Cast and characters
Main characters
Jaye Tyler
Caroline Dhavernas as Jaye Tyler – A 24-year-old graduate ofSharon Tyler
Eric Gotts
Tyron Leitso as Eric Gotts – Jaye's love interest – is introduced in "Wax Lion" under unusual circumstances: Six days prior to the events of the pilot, Eric arrived in Niagara Falls for his honeymoon with his new wife, Heidi. Upon returning to their hotel suite one day, he discovered Heidi "servicing" a hotel bellman. Anguished, he retreated to The Barrel and sat and drank for 3 days straight, after which the owner offered him a bartending job. Extremely sweet, thoughtful, and kind, Eric is the antithesis of Jaye's often-abrasive personality, although he seems intrigued by her brashness and convinced that she is not as uncaring as she claims to be. Although his interest in Jaye is reciprocated, his light flirtation is often rebuffed because of Jaye's fears that she is going crazy, his status as a married man, and Jaye's deeply rooted fear that she will hurt him. Toward the end of the series Eric's wife Heidi arrives in Niagara in an attempt to win back her husband. Despite having fallen in love with Jaye, her refusal to admit her feelings (caused by the warnings of the muses, rather than her own inclination) leads him to remarry Heidi and decide to leave Niagara. In the final episode Jaye is held hostage by a bank robber at Wonderfalls; because of deep feelings for Jaye, Eric is able to interpret her coolness toward him as an indication that something is wrong and alerts the police. Eric's explanation of why his suspicions were aroused in an interview on the local news finally convinces Heidi that there is no hope for her marriage to Eric. At the end of the final episode, he returns from New Jersey to Niagara, having divorced Heidi. His explanation helps Jaye to understand that the muses' warnings regarding Eric were in order to allow him to come to terms with his relationship with Heidi and end things with her properly.Aaron Tyler
Lee Pace as Aaron Tyler – Jaye's brother. Aaron is a PhD student of comparative religions, and the only one of the Tyler siblings still living at home. Aaron is the most easygoing of his siblings, exhibiting a laconic attitude toward his family and toward Mahandra's tension over their burgeoning relationship (although her refusal to acknowledge it doesn't seem to deflect his interest in her, or in legitimizing their relationship). Although they constantly bicker, it is clear that Aaron and Jaye are close (Jaye even asks Sharon at one point if she is angry that Jaye and Aaron like each other better than they like her). Aaron is the only one during the series who learns of the full extent of Jaye's communications with the muses, a result of his worry over her strange behavior. Although he first believes that she is crazy, and despite being a self-proclaimed atheist, when things that the muses tell her start coming true Aaron begins indulging his sister's claims, even to the extent of helping her try to rid herself of all the animals that have talked to her. Eventually, Aaron reluctantly suffers a sort of existential crisis when, during a session with Dr. Ron, a cow creamer that had communicated with Jaye mysteriously seems to prove that they really have been talking to his sister. When Jaye asks him to gather all of the animals, he attempts to talk to them himself, exhibiting a desire to be proven wrong about his belief that there is no higher power.Darrin Tyler
William Sadler as Darrin Tyler, a highly respected physician, and Jaye, Sharon, and Aaron's father. Darrin is a loving father to his children, meddling particularly in Jaye's life, as he worries that she isn't doing anything to reach her potential. He bails both Jaye and Yvette out of jail in the episode "Crime Dog". When Jaye apologizes for making him compromise his political beliefs, he tells her that family comes first, and even expresses gratitude toward Jaye for hitting him with her car (because it's discovered that he had a potentially fatal blood clot in his leg). Like his wife, Darrin shows constant support to Jaye, even though he is clearly worried that she is not sharing with them what is going on with her.Karen Tyler
Diana Scarwid as Karen Tyler – the Tyler siblings' mother. Beautiful and very popular as a successful writer of bestselling travel book guides, Karen is friends with more of Jaye's high school classmates than Jaye herself was. Karen's deep love and concern for her children often manifests as criticism and a lack of respect for their personal space – in the "Crime Dog" episode, Jaye challenges Aaron with the information that Karen goes through his things when he isn't home. It's clear that Karen is devoted to her family and particularly worried about her youngest daughter. Jaye even jokes that Karen had a tracking device installed in her at birth, thus never allowing Jaye to escape her family. Karen often questions whether Jaye's "problems" are as a result of her and Darrin's parenting, and clearly wants Jaye to open up to her. Often, Karen and Darrin's attempts to show their support result in annoying Jaye; despite that, Jaye recognizes that her mother not only loves her, but is capable of great insight and compassion – particularly toward the people she loves.Mahandra McGinty
