Slowly Going Bald

Based on a few recommendations, and the fact that it's from Bryan Fuller with Tim Minear listed as executive producer, and that I can't seem to buy enough canceled TV shows on DVD, I picked up Wonderfalls a little while ago and worked through all 13 episodes in a week or so.

It's no Dead Like Me, which is kind of like Six Feet Under without the pretension, but Wonderfalls is still worth the time. It follows the exploits of a sardonic 24-year-old girl named Jaye, who works in a Niagara Falls gift shop and hears voices from small fake animals who counsel her to perform random acts that usually wind up helping people.

"Hold on, now," I can hear you all saying. "That's a chick. Is this a chick show? Is this a show about chicks with feelings? Is this a quirky comedy? Does the chick have supernatural powers with which she fights the forces of darkness? If the answer to any of these is 'yes,' I'm walking, okay? I'm out."

To which I should say, shut up. If you really can't handle anything even mildly different than Dr. McDreamy or whatever pile of crap Ray Romano is bound to release upon us soon, then this show isn't for you. It's not brilliant, but there are some genuinely well-made moments here. After only a few minutes, it's easy to see why only 4 episodes ever made it to air. The show would have been better off on a premium cable network, but even there, things are tough; Fuller's Dead Like Me only lasted two seasons on Showtime.

I get that maybe my synopsis maybe isn't that clear, but the show's worth watching, anyway. Add it to your queue, or keep an eye out for a used set. With only 13 episodes, it exists as a kind of stand-alone story or miniseries, neither completely open-ended nor perfectly contained. Just see it, okay?

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