Have you ever experienced something so bad that made you just want to cry out and ask why it had to be? Questions of that sort are usually asked to the One who started it all – whether He exists or not.

We search for His answers in everyday things sometimes ignoring the fact that we had answers all along. And, for those whose love is only met by silence there is only pain. But what if, just what if, the One we seek to blame (or thank) appears before you just like anybody.

Joan of Arcadia explores the idea of God talking back to a young girl named Joan Girardi (Amber Tamblyn). Now back in the day when Moses was alive, the pyramids were brand new, and the years were counted backwards, ‘men of god’ or prophets as they were popularly called were older and experienced men. With Joan the working relationship, if can call it that, was never smooth, especially at this age.

Joan is a teenager and a middle child in a family still reeling from tragedy. She is just trying to figure out her place in the world; a highschool student with a lackluster academic record and social status to match. Hardly the person who will think of the greater meaning of life, especially God.

Imagine asking a teenager dealing with teenage problems like pimples, boys, and a social life, doing all sorts of weird, irrelevant looking tasks. The scenes where God gives the ‘missions’ to Joan had a serious heartwarming air about it but also a bit of comedy. Being a teenager, Joan, almost always, complains yet she still does it. Like in most religions free will is the hallmark of the relationship but in spite of the apparent restrictions God seems to always know what buttons to push. Well even if he doesn’t push a button how can anyone refuse?

In one episode Joan was asked to make a boat; not a model but a real boat where one can ride without fear of sinking. Sounds stupid right? Well Joan never finished the boat but at the end of the episode, it was revealed that the boat was meant for her brother, who needed something to make him believe in himself after loosing use of his legs.

One of my favorite scenes in that episode happened in the beginning when after she was asked to make a boat Joan shouted, out of frustration, "why can't you ask me to get a boyfriend?...you're impossible..." Although given with a slightly higher voice the scene was delivered with respect, hilarious even. Joan was just being a human.

As an agnostic my stance on religion can be described as cold, but it surprises me that I can still love a show like Joan of Arcadia. It is well written. Every one, regardless of religious creed can enjoy watching it.

One of shows brighter points will have to be its theme song ‘One of Us’ because it sums up the entire emotion of the show.

Joan of Arcadia had a great ensemble of actors; they all gelled and played their role beautifully. And thought the show was cancelled it is still one of the best family oriented dramas to have ever come out in recent years.

But maybe what I really love about the show is what Joan has. Joan has a face-to-face guarantee that all the humiliations and pain in life is part of a big plan; that whatever the hardship everything will be ok.

We all seek that opportunity, I think, wether we’re doing good or bad, to have our questions asked and our piece said, face to face.

It would be nice to have that.

The city that saw the likes of Julius Caesar, Pompey, Mark Anthony, and Brutus is now a series on HBO. Now, on its second season the series does not only give a human perspective on histories most well known Romans but also on the life of everyday people in Rome.

Lucius Vorenus (Kevin McKidd) and Titus Pullo (Ray Stevenson) play our everyday Romans. Though both are soldiers they are still part of the common people or plebs as Romans would call it, and they take the story from the top of Roman society to the very bottom.

As soldiers they served under Caesar and Anthony, and in between wars they lived in the most humble abode in Rome. It is when Vorenus and Pullo are not soldiers that I find most interesting as the story delves into everyday life.

There were many gods and not only the roman kind; so common and varied like toothpaste at a grocery. Death was a fact of life and it is so unlike in the present day context. You can kill slaves as Pullo did with one and with no repercussions. There was a scene where the young Octavian killed a prisoner. Later on and in a league with Titus Pullo, Octavian masterminded the killing of man who has had a child with the wife of Vorenus. In spite of his youth Octavian showed no hesitation or fear. The point is if you are rich, you are powerful, if are able to kill, then chances are you can get away with it.

What surprised me, however, was the sex; Rome has more than I was expecting in a TV series. Producers have defended it as a historical truth. In a pre-Christian world, sex had no dirty connotation, and that includes man-on-man sex. Nobody says its homosexual to do so like today when even mention of the word sounds like a disease. At that time it was just one of the choices – white woman, black woman, man. To each his own.

The cast of Rome, at least judging from the accent, are mostly British. It gave the series a regal aura something that befits one of the greatest empires the world has ever known. My standout would have to be James Purefoy who plays Mark Anthony. He is arrogant, courageous, seductive, powerful, ruthless, and at times a drunken fool. The performance of the Mark Anthony character, for me, was the strongest in the series exceeding even Caesar’s and Pompey’s.

Is it accurate? For the most part I guess, but I haven’t watched enough Discovery channel or National geographic to easily say which is true or not. Hollywood has been criticized at times on how accurate are their history based films. Suffice to say that we must all read up on our history, as many sides as possible, before swallowing a film or anyone’s point of view, hook, line, and sinker.

The series is not for everybody, but only for those who love history, who are curious how people like Caesar could have acted if they were alive. Rome is both primal and a source of sophistication. It is one of the most interesting series to watch on TV today.

And if TV doesn’t show it try Quiapo. Hehehe.