Product Description

"From the producer of Angel and Firefly comes Wonderfalls with 9 never aired episodes. Although a recent graduate of Brown University, Jaye Tyler decides to ignore her degree, live in a trailer and work at a tourist gift shop in Niagara Falls called Wonderfalls—-much to the despair of her well-to-do family. But Jaye's aimless life takes a startling turn after a lion figurine begins talking to her. Her family calls it an "episode," but Jaye knows better.

Fearing for her sanity, Jaye nevertheless starts doing exactly what an increasing number of inanimate objects tell her to do and is amazed when her outrageous actions begin changing people's lives in unexpected ways. "

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1957 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-02-01
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Full Screen, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish
• Dubbed in: English
• Number of discs: 3
• Running time: 570 minutes

Amazon.com
Wonderfalls is probably the most hilarious show you've never seen. An hour-long "dramedy" about a young woman who hears the voices of inanimate objects--which instruct her to help out total strangers--the show aired on Fox in early 2004 to critical acclaim and dismal ratings. After airing four times in terrible time slots, the show was quickly canceled, but not before a hue and cry from a small but fervently devoted cadre of fans went up, begging for all 13 episodes to be released on DVD. Thus, the highest-profile DVD release of a canceled show was born, and the nine unaired episodes of Wonderfalls are finally seeing the light of day.

You may be wondering: is it worth it to check out a show that was axed so quickly? The answer is an unqualified yes, as Wonderfalls is quirky without being precious, sardonic without being bitter, and smart without being a show-off about it. Jaye (Caroline Dhavernas) is a graduate of Brown University who's opted not to put her education to work, and instead lives in a trailer and works at a tourist shop in Niagara Falls, to the consternation of her affluent, successful family. All seems to be going well for this self-proclaimed slacker, until one day a small toy lion speaks to her in enigmatic epigrams, commanding her to help people. Loath to deal in any compassionate way with the rest of humanity, Jaye warily obeys, if only to make the voices stop. Soon, though, she finds herself to be an unwilling humanitarian and accidental hero when more inanimate objects start talking to her, and more people turn out to need her help.

The premise may sound a bit too off-the-beaten-path, but Wonderfalls' meddling with the ethereal was grounded in a keen awareness of post-college life and the travails befalling young twentysomethings who had no idea where their life was going. And instead of being sanctimonious or inspiring, the show was instead a complex mix of the heartfelt and the angsty, and Dhavernas was one of the most cynically hopeful heroines to grace the small screen. The rest of the cast was also topnotch, including Kate Finneran as Jaye's high-strung sister, Diana Scarwid as her caustic mother, and Tyron Leitso as bartender Eric, whose tentative romance with Jaye was both affecting and hilarious. Think of Wonderfalls as less of a failure and more of a rare opportunity to see some of the most creative television in recent memory. --Mark Englehart

Customer Reviews

Too Good for Standard Television
Wonderfalls was a over the air TV series that was out for about a year before being cancelled. It is a fantasy / comedy in which the "heroine", who whishes to be left alone by everyone, is pushed into action by various inanimate objects. This series was highly original, intelligent, had an excellent cast and wonderful scripting. It also had major ironic twists at the end of each show. What more could I ask for? I rate every episode at either 4 or 5 stars. 5 stars for comedy.

In other words, it was too much for the over the air networks and their audience at that time.

If you watched it before, buy the set. It is just as good the second time around. If you missed it the first time, give it a try!

Brilliant, funny, sharp
I caught the aired episodes when they were shown and mourned the cancellation of this dark comedy. I was thrilled to find this available on DVD and I've been enjoying all the episodes and singing their praises to all my friends. If you love dark humour you'll have a great time watching these!

I Lend This DVD To Anyone Who Cares About Clever Writing.
I'm far from the first person to say this show was canceled way before its time.

I find myself attracted to well-written shows that don't insult my intelligence, and the gold standard for this is Joss Whedon shows such as Buffy, Angel, and the also-canceled-too-soon Firefly. Tim Minear worked closely with Joss Whedon, and was the executive producer of Wonderfalls, so it makes sense to be that this show would be must see -- and it was.

Jaye is a morose slacker in her 20s and is the odd woman out in her family of high achievers. She hides her fear of failure by not attempting to succeed and with cutting quips. Jaye, slacker ambitions aside, is just as clever as the rest of her family, perhaps more so and smart women are always needed in the TV landscape.

And then she gets konked on the head and inanimate objects in the shape of animals start talking to her. Wax Lions, Cow Creamers, Stuffed Fish, and even characters on TV all want to advise her using enigmatic and misleading phrases -- all bets are off. Brain damage? Demon possession? Insanity? G-O-D?

There is a certain courage in making a female lead less than Mary Tyler-Moore lovable, allowing her to be multidimensional, flawed, and occasionally witchy. Jaye is a less driven version of Emily Deschanel's character, Temperance, on Bones; at first glance she has too many sharp edges until you get to know her and realize the defense mechanisms at work.

A TV set that has room for Gregory House certainly can have a place for Jaye, and Temperance, and interestingly imperfect women.

Of course this show is not for everyone, but all the friends I've lent it to have loved it, and some have borrowed it more than once. If you like clever writing and an interesting woman lead, you might want to give this one a go.