05/08/2006 11:4 AM
Posted by VeggieSteph

Wonderfalls

Starring Caroline Dhavernas, Tyron Leitso, Tracie Thoms


Wonderfalls is a quirky, witty show that FOX cancelled way before they should have (and is that really a surprise?). I grabbed all of the episodes off of LOGO with my TIVO, since I missed it the first time around. I wish I had watched it the first time around, because it was a really great show. I enjoyed it so much, I’ll probably end up buying the DVDs.

Wonderfalls is the name of the Niagara Falls store where Jaye (Caroline Dhavernas) works. Jaye is your typical Gen Y’er ( a fact that is made fun of in an episode). She graduated from an Ivy League school with a degree in philosophy, lives in a trailer park in an I Dream of Jeannie style trailer, and works a meaningless retail job because she doesn’t want to have any responsibility. (Think Clerks – Just because they serve you, doesn’t mean they like you.) One day, Jaye hears a voice, and realizes that the trinket animals in the Wonderfalls shop are talking to her. Not only that, but they are telling her to do some pretty weird stuff, like break taillights, lick light switches, and not give people their change. Eventually the reasoning behind these strange requests come to light, and the sometimes law breaking requests end up making people’s lives better.


The cast and characters are all very funny, endearing, and smartly written. Each adds a new dimension to the show. Caroline Dhavernas is perfect as Jaye. She has just the right amount of humor, toughness, and grace to play a girl whose heart is closed to love, worried she is going insane, and yet still, despite her best efforts to not do so, making the world a better place. The supporting cast is essential to this show succeeded, and they definitely make the grade. Tyron Leitso is just the right amount of handsome, sexy, and softhearted to counteract Jaye and play her credible love interest. He plays Eric the new bartender at the local bar where Jaye hangs out, who, in a perfect Niagra Falls –esque way, has his wife cheat on him on their Niagara Falls honeymoon. Tracie Thoms is Mahandra, Jaye’s best friend and snarky barmaid. Jaye’s family is hilarious: the perpetually studying religions major brother, the overly refined author mother, the bumbling doctor dad, and the tightly wound lesbian sister.

With the great cast, the quirky and endearing characters, great dialogue, and funny stories, this show should have been a winner. Not only are the stories different and not formulaic, the supporting cast is fleshed out as much as the main characters are. Each character is an individual, and each one makes the show whole. At least the last show of the series gives you enough closure to feel like you know where these people’s lives are headed. I’d have loved to see more of this show, because it is so much better than most of the shows out there now. It’s a gem, and if you like shows like Supernatural, X-Files, or Firefly with a touch of My Name Is Earl and Northern Exposure, you’d like Wonderfalls.