There God? It's Me, Joan **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 21, 2004, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-of-arcadia-5-21-or-are-you-there-god-its-me-joan/246387 "2004-05-21T17:19:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-of-arcadia-5-21-or-are-you-there-god-its-me-joan/246387/1 "2004-05-21T17:19:20Z")
> **[CBS Shows - Popular Primetime, Daytime, Late Night & Classics](https://www.cbs.com/shows/)** > > Watch full episodes and clips of Popular Primetime, Daytime, Late Night and Classic shows on CBS.com. Talk with other fans, catch up with your favorite shows and more. Season finale. Joan comes down with Lyme disease and God stops talking to her. Or does Joan stop hearing him? Hmmmm??? Sigh. It’s going to be a long summer without our Joan. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-of-arcadia-5-21-or-are-you-there-god-its-me-joan/246387/2 "2004-05-21T18:34:46Z")
Looks like it’ll be good, Ivy. Apparently, she has some hallucinations while sick and begins to wonder whether her interactions with God were hallucinations as well. I guess that’s when she loses her faith. But meanwhile, God apparently is talking to her mother. That should be very interesting. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-of-arcadia-5-21-or-are-you-there-god-its-me-joan/246387/3 "2004-05-21T22:27:52Z")
I wonder what the cliffhanger will be. And what WILL those crazy kids do over the summer?? ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-of-arcadia-5-21-or-are-you-there-god-its-me-joan/246387/4 "2004-05-21T22:55:11Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > Looks like it’ll be good, Ivy. … But meanwhile, God apparently is talking to her mother. That should be very interesting. This one does look good. It’s Cute Teenage God from the first episode (and another episode) who’s talking with her mom. I can’t wait. I actually have no plans and no kids that are elsewhere that need picking up, so I get to watch it in its entirety and in real time! Yay! ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-of-arcadia-5-21-or-are-you-there-god-its-me-joan/246387/5 "2004-05-21T23:45:27Z")
Hey, **Biblio** , I missed you in the last thread. Did you ever get to watch the Did They or Didn’t They episode? ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-of-arcadia-5-21-or-are-you-there-god-its-me-joan/246387/6 "2004-05-22T01:02:51Z")
Oh God, how I love this show!!! It was scary, it was mysterious, it was glorious, it was emotional, it was everything! Adam zinged my heart again, when everyone is talking about Joan’s moods and how she’s going to go back to the old Joan. Adam, very quietly, says, “I didn’t know her before. I like how she is now.” He just slays me. Why do I want to just rush over and hug him? Luke and Grace…wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!! I was screaming at the end…You can’t end it like that! Then Cute Guy God came in and what, blessed her? Gave her comfort? Erased her memory? I think he came in to bless her. I can’t wait until this show comes out on DVD. ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-of-arcadia-5-21-or-are-you-there-god-its-me-joan/246387/7 "2004-05-22T01:14:47Z")
Another very nice job – sentimental without being too sentimental. I especially liked the last scene: Joan was asleep and had lost her faith, yet he was there all the same. And this from an agnostic. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Elvis\_Rojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@El\_Elvis\_Rojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Elvis_Rojo)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-of-arcadia-5-21-or-are-you-there-god-its-me-joan/246387/8 "2004-05-22T01:49:43Z")
I only get to watch the show on occassion, and I’m glad I saw this episode. This is a really good show! The “You promised!” line was pretty heart wrenching. I also liked the artistic way that God(s) started getting covered in shadow as she started to doubt just before she left. And what was up with the creepy twins? Really good episode. I love the intereaction with the brother, and the mother is a great character. Just out of curiosity, though…why does the dad hate religion so much? ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-of-arcadia-5-21-or-are-you-there-god-its-me-joan/246387/9 "2004-05-22T01:54:01Z")
> [@El Elvis Rojo](#): > > Just out of curiosity, though…why does the dad hate religion so much? You hang out on _this_ board and you ask why somebody hates religion? Oh, and they weren’t creepy… it was just Mary-Kate and Ashley being themselves. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-of-arcadia-5-21-or-are-you-there-god-its-me-joan/246387/10 "2004-05-22T02:26:06Z")
Remembered to turn on the TV but most of the show was taken up with weather bulletins, and when they did go back to the show, it was in time for commercials. I’m hoping the local station will rerun it soon, because the parts I saw were pretty interesting. I’m kicking myself for not listening to you folks and getting into it sooner. ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-of-arcadia-5-21-or-are-you-there-god-its-me-joan/246387/11 "2004-05-22T03:00:41Z")
Without question my favorite episode of the season. I enjoyed the episode from top to bottom. I think my favorite part was when she was explaining to Adam about how she talks with god. Throughout the entire season she did nothing but complain about how much of a hassle having to talk to god really was, but when it comes right down to it she needs it (not precisely the word I want, but it’s close) and she realises it. I found it tragic that she honestly feels it was the disease. The part that hit me the hardest was the “God isn’t real” part. And the topper, god was still with her at the end. THis episode had a completely different feel to it than the others. It was a little bit eerie, a little bit tragic, a little bit strange, a little bit heartwrenching, and it all pulled me in from beginning to end. I have a pretty good idea where next season is going to go and I hope I’m right. Such a great TV show I’m so glad it’s on. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-of-arcadia-5-21-or-are-you-there-god-its-me-joan/246387/12 "2004-05-22T03:43:39Z")