Tracie Thoms as Mahandra McGinty, Jaye's best friend since childhood. Mahandra is a cocktail waitress at The Barrel and a co-worker of Eric's. Like Jaye, she has a sarcastic, dry sense of humor, and a vengeful streak – particularly when first encountering a despised former high school classmate in the episode "Pink Flamingos" or in "Barrel Bear" perceiving Jaye's attempts to help the rival of a woman Mahandra has aligned herself with, as a mockery of Mahandra's hometown pride. Mahandra often functions as her friend's voice of reason, even to the extent of warning Jaye away from Eric, fearing that her friend will only break his heart. Despite her often blunt manner, she and Jaye have always considered her to be "the nice one" in their friendship. Later in the series Mahandra begins a secret relationship with Jaye's brother, Aaron, which she desperately tries to conceal from Jaye and the rest of the Tyler family. The relationship is "outed" in the episode "Caged Bird" when Jaye is taken hostage at the store. Fearing for her friend's safety, Mahandra hurries to Wonderfalls, but stops short of approaching Jaye during the aftermath. When Aaron sees her, she breaks down, and Jaye and the other Tylers see them kissing.Recurring characters
Heidi Gotts
Alec "Mouthbreather"
Neil Grayston as Alec "Mouthbreather" – Jaye's co-worker. A large part of Jaye's animosity toward Alec is that although he is still in high school, he is now her boss and doesn't hesitate to order her around. She also resents that he was promoted over her. Despite his attempts to be assertive over Jaye, she generally ignores him.Gretchen Speck-Horowitz
Chelan Simmons as Gretchen Speck-Horowitz, one of Jaye's former classmates. (She later makes an appearance on the TV series ''Production
The series was an American production, filmed inPlanned episodes
Although the show's creators had intended for the 13 episodes of ''Wonderfalls'' to tell a standalone story, they discussed plans for second and third seasons in an interview and episode commentaries featured on the 2005 DVD release of the series. Among the projected storylines mentioned on the DVD: * In the second season, Jaye's therapist would document their sessions, eventually publishing a book on her, which would lead to her being institutionalized with "Joan of Arc Syndrome" in the third season. Once institutionalized, she would begin to affect the lives of the other residents there. * An accidental-pregnancy plotline was also planned for Jaye's sister Sharon. Having slept with her girlfriend Beth, who had just slept with her ex-husband, in the first season, Sharon would later find out that she was pregnant from him. This "miracle pregnancy" would solve one problem between Beth and her ex-husband: they couldn't have children. * A new wax lion, one who was intact, would be introduced, who would advise Jaye against listening to what the original wax lion said. * In the second season, Aaron would begin to regard his sister as a spiritual leader. * The young boy ( Spencer Breslin) who received a mail order bride from Russia in the episode "Lovesick Ass" would return in the opening of Season 3 in the same institution as Jaye, suffering from pyromania after Jaye broke his heart.Episodes
Fox aired the first four episodes out of sequence, although the episodes were produced in a different order than was intended for broadcast. The order below is how they are presented on the DVD release. There is an alternate version of the first episode "Wax Lion". It features Kerry Washington playing Mahandra and Adam Scott playing Aaron. On the DVD commentary, the creators state that both actors had to be replaced because they could not commit to future episodes. The alternate version omits Thomas telling Jaye at the end that he is going to marry the nurse. The scene was added because the network wanted the Thomas subplot resolved, even though the creators disliked the scene. It also omits a scene where Jaye throws a quarter into the fountain before any muses start talking to her. The network supposedly wanted an impetus for why the muses started talking.Reception
OnBroadcast and syndication
All 13 episodes of ''Wonderfalls'' were aired to completion for the first time on Canada's VisionTV beginning in October 2004. ''Wonderfalls'' was aired by the digital cable network Logo in the summer of 2005. The same summer, the British network Sky1 picked up ''Wonderfalls'' and aired the series to completion, though not in the original intended episode order. The Museum of Television and Radio held a two-day screening of the entire series on January 29 and 30, 2005.Home media release
20th Century Fox released the complete series DVD set on February 1, 2005. The DVD set includes all 13 episodes; six commentary tracks by creators Todd Holland andReferences
External links
* {{Bryan Fuller Lesbian-related television shows 2000s American comedy-drama television series 2000s American LGBT-related comedy television series 2000s American LGBT-related drama television series 2004 American television series debuts 2004 American television series endings American fantasy television series Fox Broadcasting Company original programming Magic realism television series Niagara Falls in fiction Television series by 20th Century Fox Television Television shows filmed in Ontario Television shows set in New York (state) Television series set in shops English-language television shows Television series created by Bryan Fuller American fantasy drama television series