Wonderfalls: Complete Series

[theskooch]

The Cast
Caroline Dhavernas .... Jaye Tyler
Katie Finneran .... Sharon Tyler
Tyron Leitso .... Eric Gotts
Lee Pace .... Aaron Tyler
William Sadler .... Darrin Tyler
Diana Scarwid .... Karen Tyler
Tracie Thoms .... Mahandra McGinty
Scotch Ellis Loring .... Dr. Ron Campbell Recurring

Created by Todd Holland and Bryan Fuller

The Premise
Ever get the feeling that you're stuck in a rut, and that you're not living up to your full potential? Ever come to that realisation and just pretty much accept it for the time being? If you're anything like me, you've been there, and will easily identify with Wonderfalls lead character, Jaye Tyler (Dhavernas). She's a smart girl (received a degree in philosophy for example), pretty attractive and funny, but directionless. She's at a point in her life where she doesn't know what she wants to do - if anything - with her life. It's probably a combination of boredom, laziness and lack of ambition, but Jaye's comfortable with it, even though the rest of her family might not be.

The father of the family - Darrin (Sadler) - is a doctor, the mother - Karen (Scarwid) is a semi-famous writer, daughter Sharon (Finneran) is a lawyer that specialises in immigration, and son Aaron (Pace) is a theologian, still living at home while continuing to educate himself. Mahandra (Thoms) is Jaye's best friend and knows her like the back of her hand. Finally, we have Eric (Leitso), a man that came to Niagara Falls for his honeymoon and ended up coming to his hotel room and finding his wife going down on a bellhop. Eric's given up his past life in New Jersey and currently bartends at The Barrel, since it gives him the sweet deal of sleeping in the back room as well. Anyways, all these people find themselves struggling to deal with Jaye's sudden character change, which was prompted by a defective wax lion figurine speaking to Jaye at the shop where she works. Now Jaye's questioning her sanity, as well as dealing with the inanimate animal objects which have suddenly begun telling her what to do.

Note: the episodes were broadcast out of sequential order. For the sake of continuity (and sensibility) I've gone with the order the episodes were presented on the DVD set. As well, the synopsis' were cribbed off of IMDB, so they're somewhat lacking. They'll have to do, since sometimes I don't know where to stop when it comes to summarizing. Slight Spoilers Ahead!

Episode 1 - Wax Lion Aired: 3/12/04





Talking Animals: Smooshed-face Wax Lion, Brass Monkey, Bald Eagle Quarter, Barrel Bear
Synopsis: Jaye is coerced into helping a stranger - against her better judgment and desire to avoid human interaction - when a wax lion at the Wonderfalls gift shop begins talking to her.
Little Things: the out of focus reveal of the brass monkey... Sharon's seatbelt gaffe... Jaye correcting the P.C. term of Native Americans to Indians... that little look back Jaye gives to Eric at the Barrel Bar... the monkey's gestures when imploring Jaye to say "I love you" to Sharon... the wonderful cast chemistry
My Rating: Great introduction of the show, the wonderful cast... lays the groundwork for (unfortunately) the entire 13-episode series.. 4 / 5

Episode 2 - Pink Flamingos Aired: 4/1/04




Talking Animals: Pink Lawn Flamingos, Wall Fish, Rooster Spirit Pin
Synopsis: After Jaye accidentally caused her father to be run over by her car, the muses coerce her into helping a despised former classmate plan a 6 1/2 year reunion.
Little Things: Sharon's verbal sniping at Jaye... Jaye's exasperation at Mahandra for immediately assuming Jaye hit her father... the wonderful usage of the 24-esque boxes... Jaye's mom Karen being on the A-list for the 6 1/2 year reunion for Jaye's high school... Karen's surprising character depth
My Rating: Continued strong character development... 3.5 / 5

