The acclaimed but cancelled 2003-2005 show, "Joan of Arcadia," returns to TV on the Sci Fi Channel. Reruns will be every Friday night at 8 p.m. (EST). The show was notable for featuring a good portrayal of a wheelchair-using character in the form of Joan's brother (Jason Ritter, son of John Ritter).Although not played by a disabled actor, Ritter did a fine job of playing the newly disabled Kevin, who had planned on a baseball career before his accident, and from several plotlines, it appeared the show needed the actor to be non-disabled for flashback storylines.
The premise of the show was focused on Joan's (Amber Tamblyn) conversations with God, who took a variety of forms from lunch lady to child to cute teenage boy. As she reluctantly followed directions from God, the each show's plot would connect seemingly unconnected threads from her life and that of her father (Joe Mantegna), who was the new police chief in fictional Arcadia.
The show had an excellent cast, rounded out by Academy Award winner Mary Steenburgen as Joan's mother, Christopher Marquette as her sensitive friend turned boyfriend and her 16-year-old science-geek brother played by Michael Welch.
The show's creator was Barbara Hall, executive producer of "Judging Amy," which also occasionally had disability themes, disabled characters and employed actors with disabilities.
