MovieChat Forums > Joan of Arcadia (2003) Discussion > Does this have a real ending?

Does this have a real ending?


I want to watch it from the first episode to the very last, but I need to know if it has a real series finale or does it just get cancelled before the writers close it up properly or if at all?

Of course, this is just if the show has a storyline that goes on through the season or series. If it is like CSI, where each episode has it's own story and not much else, then the finale probably wont matter to me.

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The end of Season Two will frustrate you because they actually were building up to big things for the following season, before the cancellation came down. But please don't let that stop you from giving the show a chance. It's really quite special. My friends and I still love it very much, and even still write fanfic. It's that good.
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But I'm sre it has some kind of closure to season 2, right? I'll give the show a try, I just don't want to be left hanging too much at the end.

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Nope, not closure. They ended by opening it up wider, actually. But for a lot of people that left so much to the imagination, they enjoy debating what might've happened if we'd ever gotten a 3rd season. It's hard to explain without spoiling anything. Let's just say they introduced a huge new wrinkle to the storyline, and then the rug was pulled out from under the show.

If you're interested in JoA, I really hope you won't let that stop you from sampling it.
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Well I'm really liking Amber Tamblyn right now so I'm going to watch some episodes anyway :p I enjoy looking for and watching completed series' I've never seen or heard of, especially those with great endings. So I figured I might as well watch a series with someone I already know I like. I did this with Terminator: TSCC and The Shield (among others) and am now a big Summer Glau and Micheal Chiklis fan.

I love discovering good shows with good actors. I found this method a great way to become a fan of someones and follow their career. Instead of just liking an actor and catching an episode here and there or going to see one of their movies, I learn to adore the actor and really get the most enjoyment out of their work. It makes life a little more likable for me, lol.

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You might want to try Wonderfalls. It only has 13 episodes but it does get wrapped up a bit as they knew they weren't continuing.

Since you mentioned Summer Glau, Firefly is also an excellent 13 episode series with some loose ends tied up in the movie Serenity.


HARMONY: Preaching to the horse's mouth.

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They do have quite a bit of closure, actually. Most of the smaller plotlines have some decent, though perhaps incomplete, resolution.

What others are referring to as "no closure" is the introduction of a new "devil" like character for Joan to battle. This character is only in the show for like 3 episodes before the show is cancelled. In my opinion, this doesn't negate all of the closure that did happen, and if it makes you feel better, just ignore all the scenes relating to this new character in the last few episodes. That will get you the closure you need.

**Now for the crazies to start with the illogical arguements to my post.**

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Thank you. I haven't gotten around to this show yet, I'm still finishing up some other series'. But it is definitely on my list and this makes me want to watch it even more.

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You're as obvious as Quentin Tarantino's foot fetish.

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No problem. It really was a great show. I actually just finished watching it about 5 days ago, which is what got me to come onto the board. JOA had some great writing and directing. It deserved another season, imo, which was frustrating...but I'll take what I got. :)

**Now for the crazies to start with the illogical arguements to my post.**

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Ok, just finished both seasons and I really enjoyed the show. I usually don't miss characters after a series, but I'm really going to miss Luke and Kevin. I think the ending was great, I would have loved to see where they were going to take the show next season with the new challenge in Joan's life. I also LOVE Wentworth Miller, which makes it so much harder to know we'll never see what happened.

My favorite God characters were Cute Boy God (Kris Lemche), Goth Kid God (Jeffrey Licon), and Officious Hall Monitor God (Christy Romano).

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You're as obvious as Quentin Tarantino's foot fetish.

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Glad u liked it:). Am i right? Ignore everything in the last few eps about the new villain and u have a good ending. Lol

**Now for the crazies to start with the illogical arguements to my post.**

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what bugs me is there is NO talk about either revising it or making a new "version".
NBC could sure use it...they are in the Joan's dumpster....
the other nets are not so hot and can only give us crime/cop shows and reality junk. when you watch Joan of Arcadia you wonder how they can try again with things like Charlie's Angels...and Hawaii 5-0!!!
Joan is SO MUCH BETTER.
Even critics who helped get it ended after two great seasons are re-visiting it on DVD and changing their minds.

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Joan was such a great "real" character. Actors these days depend too much on charming wit, dashing good looks and making their voices go as low as possible, that their characters aren't even believable (and this is across all networks! Characters are becoming like drones, reminds me of how most reality tv actors act the same way on camera(judging from what I see on tv commercials, 'cause I don't watch a lick of reality tv)). Amber played Joan in such a way that you actually think she is like that in real life, and that made the character seem so real to me.

This is why I don't watch tv anymore (and just look for good shows to watch online or buy their DVDs). Because tv just doesn't imitate real life much anymore. I can't even watch an episode of CSI without thinking I might be duped into some insanely fake, out-there storyline that I cannot relate to because it's just so weird.

I'm rambling, sorry lol.

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You're as obvious as Quentin Tarantino's foot fetish.

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you pretty well hit the nail on the head.

if I was programming NBC-TV..here's what I'd do:
buy the rights to the DVD edition of Joan of Arcadia for broadcast on NBC-TV.
Then...it'd start a whole heavy publicity campaign on it...and clear the early 8PM-9PM hour SEVEN DAYS A WEEK and play an episode each night until the two season end.
I'd check the ratings to see if they are acceptable...and if they are(they will be compared to what they've been running)announce that for next fall...NBC brings back a new Joan of Arcadia. then hire Babara and the rest of the staff who want to work...as many of the former cast as possible who can make the transition back to the senior year of H.S....replace those that won't or can't (probably Amber)
and pick up the show where it left off.
so for that free advice for NBC-Tv (or ABC/CBS/Fox) I'll charge them nothin!

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Stan, these "kids" are all pushing 30 now. Well, except for Mike, who's not yet 25. And Becky, who's well past 30 (sorry, Becks). None of them would come back. Joe Mantegna has another job he likes. So does Jason Ritter. And I'm sorry but for me, without that cast, I have ZERO interest in a revival. It's simply too late.
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There's 2 ways it could come back:

1. as a movie. all it really requires is Joan as an adult dealing with a whole new issue. maybe god stopped talking to her a decade ago and she thought it was all just her childhood imagination. and she got on with her life, now gods talking to her again. they could even flesh out that this was her "walking in the desert" period of growing up; or that the devil was keeping her blind to god, or quite frankly whatever. its not hard to come up with ways to center a movie around a grown up Joan that doesnt require any of the other actors. the series would just be its distant past history / backstory and not required for new watchers

2. a complete revamp. new cast, new storys, nothing to do with the original other than concept. it would be ashame to throw away what was achieved in those first 2 seasons; but it would be even more ashame to never revisit the shows concepts. other shows have been rebooted (though most were older than this) and the new versions had nothing to do with the old ones other than name/concept

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There was some closure, but at the same time, it was setting everything up for it to have an amazing third season with a new complication for Joan.

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no it dind't have any closure and that still pisses me off.



When there's no more room in hell, The dead will walk the earth...

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I still really enjoyed the end. Partly because of the new complication. I bet the 3rd season would have been the best.

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You're as obvious as Quentin Tarantino's foot fetish.

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I agree so much.
this show ended at the wrong time. I am still mad and unfullfilled , YEARS LATER.

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