It’s fine line between friendly noodling and outright hatred. The former is fun, like the Firefly or 24 TWoPs, but the hateful ones, I don’t really see what purpose they serve.
Well, I first figued it out after having watched the original four broadcast episodes, the entire series on DVD, and then as much of the DVD commentarities until someone first mentioned it.
:smack:
–Cliffy
Now that you’ve mentioned it …
Jeez, how’d I miss that?
I didn’t realize it till someone mentioned it on one of the commentaries. I love subtle stuff like that, too, and felt incredibly dense when it was pointed out to me.
This was one of the never-aired episodes, and when I watched it on the DVDs, I was shocked to see both Rue McClanahan and Louise Fletcher listed as guest stars.
They could get these two great actresses, and the show gets cancelled? :rolleyes:
Barrel Bear is one of my favorite episodes.
Huh. BB is one of my least favorite eps (although CLAW is my friend’s favorite gag from the whole show). OTTOMH the only one I liked less was Karma Chameleon.
That’s funny, because I feel very differently. Totem Mole is easily the worst episode IMO, but that might be a function of it being a pitstop in the increasingly tension-filled Jaye-Eric-Heidi love triangle. I don’t think Karma Chameleon is top three, but it’s good, and I love Barrel Bear. (“It’s not a fake! It’s a prop!”)
–Cliffy
I recommend this too. When its pointed out you can see the (sometimes jarring) transition between original content and network-suggested content.
Now to go alter my Netflix queue- buh. . .buh. . . BUH-BYE!
Another thing is for anyone who has spent any time in Niagara Falls…the series was set in Niagara Falls New York, but the falls shots are all from the Canadian side. I originally assumed it was supposed to be Canadian until they made a point of showing the Quarter, which was U.S.
There’s one shot of Wonderfalls Gift Emporium (there’s actually a building similar to that on the Canadian side called Table Rock House) where you can see this giant windmill over the top of the building. The one thing I distinctly remember from my drive up to Toronto from Niagara was the big windmill. It’s certainly not visible from the Falls…You have to drive about 130 km up the QEW before you see it, and if you’re non-metric-brained like me, 130 km is a pretty good distance…at least an hour’s drive on the highway.
They said in the commmentary that there were scenes where one person had his/her back to the Falls and the other had his/her back to the giftshop and they were scened on two completely different sites, one at Niagara Falls and the other in Toronto.
I just finished watching the series as well. It was really great, and I’ve now got yet one more reason to hate the Fox network… :mad:
I really like the off-kilter stories and filming style. The writing was smart and dialog really sharp. The cast was great, and I really liked the dynamics between the characters. The interaction between the parents and kids, as well as the kids with each other really rang true. I could really buy that they were a family.
Caroline Dhavernas was great as Jaye. She does an excellent job as a smart, beautiful snarky slacker, and yet could bring a tear to your eyes when her heart was breaking over the guy she couldn’t have.
And Katie Finneran was fantastic as Sharon. It was mentioned (more than once, I think) on the commentaries how good she is with reaction shots. The best was, iirc, in the episode where Karen is going out to dinner with a co-worker of Darrin’s. Darrin’s totally unconcerned about it, but Sharon’s outraged. Then Aaron comes with the flamingos he’s collected from the lawn and Katie does this sorta spasm like she’s about to have some kind of seizure, with a look on her face as if to say “do none of you see how insane you all are?!” I had to re-play it a couple times because it’s just hilarious. 
My favorite muse line: “I’ll tell you if you lick the light switch”. However, if the show had continued I’d hope they didn’t have her be able to really converse with the muses. It wouldn’t be as fun if they started giving her detailed info rather than just their general vague statements. I’d also hope that the producers never felt the need to explain why the animals talk. I think it’d be better if we never found out if the words are coming from God, the Devil, aliens, Jaye’s insanity or whatever.
The future storylines that they’ve mentioned would’ve been great to see. I didn’t feel the zaniness was ever too much, but I can understand some posters feeling that way. I can see there was potential for it to become over the top. I liked the show Northern Exposure, but it eventually got to the point where it just felt like they were throwing oddball stuff in because it was expected.
I agree that Totem Mole was the weakest episode. The dialog wasn’t as sharp and the story didn’t work as well. It didn’t have the same feel as the other episodes.
I also really love the theme song. Most shows I watch on DVD I fast forward through the opening credit, but not Wonderfalls (or Firefly). It’s wonderfully oddball with an off-kilter feel to it, just like the show. I don’t recall if it was it on one of the commentaries or what, but the production company didn’t want lyrics to the theme (it costs more because they’d have to pay the singer every time the show ran). Tim Minear went to bat for it because it was just so perfect. It was sad to hear them all sing along with it on the commentary for the final episode…
Y’know, last night I rewatched Totem Mole for the first time since my original run through, and it’s a lot better than I remembered. It’s not the best episode, but I think my disdain for it really was based primarily on the fact that the only other time I watched it I would have rather had more development on the main story. But watching it now, knowing how everything was resolved an episode later, I didn’t have the same impatience with it, and it’s pretty good.
–Cliffy
Enough with the worst episode stuff. How about the best? I’d probably vote for Crime Dog.
Lovesick Ass and Lying Pig are my favorites, although they’re all pretty much brilliant.
–Cliffy
Crime Dog is a favorite, but it is slightly eclipsed by Pink Flamingoes, because of the rooster yelling “Destroy Gretchen Speck! Destroy her!”
I think I like Pink Flamingos the best, too, if only for the completely unexpected flash-forward bit of Gretchen’s husband - meeting the paramedic, seeing the quick pictures of their wedding, their kids and grandkids and them growing old together.
On any other show, you would have seen the happily-ever-after bit with Gretchen and the blonde guy she was with in high school, but this was different. It made me laugh.
Isn’t that also the one that featured the bit with Jaye’s father doped up and catching Sharon and her new girlfriend going at it on the living room floor?
He commented the next morning, “Did you know our cable line-up came with the lesbian porn channel?” 
I haven’t watched my DVDs in a while - I’ve been on a NewsRadio and Scrubs jag. I think a Wonderfalls marathon is in order.
I’d have to vote for the one where Jaye thinks that Heidi-Ho is going to kill Bartender-Boy. That was really a dark episode, one in which Jaye seems to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown. The scene in the psychiatrist’s office at the end of the show was downright Hitchcockian.