Wild at Heart

How come the so-called 'helpful' comments are the negative ones. It disgusts me. Wild at Heart in fact is as not as bad as these comments make it out to be. Wild at Heart is about a vet and his family who move to Africa. They meet up with Dupe Plessi, an alcoholic (non-stereotypical) bad-tempered Afrikaan, and try to bring the wildlife back to a dried up infertile wasteland. They have many adventures involving monkeys, lions, elephants and all sorts. It's dramatic, well-made and very funny. Who cares if it's not 100% accurate? I like it. There were some beautiful shots of African wildlife. Yes, I could simply watch a nature film instead, but I doubt that it will have the same impact. I agree it is predictable, but that's the sort of thing I like on Sunday night. I mean, if I'm tired and there's a long week ahead, do I want to watch some complicated murder mystery where you are constantly left in the dark to as where you are in the plot? No. And even if it is predictable, the storyline is still well-done.

This is a wonderful show, sadly is does not get the credit it so thoroughly deserves.

I like this gentle show. First of all, I love animals. Second, I like fish-out-of-water stories. Third, the acting is excellent. I am a fan of Stephen Thompkinson, ever since first seeing him in Ballykissangel.

For some, the sentimental nature of the stories is worthy of a roll of the eyes or feigned disgust. Me? I love sentimental stories. They tend to get to the emotional nitty gritty that most of us do not want explored, either in others or ourselves. If we did, we would have no need of therapists, right? And so we denigrate those who explore this psychological ground, using symbols and story lines to tell us something about ourselves. That makes sentimental pieces invaluable, I think. So, I enjoy the emotional region the program explores, and especially the difficulty in having the two families assimilate into one. You see, their difficulties parallel of the overall difficulty in assimilating into the African lifestyle. That makes the story lines a touch more sophisticated than the eye rollers give it credit for.

The episode where everybody comes down with an illness (won't spoil it for you) is genuinely well done and kept me riveted.

I am dreading the US version, though I like the idea that Rutger Hauer will play the Afrikkaner, Du Plessis.

Go ahead and watch. It won't bite. But it will entertain.

What a great show! I like all the actors. This is the first time I've seen Stephen Tompkinson, but I bet he does comedy, his muggings make me laugh. But it was really great to see Hayley Mills again. She was a big star when I was growing up and her experience really shows. While the entire cast is good, Hayley Mills' acting pedigree allowed her to confidently stride into a role that is the complete antithesis of her sweet image during her heyday, making her believable as Amanda Holden's bitter mother who likes to push people's buttons. The show has gotten some rather virulent reviews on this site, but I came in the middle of the season, so the show must have improved by then, because I can highly recommend it. Give it another chance! I'm not a fan of wildlife themes, so I didn't pay it any attention when the series started here, but for me the sign of a good show is that it can capture you at any episode that you start watching it, and this is what happened to me. The series has finished here, but I'm sure they'll show it again. I await its return eagerly.

I wish they had more of these types of shows in the United States. Big on family values and respecting nature. I also liked how they portrayed the local people. Sometimes, the story gets a little contrived and there are stupid moments, but it's good overall. I didn't like the characters coming and going throughout the series, though.

The last season, however, was not very good. It almost seems thrown together like the series was planned to end in season 6, but a season 7 with a happy ending was put in place to please fans.

I wish this series was fully available to buy or rent in the United States.

The most awesome part of this series is definitely the featured animals, landscape and local favor depicted (essentially, an African animal preserve). The storyline and arc of early seasons clearly made this a family oriented show which had a message contained within each solved "problem" that doubled as a lesson about life, people and how we should treat each other. Even DuPlusses meddling was for the greater good of those he cared for and more importantly, within reason for how someone might act in real life.

Season 5 and beyond saw these lessons become on-existent with that endearing meddling becoming more about his own needs masked as helping the situation with any lesson that could've been taught clearly no longer the focus. In fact, if one turned to the shows final seasons for any of life's lessons, there would be more immoral theirs and criminals created than the same masses who received fair moral guidance from early episodes.

Dup wreaked havoc on the oil company that wants to purchase the land in clear childish fashion and yet expects his antics to be rewarded with assistance when he needs it even though he clearly would not do the same in return. The heroes becomes the antithesis of people that the world wants to hate; arrogant, self-righteous, entitled. I truly find it sad and an undignified end to a story/series that did it right for so much of its time as a family oriented show. Why would it not just continue focusing on the animals, building (and salvaging) relationships that we should all find important (family), growing pains and guidance overcoming the trials of coming of age (through all age groups)? The formula worked fantastically for 5 years +/- and I believe it could have ended its run without resorting to the unrealistic antics seen in the final couple of seasons. It's what brought this from a 9.5/10 star rating to a 6/7 for me. I just couldn't relate to their resolutions any longer as they moved right out of the realm of believability transforming this once solid series into just another far-fetched fantasy that betrayed all of the good will it had built for itself.