This Is Wonderland

9.0
200444m

Alice De Raey is a newly minted attorney who joins the chaotic world of criminal justice in Toronto. She's exposed to the seamier side of life, the backroom deals that make the system work accompanied by the usual eccentric characters.

Seasons

13 Episodes • Premiered 2004

Still image for This Is Wonderland season 1 episode 1: Episode 1

1. Episode 1

Pilot. The show revolves around Alice De Raey, a young criminal lawyer thrown into a justice system bursting at the seams. She encounters an endless procession of characters-ranging from the truly desperate to the wonderfully bizarre. Alice, with a good-natured openness that cloaks a tenacious, committed spirit, finds herself on a journey that constantly tests her patience and compassion.

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2. Episode 2

Alice tries to convince the Crown to have compassion for a former drug addict.

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3. Episode 3

Alice defends a bipolar woman, a man caught in a battle between feuding lovers, an illiterate man, and a Jamaican man with one leg.

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4. Episode 4

A judge tries to save a mentally challenged man who has been charged with assault; Alice defends a man charged with sexual assault; Elliot is infatuated by a court interpreter.

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5. Episode 5

Alice tries to convince a couple that one of them must go to prison so that the other can stay home and raise their children.

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6. Episode 6

Elliot hires a private investigator to help with his case; Alice juggles two clients, one charged with assault and the other suspiciously eager to go to prison.

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7. Episode 7

A diagnosed schizophrenic women is charged with abducting a baby.

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8. Episode 8

A man is charged with assaulting the fathers of boys who bullied his daughter; a homeless intellectual defends himself.

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9. Episode 9

Alice's client is charged with abusing and neglecting his father, who has Alzheimer's disease; Elliot defends a high-profile artist.

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10. Episode 10

James helps a drug dealer prove he has been framed; Alice defends a street kid charged with aggressive panhandling.

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11. Episode 11

A woman is accused of stalking her ex-boyfriend and his girlfriend; an 18-year-old is pressured to cover for a drug dealer.

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12. Episode 12

Alice defends a man on trial for assaulting his son and an Eastern European immigrant who is being tormented by former acquaintances.

Still image for This Is Wonderland season 1 episode 13: Episode 13

13. Episode 13

Alice defends a man in for an altercation with the superintendent of his rooming house.

Cast

Photo of Cara Pifko

Cara Pifko

Alice De Raey

Photo of Michael Riley

Michael Riley

Elliot Sacks

Photo of Michael Murphy

Michael Murphy

Judge Maxwell Fraser

Photo of Kathryn Winslow

Kathryn Winslow

C. A. Pamela Menon

Photo of Eric Peterson

Eric Peterson

Judge Malone

Photo of Ron Lea

Ron Lea

Jack Angel

Photo of Jayne Eastwood

Jayne Eastwood

Ronnie Sacks

Photo of Vik Sahay

Vik Sahay

Anil Sharma

Photo of Yanna McIntosh

Yanna McIntosh

Zona Robinson

Photo of Angela Vint

Angela Vint

C.A. Tamara Rogan

Photo of Sergio Di Zio

Sergio Di Zio

Marcus Weekes

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Reviews

N

Peter McGinn

9/10

I will edit this probably after I watch this show again, as it has been many years since I have seen it, but for now I will put down my remembered thoughts. When this show was running in Canada, I arranged for us here in the U.S. to receive Canadian satellite tv for a British show we couldn’t get any other way. As a bonus we were able to watch a few excellent Canadian productions, such as The Rick Mercer Report, Corner Gas, and This is Wonderland.

The movie description says this show has comedic elements, which is does, but I recall it is more than that. It is a quirky show about a serious career, the law. You will meet oddball judges and clients, and harried, underpaid lawyers trying to get through the legal system for those who can’t afford to buy justice. In my mind this show is a sort of precursor to shows like The Good Wife or Better Call Saul. Not that they were directly influenced by it necessarily, but just that it pointed in that direction. It is a non sitcom version of night court, perhaps

We really enjoyed it, so much so that after we saw it on satellite, I recorded all the shows I could, and I still have those on dvd. I look forward to watching them again, and perhaps will check back here with an update.

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