I’m with **drm** – I think this was the best episode of the show so far. I cried when Joan realized that her visions of God could have been just hallucinations. Her sense of loss and her grief were palpable in that scene. Amber Tamblyn did a fantastic job. One small gesture I loved was when Helen was in church and CuteGuyGod called her name and then he disappeared and the priest was standing there. That was God speaking through another human being…I loved that. I also loved what Helen said at the end about consolation and desolation. It’s true – you grow through experiencing the desert and not the garden, and the great saints write about the dark night of the soul and how they emerged on the other side with a profound understanding of the divine. I can’t wait to see how Joan copes with her desolation next season. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-of-arcadia-5-21-or-are-you-there-god-its-me-joan/246387/13 "2004-05-22T04:24:30Z")
> [@El Elvis Rojo](#): > > And what was up with the creepy twins? I think that was Joan’s “Shining.” [Groundskeeper Willie]“Shinning! D’ya want to get suuuued?”[/Willie] ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-of-arcadia-5-21-or-are-you-there-god-its-me-joan/246387/14 "2004-05-22T05:03:14Z")
Great episode. Creepy and touching and powerful. One of my favorite parts was when she was doing the three-legged race with the assistant principal and his eyes flashed all green-reptilian and Joan demanded, “Are you the Devil?” The spouse and I have been speculating all season that he’s the Devil–I wonder if this was a throwaway on their part or if it was a nice bit of foreshadowing… ---
**Author:** ![Ripley2004](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ba9def/32.png) [@Ripley2004](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ripley2004)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-of-arcadia-5-21-or-are-you-there-god-its-me-joan/246387/15 "2004-05-22T05:22:15Z")
Due to ahem, tornadoes in our area, I missed the last few minutes–catching only the last 30 seconds or so when "cute god’ visited a sleeping Joan. From the point when her parents were hanging out on the sofa in her hospital room discussing their odd day and Joan awake in bed interjecting something like “God isn’t real,” I missed it. Did Joan say anything that was important to the storyline in the last few minutes of the show? Thanks in advance! ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-of-arcadia-5-21-or-are-you-there-god-its-me-joan/246387/16 "2004-05-22T05:30:31Z")
Chris Marquette (Adam) is one of the better teen actors I’ve seen in a long time. Often, I judge actors by how well they can express themselves without speaking. He showed that when Joan was telling him her secret in the hospital room. I went to see the recent **The Girl Next Door** mostly to see how he handled another role (Okay, I also went because I like goofy teen comedies and Elisha Cuthbert is exceedingly sexy). Marquette’s great moment of acting in that one is when he realizes his buddy wants him to come along on a road trip to Vegas to attend an adult film convention. He doesn’t speak, but you can see every thought that passed through that kid’s mind. Two main things happened in this episode that have never happened before. First, God seemed to be doing tricks. In all the past episodes I’ve seen, He’s never visually showed off like that. But that probably was actually Lyme disease hallucinations rather than actual manifestations. Second, supernatural stuff was happening to her parents as well. God sort of appeared to Joan’s mom, and her dad had a conversation with with a dead woman. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-of-arcadia-5-21-or-are-you-there-god-its-me-joan/246387/17 "2004-05-22T07:24:20Z")
May I just say once again that I love Goth God? ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-of-arcadia-5-21-or-are-you-there-god-its-me-joan/246387/18 "2004-05-22T11:27:14Z")
> [@gallows fodder](#): > > I’m with **drm** – I think this was the best episode of the show so far. > > One small gesture I loved was when Helen was in church and CuteGuyGod called her name and then he disappeared and the priest was standing there. That was God speaking through another human being…I loved that. I also think this was the best one yet. It also wrapped things up nicely in case it wasn’t renewed - it has been renewed, hasn’t it? I loved that bit in the church with the disappearing Cute God who turned into the regular priest that Helen knew from before. Nice twist. I also loved the part at the end, with Joan saying God wasn’t real, and then we saw Him coming in (the very first God she saw) and sort of watching over her as she slept. Yes, **ivylass** , I think he was blessing her. The part with the mother who appeared to Joan’s father after she died was weird, though. I knew something was up when the lights were flickering. ---
**Author:** ![Papermache\_Prince](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f05b48/32.png) [@Papermache\_Prince](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Papermache_Prince)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-of-arcadia-5-21-or-are-you-there-god-its-me-joan/246387/19 "2004-05-22T12:00:53Z")
According to [the futon critic](http://66.51.173.18/cgi/gofuton.cgi?action=showatch&id=joan_of_arcadia), _Joan_ was renewed in January - but it is reassuring that it’s also on the CBS [fall schedule](http://www.cbs.com/primetime/fall_preview_2004/) page. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-of-arcadia-5-21-or-are-you-there-god-its-me-joan/246387/20 "2004-05-22T13:09:05Z")
Now see, I took the light changing with all the God avatars to mean time was passing. I don’t know the significance of that. I’m hoping they wrap up the domestic abuse plotline next year too. Was the husband really abused by his wife, or, since some of the wounds were years old, it was his mother? I suspected it might have been the mother. **El Elvis Rojo** , I think Will lost his faith about the time his father left his family to start a new life (see the thread where we meet his half-brother.) Helen lost hers about the time of Kevin’s accident. And wasn’t that dream sequence cool? Didn’t the very first episode show Joan waking up from a bad dream as well? That scene where Joan was trying to tell Adam that she’d been talking to God, and he wanted to believe her but couldn’t was heart-breaking. I hope they can work through this. Again, Luke and Grace…WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joan-of-arcadia-5-21-or-are-you-there-god-its-me-joan/246387.md?page=2)