Episodes > Season 1
Opening Credits
Theme Song: One of Uswritten by Eric Bazilian
sang by Joan Osborne
Main Cast:
Joe Mantegna
Mary Steenburgen
Amber Tamblyn
Jason Ritter
Michael Welch
[ screencaps ]
1x00 - Pilot
Joan Girardi is just your average teenage girl -- at least she was until God spoke to her and started giving her missions. In the pilot, Joan sees God for the first time, and after much convincing, gets her to apply for a job. In the meantime, Will, Joan's father, works to catch a serial murderer loose in Arcadia.[ screencaps ]
1x01 - The Fire and the Wood
God tells Joan to work harder in life, and instructs her to join AP Chemistry -- a class which her younger brother Luke also happens to be taking. She is annoyed to find her seat in class between two sub-defectives, Grace Polk and Adam Rove. Meanwhile, Will investigates an arson.
1x02 - Touch Move
Joan joins the chess club, per order of God's instructions. She loses her only two friends due to a fight, but gains a tentative new friend in Grace. Will searches for a missing boy, leading to his enlisting the help of a psychic, who tells Kevin he will dance at his wedding.
1x03 - The Boat
Helen fears Joan is becoming eccentric when she enthusiastically tackles her boat-building project; Will encourages Kevin to join a wheelchair basketball team.
1x04 - Just Say No
Joan learns from God that she's holding a garage sale on Saturday, which doesn't leave her much time to sort through her family's unwanted belongings. Among the items she unearths are paintings created by Helen during a dark period in her life. Elsewhere, Will goes to bat for a rape victim even though the district attorney feels the case isn't strong enough. Also, Joan catches the interest of a class charmer and a newspaper job falls right into Kevin's lap.
1x05 - Bringeth It On
God tells Joan to try out for the cheerleading team -- Joan takes that mission and expands on it herself to make friends with the two head cheerleaders, which leads to a rift between her and Grace. Meanwhile, Will and Toni investigate a baby found abandoned near Arcadia High, and Luke thinks he might be gay (thanks to Friedman).
1x06 - Death Be Not Whatever
Joan baby-sits for a 6-year-old boy who is obsessed with death; officers assault a black man at a gas station.[ screencaps ]
1x07 - The Devil Made Me Do It
God's mysterious ways once again bewilder Joan, when He asks her to volunteer at the high-school art show, so that she can keep Adam Rove's sculpture from being exhibited. Elsewhere, Will feels pressure from the DA's office to call a man a hero after he shoots and kills a home intruder. Meanwhile, Kevin grows weary of receiving special treatment because he uses a wheelchair.
1x08 - St. Joan
God wants Joan to score an "A" on a test about French saint Joan of Arc. As the teen hits the books, she draws comparisons to the life of the young heroine who claimed to hear divine voices and was burnt at the stake. Helen finds her daughter's newest obsession troublesome and urges Will to have the entire family visit a therapist. Meanwhile, Will is unjustly raked over the coals for shutting down a crack house.
1x09 - Drive, He Said
God instructs Joan to get her license, who reluctantly complies. He also instructs her to start driving immediately, which Joan is not so happy about. In the meantime, Luke crams for the math triathalon, and Will is taken hostage in his car by an armed criminal.[ screencaps ]
1x10 - The Uncertainty Principle
God instructs Joan to ask a troublemaker to the winter formal. Will uncovers secrets that could prove unfavorable to the former Chief of Police and other members of the city's government.
1x11 - Jump
Joan is saddened when she learns Rocky (Death Be Not Whatever) has passed away, causing her to further question God about life and death. Will loses his job when his discovery, and whistle blowing, of a political conspiracy causes the town government, and police department, to be desolved. While Luke continues to work on his science project and his growing attraction to Grace and Kevin is injured in a game of basketball.
1x12 - Recreation
The three Girardi kids get their parents a weekend vacation at a spa to give them some time alone. This opens up an opportunity for God to instruct Joan to throw a party at her house. She does, using it at an excuse to avoid Adam's attempts at conversation. At the spa, Will is having a hard time relaxing.[ screencaps ]
1x13 - State of Grace
A metal detector is installed at Arcadia High, creating a general sense of chaos and anger. God charges Joan with the task of joining the debate team - where she is to debate in front of the school for the metal detectors. Grace, angered, interupts Joan at the debate, leading to a fight. Meanwhile, Will investigates the beating of a priest.[ screencaps ]
1x14 - No Bad Guy
While changing in the locker rooms, a picture is taken of Joan in her underwear, then spread around the school, prompting Joan's friends to plot revenge. In the meantime, Helen has been stressed out lately, so God tells Joan to help her out, and instructs her to do the laundry. This leads to a sprained ankle and a trip to the emergency room.
1x15 - Night Without Stars
Joan volunteers with a kids group, where she meets Iris - a fellow student who has issues of her own. Because of the hold Joan has put on her and Adam's relationship, it leaves him free to invite Iris to a concert (that Joan cancelled on). In the meantime, Will has begun acting increasingly agitated at work and home, leading to a suspension.
1x16 - Double Dutch
God tells Joan to learn to jump rope with a group of inner-city teens, one of whom Joan discovers is homeless. Kevin goes on a date, but not with who you think.
1x17 - Requiem For A Third Grade Ashtray
God instructs Joan to help out with the a chaotic Girardi household; Adam has his first art show; Will and Toni witness a carjacking. Will and Toni, while making an arrest, get stuck in an elevator with a pregnant woman who is about to give birth; Kevin believes he might be recovering some sensation in his stomach area and gets an EMG (a nerve conduction) test done.
1x18 - Do The Math
God tells Joan to take piano lessons; Joan helps her piano teacher deal with her past; Joan learns a painful secret Will and Helen have been keeping from the family; Iris becomes suspicious of Adam and Joan closeness.
1x19 - Anonymous
Joan joins the yearbook staff, per God's request, and decides to use this assignment as a means of impressing Adam... Feeling threatened that Iris and Adam continue to share a bond over their passion for art, Joan vows to discover a hidden talent that Adam will admire. However, her disastrous attempt to be the yearbook's star photographer soon adds to her insecurities about losing him. Meanwhile, Will and Toni attempt to set up a sting for a man who is planning to hire a hitman to murder his wife.
1x20 - Vanity, Thy Name Is Human
Per God's instructions, Joan takes a make-up class. After becoming obsessed with her appearance and trying to attract Adam's attention, she shuns not only make-up but all hygiene as well. After Adam still doesn't respond, he and Joan have a fight. Meanwhile, Helen paints her best artwork yet, and Will busts an underage prostitution ring.[ screencaps ]
1x21 - The Gift
God tells Joan to give Adam a gift. After several unsuccessful tries at finding the right gift, she goes through his backpack and discovers a condom. Thinking God perhaps meant sex, she tries to initiate the act with Adam. Meanwhile, Kevin and Will butt heads (yet again) over a police case.[ screencaps ]
1x22 - Silence
Joan becomes ill at school and sees some scary things. She passes out and is taken to the hospital. There, she learns she has Lyme disease and may have been having hallucinations for a while. Joan experiences a crisis of faith when she wonders if her meetings with God have all been mere hallucinations.[ screencaps ]