Bring her home

I think there's some cosmic rule at play here. The Fox network canceled Wonderfalls after four episodes, so of course it's the fifth episode ("Crime Dog") that brings it all together for me and makes me not just a bemused viewer but an outright fan.

In case you're new to Wonderfalls, this 2004 series executive-produced by Tim Minear (Firefly, Angel, Buffy, etc.) stars Caroline Dhavernas as Jaye Tyler, a Gen-Y slacker whose life is turned upside down when inanimate objects - usually toys like that bear in the picture - start talking to her and urging her to do good deeds. A terrific ensemble cast surrounds Dhavernas as Jaye's family, co-workers and friends.

The show is funny, intelligent and heartwarming in a non-cloying way, so naturally it stood no chance of surviving in the TV wasteland. Minear had the good sense to complete 13 episodes anyway with an eye on the DVD market. I understand from hearing a podcast interview that Minear suspected these 13 shows would be his only shot with these wonderfully quirky characters, so he created a fairly self-contained story arc. At this point I don't know where it goes from the fifth episode, but I'm hooked.

I'm sure I will wish there were more than these 13 episodes, but on the other hand it's nice to know I'll be able to take in the whole story in a matter of days or a couple of weeks. I'm finding it a bit daunting to seek out the entire Buffy and Angel saga, which is making me ever more reluctant to tackle the other very worthy shows I missed the first time around, like Babylon 5 and Stargate SG-1. Life is more than cool TV shows, after all. Still, I'm extremely pleased I didn't miss Wonderfalls.