Episode 3 - Karma Chameleon Aired: 3/19/04



Talking Animals: Wall Fish, Chameleon Backpack
Synopsis: Jaye mentors Bianca - a young run-away who finds a job at Wonderfalls - but before Jaye knows it, Bianca has taken over Jaye's life a la Single White Female
Little Things: Jaye's blurb on the dust jacket of Karen's new book getting five words... Jaye acting nonchalant then surprised about her wallet being returned... Jaye's dad Aaron mistaking Bianca for Jaye... Jaye and Bianca acting exactly the same... the dig at Sharon in Bianca's article that Jaye wrote
My Rating: Fantastic story, if not a bit cliched... the cast chemistry is stronger and while I fall in love with the character of Jaye, I fall in love with Katie Finneran, the actress who plays Jaye's sister Sharon... 5 / 5

Episode 4 - Wound-up Penguin Aired: 3/26/04





Talking Animals: Wax Lion, Brass Monkey, Chameleon Backpack, Wound-up Penguin
Synopsis: Jaye and Eric set out to find a woman who had been living in the barrel, they discover that she is a nun who has run away from the convent and Jaye is instructed by the talking animals to "Bring her back to him."
Little Things: Jaye finally getting the message about going to the bar... "maybe she's just a lazy whore"... Jaye demanding her brother not make inanimate animals talk... the 'sode continuity... "The animals - I was just mad at them. But they aren't demonic. It just feels like that sometimes when they make me help people." That line gives so much insight into the character of Jaye
My Rating: an alright story... advances the main cast a bit, while also doing a Client of the Week-type story... if the show would've been successful, probably a lot of eps would turn out like this one... 3 / 5

Episode 5 - Crime Dog Never Aired



Talking Animals: Police Dog standee, Cow Creamer
Synopsis: Jaye is arrested while crossing the Canadian border. Meanwhile, Aaron begins to discover his sister's secret when he sees her talking to a cow-shaped creamer.
Little Things: Jaye always closing the door on Sharon and locking her out.. Jaye always referring to her boss as "mouth breather"... Jaye arguing with the cow creamer... Jaye's reaction to her brother bring the cow to Wonderfalls... Sharon's reaction and response to Jaye's "stupid cow" comment... "Like a liar, I would imagine!"... the non-event of finding Yvette in Toronto... the look Yvette gives Jaye when getting out of the car after the crash... "oblique"... the Law & Order comment by Sharon
My Rating: A stylistically wonderfully filmed show, filled with suspense and hilarity... Sharon's pretty much the MVP of the entire series in my books, she contributes so many little touches... 5 / 5

Episode 6 - Muffin Buffalo Never Aired





Talking Animals: Muffin Buffalo on apron, Barrel Bear, Wall Trout, Wax Lion
Guest Starring: Eddie Kaye Thomas as "Fat" Pat
Synopsis: Jaye tries to help a shut-in neighbor re-enter society while the muses tell her not to give another neighbor her disability cheques that were delivered to Jaye by mistake.
Little Things: the evil lengths the animals seem to put Jaye through and how she's seemingly stopped questioning them... how much Jaye hates helping people... how aghast Jaye is about saving babies... Pat's "You think I ate her?" response to Jaye... Sharon's loud aside to Aaron... Aaron choosing to bug Jaye rather than play the game.. Eric's insecurity when Pat's talking about Jaye to him... Aaron asking Dr. Ron if he even has a degree... Sharon's little dig at Jaye with the Employee of the Month certificate
My Rating: Over a half dozen eps, the muses have broken Jaye down to a point where she either just doesn't care about what happens to her, or she just knows it's easier to do what they tell her right away... Eddie Kaye Thomas came in and pretty much "got it"... 5 / 5

Episode 7 - Barrel Bear Never Aired



Talking Animals: Barrel Bear, Wall Trout
Guest Starring: Rue McClanahan as Millie Marcus
Synopsis: Jaye and Mahandra end up on opposite sides of a battle between two older women both claiming to be the first woman to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel.
Little Things: Jaye's horror at always having a place at Wonderfalls... Sharon's impatience about not going to the movies... Karen dismissing Jaye's book idea.. the out-of-focus wall fish... Jaye and Mahandra's fighting... the car in the metaphor thing... Jaye second-guessing her own guilt
My Rating: Solid episode, though a bit crazy at points... Rue McClanahan can still convincingly act like a selfish bitch... 4 / 5

