It’s easy, almost an involuntary reaction, to rip Fox for continuing to churn out low-concept reality shows like “Joe Millionaire” and “My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiancé.”
  These are shows that make you weep for humanity and howl in gratitude for PBS.
   But then what choice does Fox really have?
   Over the past three years it has introduced more truly innovative shows than any other broadcast network. Count them:  “24,” “Firefly,” “Arrested Development,” even the flawed but original “Skin.”
  Only one, “24,” has survived beyond a season. “Arrested Development" hangs on for now but the musty smell of funeral crepe is already in the air.
  What shows have gotten the big ratings?  The “Fiancés” and the “Millionaires.”
   So it’s hard to muster much enthusiasm over the prospects for the smart, innovative new drama “Wonderfalls,” which Fox yesterday essentially sent to the graveyard after just three outings by switching it to Thursday at 9 p.m. from Fridays.
   If only Fox, having the creative daring to come up with shows like “Wonderfalls,” could devote the same creativity to nurturing them. Like so many of the shows canceled before it, “Wonderfalls” deserves a better chance.
   It has smart characters, interesting plotlines and a thoroughly unusual feel about it, which combine for an enjoyable hour.
   “Wonderfalls” is Niagara Falls, and the setting is a a cheesy souvenir shop. Jaye, overeducated and underemployed, has taken a job behind the cash register following her graduation from Brown, unable and unwilling to find anything more suitable to do with her philosophy degree. 
   Oh, and in a “Joan of Arcadia”-like twist, she hears voices. Only it’s not God but the inanimate animals in the souvenir store (and everywhere else) that talk to her. 
   In one scene, Jaye is in her mom's therapist office at the suggestion of her family. She's not very interested in answering the doctor's questions, which include when did Jaye’s sister last say she loved her? Jaye's a bit distracted through all of this, noticing that the monkey statue in the doctor's office has come to life. After the doctor asks that last question, monkey says sweetly, "I love you."
   Over time, Jaye realizes that the wax lions and wall-mounted bass are actually there to help her. They have an uncanny knack for predicting the future and love to give out advice. They also like to just plain bug her.
  “Wonderfalls” has its flaws, for sure. They include the nattering critters, as cute as they may be. Popping up every so often, they can be funny but as plot drivers they reveal the show's weak underpinnings.
   Another flaw, a more serious one, is Jaye herself as a witty malcontent whose life seems directionless. She's engaging when interacting with the critters and when she's talking to her mom her sullenness is amusing.
   When it’s just Jaye, though, it can get tiresome. We’ve seen the witty malcontent done over and over, back to Ethan Hawke in “Reality Bites” 10 years ago. And though actress Caroline Dhavernas does a good job, it doesn't take long before you want to tell her character to quit complaining, life isn't so bad.
   But aside from those very fixable problems, "Wonderfalls" is enjoyable, mainly because it's so different from anything else on television. It aims for "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"-style snark (not surprising, since executive producer Tim Minear came from “Buffy” spinoff “Angel”) and it comes close to achieving it. 
   It does a wonderful job of spoofing family life, such as when Jaye and her siblings whine over who got the most words of description on mom’s “About the Author” blurb on her new book. 
   Jaye sulks as she realizes she got only five words compared to more for her sister and brother, and one of the words about her is a digit. 
   Mom, in a marvelous one-liner, admonishes the kids to "stop parsing the blurb."
   When “Wonderfalls” sticks to the world of reality, it’s a much better show, and each episode shows signs of improvement.
  But since the only reality Fox viewers seem to care about is the tasteless kind, we probably won’t get a chance to see how good it could get.