I don't watch television on Friday nights. If I'm even home, that's time reserved for the latest Blockbuster pick-up. But last night my oldest daughter was at the middle school dance, my youngest daughter was wanting to veg out in front of whatever Disney TV had to offer and we couldn't start the DVD because one of us would have to pick up Kid 1 before the movie ended. A quandry if there ever was one.

Somehow we wound up watching this show called Joan of Arcadia on CBS. It starts with the Joan Osborne song about God being one of us...naturally, the premise is that this teenage girl Joan winds up getting instructions from God, who appears as normal people you might wind up seeing in your daily happenings. You know, the guy in the Navy uniform, the elderly lady shopping in your store, the radio talk show host, etc.

I have no idea who is writing the show or their background, but it would provide all sorts of discussion starters about who God is and what He is like and all that jazz. In the hour I watched last night, all sorts of words like "free will" came up. When Joan objected to God wanting her to build a model boat, she complained that she wanted to do something bigger for God, "like...save the world or something." God responded, "Gee, Joan, the last time I asked somebody to build a boat is was 'to save the world or something.'"

It was a well-written, well-acted, well-produced show. It's a shame no one will watch it and it will wind up in reruns on UPN or the Family Channel, like My So-Called Life and Thirtysomething and any other show that makes you think.