Wonderfalls

Cancelled in the US after 3 episodes, will Wonderfalls ever garner the recognition it deserves?

Only given a trio of chances by Fox when it aired on television, the release of Wonderfalls on DVD and a run on Sky One in the UK may finally give this quirky show some much deserved viewing figures.

Jaye (Carolne Dhavernas) is just out of University, living in a trailer park and working in a souvenir shop at Niagara Falls. Her life is directionless, and as far as she can see meaningless, until random objects start to speak cryptic messages to her. The cynical Jaye at first thinks she's going mad but when she follows the wishes of the voices, good things start to happen leading her on all manner of adventures.

Despite being fairly miserable Jaye is an extremely likeable central character and the show surrounds her with an able supporting cast of quirky eccentrics. Her family in particular are characters that you'll grow to love throughout the series. It's truly a great shame that the show aired for a handful of episodes in the States as it really improves as the series goes on. The characters are explored and Jaye's adventures become more surreal over time.

So why did it fail? The truth is this is a series that is so defiantly original it needs time to gather an audience. Are the messages Jaye receives the voice of God or her subconscious or is she (as she herself fears) simply going insane? These are not the usual issues of your average sitcom. But the beauty of Wonderfalls is that it balances its spiritual bent with offbeat humour and genuinely likeable characters.

Give it a chance and you can't fail to be enchanted.