Episode 8 - Lovesick Ass Never Aired




Talking Animals: Brass Monkey, Wax Lion, Barrel Bear, Lovesick Ass
Guest Starring: Spencer Breslin as PeterJohnson
Synopsis: Jaye and Eric start to get closer while helping a Russian woman who came to America to meet her on-line fiancé - Peter - who turns out to be less that she expected. Meanwhile, Peter falls hard for Jaye and will do anything to keep Eric away from her.
Little Things: the muse tricking Jaye into helping with a similar demand... Peter tipping when he's at the Barrel... Jaye rhetorically asking "When did I make anything perfectly clear?"... Jaye's reactions to Peter's flirting... Peter's deriding of Eric... Jaye's moral ambiguity... Jaye's "Shut up" retort to Mahandra... Sharon's reactions throughout
My Rating: If Spencer Breslin wasn't able to pull off the role of Peter convincingly, the ep could've sucked... Spencer knocked it out of the park on this one... fun story, introducing even more characters that could have potentially been used recurringly throughout the show if it were successful... 5 / 5

Episode 9 - Safety Canary Never Aired




Talking Animals: Safety Canary billboard, Lovesick Ass, Wall Trout
Guest Starring: Jewel Staite as Heidi Gotts, Eric's wife and so far removed from Firefly's Kaylee it's ridiculous
Synopsis: Jaye and Eric's first date goes awry when Jaye - upon a muse's instruction - causes a rare bird to go wild and gets the bird keeper fired. Jaye, Eric, and the bird keeper Penelope then go on a mission to "save the lovebirds" while Mahandra tries to warn Jaye against getting too close to Eric.
Little Things: 24 boxes again... Jaye's nonchalance while performing the muse's ridiculous demand... at this point, I'm loving anything Sharon does... Jaye's cutesiness towards Eric... Jaye's excuse for not bringing the birds to her trailer... Eric's absolute worship of Jaye... Jaye's insane little tangent... the whole Miller's Crossing feel to the forest scenes... the real life end result for Penelope's job, rather than the Disney-esque
My Rating: Great show which showcased the relationship between Jaye and Eric and how tortured Jaye was at pushing him away to save him... you can tell the muse's demands are starting to beat Jaye down a bit... 4.5 / 5

Episode 10 - Lying Pig Never Aired






Talking Animals: Wall Trout, Wax Lion, Jamaican Pig, Eric's Snake Shirt, Air Freshener Chihuahua
Guest Starring: Jewel Staite as Heidi Gotts
Synopsis: When Eric's estranged wife returns to town, Jaye is instructed by the muses to "mend what was broken." Afraid of losing Eric, Jaye turns to her brother for help and tries to ignore the muses orders.
Little Things: the horrible, heart-wrenching task the muse gives Jaye... Jaye's seeming descent into madness... Mahandra's constant slip-ups regarding Aaron... Jaye's awesome TV toss... Eric's anger being quickly soothed by Jaye... Sharon so much by doing so little... snake / penis reference... the lil' trout nod.. Jaye's credit card comment... the studio audience bar patrons... the perfect heartbreaking song at the end
My Rating: Jaye's wall of defenses start to crumble as the muse's begin to ask far too much of someone that doesn't really believe in anything... 4 / 5

