Feb 04, 2005  |  By: Brian Moylan  | COMMENTS     

FOR GAY TV FANS waiting for the likes of forgettable duds like “Normal, Ohio” and “Some of My Best Friends” to come out on DVD, don’t hold your breath. Actually, do hold your breath because if you really want to see those mediocre sitcoms again, it’s questionable whether you deserve oxygen.

For those with more discriminating tastes, the long wait for Fox’s “Wonderfalls” to return is over, being that it was released on DVD on Feb. 1. The critically acclaimed, but low-rated show aired on Fox for only four Fridays last March and April.

“Wonderfalls’” devoted cult fan base didn’t know what became of the program’s nine unaired, one-hour episodes. Now they’ll get a chance to find out.

And for all of you who ignored the show or didn’t know about it the first time around, here’s your chance to discover a quality, quirky drama unlike anything else on television.

CREATED AND PRODUCED by the gay duo Bryan Fuller(Showtime’s “Dead Like Me”) and Todd Holland (Fox’s “Malcolm in the Middle”), “Wonderfalls” revolves around Jaye (Caroline Dhavernas), a recent Ivy League graduate squandering her post-college potential by living in a trailer park and working at a souvenir shop in Niagara Falls, her hometown.

One day, the toys, stuffed animals and figurines at the shop start talking to Jaye, essentially ordering her around with fortune cookie proclamations like: “Mend what is broken.” Though often reluctant, she eventually obeys and her meddling ends up improving the lives of others. It’s like “Joan of Arcadia” for the blue states.

Jaye’s adventures often involve her zany family, headed by caustically meddling mom, Karen (Diana Scarwid), and stern-but-lovable dad, Darrin (William Sadler). In the first episode, Jaye learns that her sister, the over-achieving lawyer, Sharon (Katie Finneran), is a closeted lesbian.

In the final episode, Jaye learns that her sassy best friend, Mahandra (Tracie Thoms), has been secretly dating her live-at-home brother, Aaron (Lee Pace).

And of course Jaye has a love interest, local bartender Eric (the adorable Tyron Leitso).

THE NINE EPISODES of “Wonderfalls” that didn’t air only make it more evident that this really was a show worth making time for, even on a Friday night. Hip, stylish, cynical and totally unpredictable, the series has characters that are strange and neurotic, but eventually likeable.

The stories are offbeat without being ridiculous. Their messages are affirming, though not sentimental or didactic like on other feel-good shows like “Touched by an Angel.”

What this all boils down to is that what people try to hide is what controls their lives — whether it’s Jaye’s “voices,” Mahandra’s relationship with Aaron, or Sharon’s sexual orientation. In all three cases, the characters find meaning and fulfillment by indulging what they would rather keep to themselves.

While she does have a girlfriend, the lesbian character Sharon never gets the chance to fully explore the significance of this on screen. She also never gets to come out to her entire family. But over the course of 13 episodes, viewers get to watch as she more fully embraces her sexual orientation.

“I would rather people think that I was really a lesbian than think that I was really a lawyer,” actor Finneran jokes about her character on the “Greetings from Wonderfalls” documentary included on the DVD.

Also special for the new release are commentary tracks for several episodes by Finneran, Dhavernas, Fuller and Holland. Though these are great for diehard fans and those who will watch “Wonderfalls” repeatedly, it might be too overbearing for first-time viewers because it’s difficult to hear the dialogue between the characters.