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tv.zap2it.com/tveditorial/tve_main/1,1002,274%7C85402%7C1%7C,00.html
Luke of 'Arcadia'
By Kate O'Hare
Life isn't easy for teenagers -- especially the geeks -- but 15-year-old science whiz Luke Girardi (Michael Welch) of CBS' Friday-night drama "Joan of Arcadia," surely deserves some sort of special dispensation.
His police-chief father's (Joe Mantegna) job is in peril; his mother (Mary Steenburgen) struggles to hold the family together; his older brother, Kevin (Jason Ritter), is a paraplegic; and his 16-year-old sister, Joan (Amber Tamblyn), talks to God (and God talks back).
OK, Luke doesn't know about that last one, but Joan's secret chats with the Almighty have definitely thrown a weirdness wrench into an already volatile family dynamic.
"When I read [the pilot]," Welch, 16, says, "I didn't see Luke as a geek at all. Personally, I don't really like to play geeks. I read the breakdown [of the characters] before I read the script, and the breakdown described him as this geeky, loner, nerdy kind of kid, and I'm like, 'Man, this doesn't sound cool at all.'
"Then I actually read the script, and I really just saw him as a regular teenager who's very sarcastic and knows who he is, and happens to be a science genius. I went in there and played it like that. I didn't play it like a geek. I just played the material how I felt it was written, and they liked it. In watching the show, though, I come off totally geeky. I do. I come off like the biggest geek in the world, but that's not my intention."
In the family, Luke's the one to whom Joan has come closest to confessing her secret when she, in an early episode, asked him whether science allowed for the existence of God. His carefully reasoned, physics-based answer reflected many of series' creator Barbara Hall's own thoughts on the subject.
During an early press conference for the show, Hall said, "My own spiritual beliefs, and my belief approaching the show, come from science, come from physics. I'm kind of a physics buff. I told my writing staff that they had to read these physics books, and they laughed.
"My tag on the show is that it's about physics and metaphysics because you can't have one without the other."
"She's probably right," Welch says. "Barbara did her research. She read every physics book there is to read before doing this thing, and she wouldn't say anything in the show that's not true. It's a cool concept. It raises questions about God and the universe and all that stuff."
People talk to God every day, but reports of instances where God is said to talk back -- or to even begin the conversation -- can be unsettling to many people.
Welch says, "I'd had people come up to me, having different interpretations. Some people think God is just her [Joan's] subconscious. It depends. I've had atheists tell me that they love this show."
One side effect of Joan's adventures on Luke's life is the introduction of new friends. At God's urging, Joan entered advanced-placement chemistry, which put her in the same class as Luke and his best pal, Friedman (Aaron Himelstein). There, she befriended the shy, artistic Adam Rove (Christopher Marquette), and the outspoken, sexually ambiguous Grace Polk (Becky Wahlstrom).
In a recent episode, Luke asked Grace to be his partner in a science-fair project, setting off romantic speculation.
"Without giving away too much of the story," Welch says, "I will tell you that Luke and Grace have some interesting things coming up. They do. There is something going on there, but I can't tell you much more."
Although it's not stated in the script, Welch has a theory about what Luke sees in Grace.
"What I came up with is that Grace is a very strong person. She's a strong woman, and Luke is really into that. She knows who she is; she knows where she is. She's a very secure person about herself. She doesn't care what anyone thinks, and that's what Luke really admires about her."
The AP Chem subplot also has been beneficial for Welch's off-screen social life. "Chris Marquette, who plays Adam, he's been a good friend of mine for six years. Now we're working together every week.
"Aaron, who plays Friedman, I met through Chris, and now he's one of my good friends as well, and I'm working with him. It's fun, man."
There's also an element of synchronicity in how Welch got the role. During pilot season last year, he was cast in an episode of Sci Fi Channel's "Stargate: SG-1," playing a younger version of the character portrayed by series star Richard Dean Anderson.
"Everyone who represents me wanted me to turn down that that part because it was right in the middle of pilot season, and they didn't want me to miss out on a good project," Welch says. "But I take the philosophy of, 'Just take what's given to you, go with it and see what happens.' I did, flew to Canada. I came back, and by then, pilot season was pretty much over. At the tail end comes 'Joan of Arcadia.'
"So who knows? Maybe if I had turned down 'Stargate,' I could have gotten something else, and I'm really glad that I didn't."
Only Hall knows if Joan will one day confess her conversations with God, but if she did tell Luke, Welch speculates, "Luke would probably go through all the logical explanations first, and then he would believe her. Luke is very left-brained, and he's very scientific, but at the same time he's open to all kinds of possibilities."
He could even rebel. "I'm not saying this is going to happen," Welch says, "but what would happen if Luke and Grace start going out? What if Grace affects Luke in that way, and he becomes more like her? There are a million things that could happen with this character and the show and the story."
What kind of novels do you write: fiction or nonfiction? - US immigration officer to Ian McEwan
guest stars. 
Out 
, she can be in every episode as far as I am concerned and so should Glynis. I really like her, with or without the make-up. 
Up her credits, and give her screen time accordingly! 
Out 
at: 5/21/04 7:54 pm