Wonderfalls

Ep 1 - Unaired pilot/Wax Lion --- essentially there is very little difference between these
Ok this series starts interestingly with cutesy tricks to draw you in - the basic premise is a young woman Jaye, has to follow the instructions she is given by inanimate objects to stop their voices in her head, at the same time she has to deal with her quirky family being an underachiever in a family of successes

A bumpy start as its hard to relate to the central character and it seems as if it was written for a male character and then the sex changed - the woman Jaye acts too masculine imho for it to be that credible - the ideas seem to be quirky just to be quirky - the biggest problem is that the lead doesnt really ignore or disobey the voices so we never see the consequences of her NOT following the instructions - anyways interesting idea and the actress Caroline Dhavernas is cute

Ep 2 - Pink Flamingos
Jaye helps an old schoolmate who she hated to stage an early class reunion

Kind of cute and some good lines in this one - very much rom com territory with the unintentional matchmaking and the dark (for the USA) humour is starting to come through

Ep 3 - Karma Chameleon
Jaye helps a stuttering girl who begins to copy all aspects of her life

This show has now hit its stride , good lines, good idea, good acting and a few good chuckles

Ep 4 - Woundup Penguin
Jaye is involved with a nun who has lost her faith and helps her restore it

Quite a cheesy episode but the cryptic instruction is cool in this one

Ep 5 - Crime Dog
When Jayes family's housekeeper is deported to Canada she has to smuggle her back into the USA

A bit of a let-down though we start to see more of Jaye's brother Aaron

Ep 6 - Muffin Buffalo
Jaye is tired of being treated as a hero and helps out a reclusive young man in her trailer park

Quite good and again we see more of Aaron, who is more interesting than Jaye

Half way summary

Despite its quirks, good lines and overall premise I can see why the show got cancelled - it still has that "the main character is too masculine" type of vibe...the main character Jaye is like a sociopath as there is little to no gravity to her actions, no remorse no reflection no thought and any scenes where there is are normally played out neutrally - plus the premise itself is just repeated ...Jaye gets a cryptic instruction it causes some initial embarassment and then everything is resolved nicely - the characters in the main dont act real enough...too many examples - once you accept this cartoon like aspect its an enjoyable series - don not expect depth or weight here though - it also suffers from typical tv/film cliche - good looking characters are good and bad lookers are just foils - I guess this series is adored by plain or ugly girls as the plot drive(momentum) is pure fantasy pure wish fulfilment...lonely quirky girl gets cute man - I will stick with the series and reach the end

Ep 7 - Barrel Bear
An old woman who was the first woman to go over the Niagara in barrel appears only to be found out she is a liar

Ok stuff - like all these episodes they are light and frothy with little resonance

Ep 8 - Lovesick Ass
A young boy orders a Russian Bride through the internet and then moves his attentions towards Jaye

Funny because it was appallingly cliched - here was a great chance to do something real about love and relationships and crushes and they messed it up...men not being direct, women being direct (another big clue that really the Jaye character would have been better as a male) - just totally unrealistic

Ep 9 - Safety Canary
Jaye's actions cause a woman to lose her job at a zoo and plenty of matchmaking ensues

Pretty good apart from the sledgehammer-like parallel story with the 2 birds who could be about to mate

Ep 10 - Lying Pig
Eric's wife Heidi has returned causing trouble all round

For a change this episode had some thoughtful moments...it still suffers from the basic tv cliche that the 2 leads must be right...One aspect I have pinpointed which I dont like is that the dialogue is forced into the characters rather than it evolving naturally - a lot of dialogue is simply there to be "clever" regardless of who is saying it

Ep 11 - Cocktail Bunny
Jaye receives a message that a man will be killed and assumes this will be Eric

The show's erratic story and characterization quality is shown in this episode - the support characters are essentially strawmen or puppets to the 2 leads, with no one really being that believable - and the misunderstood cryptic message idea runs very thin - perhaps seeing this show once a week helps as seeing several in a day really highlights how much the same the plots really are

Ep 12 - Totem Mole
A visit to native Indians in the area leads Jaye to speak to a spirit woman who could possibly help her stop hearing the animal's voices

Largely forgettable - a weak episode

Ep 13 - Cage Bird
The workers at Wonderfalls are held hostage on the day Eric leaves with his wife

This shows the series lack of confidence as everything is thrown in to the mix to tug on the heartstrings - lives put at danger...but anyone over 10 years old will know they wont kill off characters - Oh poor Jaye...Eric is leaving with that bitch of a wife...no he doesn't and they all live happily ever after

Conclusion
Ignoring the one dimensional characters who are there simply to spout "witty" lines or to act as strawmen or comic foils for Jaye, and ignoring the good premise/plot being repeated basically each episode - Jaye receives a cryptic message misinterprets it causing a minor problem which later turns out to be a good thing - the show is quite enjoyable with visual tricks and a fast pace

BUT the series lacked any depth and just comes across as some teen girl wish fulfilment series -"I am lonely (despite being good looking and having lots of former boyfriends) and the hunk and I are destined to be together - anyone else in the way is a bitch or an obstacle...people love me for my unique style and my adventurous spontaneous nature"

The worst aspect of the series is there was no or little gravity to Jaye's actions and she was always bailed out by her parents with again no conflict or repercussions - sadly the most fantastical aspect of the show is the characterisation with the girls always being "sassy and strong" - of course EVERY girl in the world is that way - LOL...good looking guys are always quiet and sensitive, ugly or fat characters are losers or for comedy - hardly groundbreaking and just feeding the same BS tv churns out at an alarming fashion

So...great series if you are teen girl not so great otherwise

Overall 6/10 - started good then got sucked into a typical rom com arc