Episode 11 - Cocktail Bunny Never Aired




Talking Animals: Wax Lion Pride, Cocktail Bunny on box, Brass Monkey
Guest Starring: Jewel Staite as Heidi Gotts
Synopsis: When the muses tell her to "save him from her," Jaye becomes convinced that Eric's life is in danger and begins investigating Heidi. Meanwhile, Jaye is coerced by her parents into returning to therapy with Dr. Ron.
Little Things: Jaye upselling her "sale"... Jaye finally snapping... the waiter-walk-block... Jaye breaking down in front of Mahandra... Jaye sorta cluing into Mahandra liking her brother thanks to Mahandra's constant slip-ups... Jaye's "just ducky" brave face... Mahandra's neurotic Internet ramblings... Jaye's flamingo grab... Jaye's pronounciation of Heidi's maiden name... the "answer your phone" bit... "Have you Googled the woman?"... the Panic Room homage... Jaye's phone cord tangles... Eric caring that the bus boy would think he couldn't get it up... the torture items checklist... the monkey scratching it's chest and flipping the book pages... Karen's frantic button-pushing... Sharon stopping her frantic stair-climbing to smoke... the monkey's answer... Sharon Sharon Sharon... a Jem song!
My Rating: Probably the best episode of the entire series, but without all the previous it'd mean absolutely nothing... truly a hallmark in character building over a relatively short period of TV time... 5 / 5

Episode 12 - Totem Mole Never Aired




Talking Animals: Totem Pole Mole, Bear Skull, Barrel Bear
Synopsis: Jaye, Mahandra, and Sharon visit a Native American reservation where Sharon sparks up an old college rivalry with a local catching Mahandra in the crossfire. Jaye, meanwhile, has a conversation with the deceased seer and tries to get the woman's accountant grandson to find his spiritual gift, despite the signs saying that Jaye is, in fact, the chosen one.
Little Things: Sharon inexplicably smoking by the gas pumps... Sharon abusing the reservation's cheap smokes... even Littlefoot's people are annoyed by her... the non-P.C. usage of the word "retarded"... Hell, the show's entire non-P.C. nature is amazing... Jaye admitting her laziness... "Technically, he's supposed to bring himself back to life"... Sharon's physical comedy... the dirty janitor guy at the spa... "Did you see the thing with the feathers?"
My Rating: After the previous ep's awesomeness, there was bound to be a little fall in quality... if the series would've continued, I imagine that a lot of the shows would be of this Client of the Week variety... 3 / 5

Episode 13 - Caged Bird Never Aired





Talking Animals: Caged Bird, Barrel Bear, Chameleon Backpack, Wax Lion
Guest Starring: Jewel Staite as Heidi Gotts
Synopsis: As Eric prepares to leave Niagra forever, Jaye, Sharon, Alec, and Wade are held hostage in Wonderfalls by a bank robber on the run.
Little Things: Jaye's shoplifting bonus plan... the anger of the bird... how much Jaye has probably stolen from Wonderfalls... Mahandra's insecurity about being accepted by the Tyler family... Jaye and Sharon's office scene... Sharon's shameless physical comedy... the weird forced perspective shot of Darren on the coffee table... Sharon accusing Jaye of being lazy because she was yelling at the security guard to pick up the gun... Sharon struggling to look up while keeping her nose on the floor... 24 boxes showing two different views of the action... the Chameleon not being cryptic at all... the car accident(s) and resulting dual screams... the beautiful real snow... the "inevitable" call back and how everything is nicely resolved in a real-feeling way
My Rating: a somewhat anti-climatic ending, but supremely satisfying... 4.5 / 5

The Verdict
By the thirteenth episode, the cast had such amazing chemistry that it would've been amazing to see the stories that should've been played out for years to come on our TV screens. There was even a nice bunch of recurring characters throught the community and surrounding areas that would have provided years of Client of the Week stories. If you think I went on far too much about the show, watch it, and see how many more obvious things I never even mentioned. Sharon's lesbian romances and everyone in her family (except Jaye) being completely oblivious to it was not mentioned by me, and that was a series-long arc. There is so much to love about this show that you won't get your fill of it 'til you've watched it in it's entirety at least twice.

I made a lot of mentions of Sharon being my MVP of the show, but each member of the cast brings their own little touches to the game. Thankfully, William Sadler seems nothing like the sad sack Sheriff of Roswell anymore. I don't recall ever seeing Diana Scarwid in anything before, but she brought so many little things to her character, so many levels there. I could go on and on about this show, but I'll stop for now, and demand you give Wonderfalls a chance.

Overall Rating: 4.27 / 5