Heartland

Great story-telling in this series and every aspect is well produced: acting, writing, and the incredible scenery. I'm about halfway through the 12-season show, and am simply enjoying the heck out of it. The horses are great actors, too, and should win awards. It does seem everyone is doing most of their own riding, they make it all so very realistic. The lead Amy played by Amber is incredible, who knew one person could do so many different types of riding and do it well? Horse dancing, to dressage, to jumping, to rodeo, to racing, to communicating deeply with horses in a genuine heart-felt way gets conveyed incredibly well. There's lots of topics that reveal ranch life in today's world that is interesting as well. From wild horses to oil, class war, business vs. family life, addiction, native people's oppression and resilience, death and loss, relationship dysfunction, craziness and creative solutions (no sex). Then there's the whole healing aspect that comes from living in and/or visiting the land where the heart rules. The therapeutic work with the horses affects the people and vice versa in sometimes amazingly touching and profoundly metaphorical ways. The show goes deep and is lighthearted too. It cannot be an easy show for the actors to do because it is quite physically demanding. There's violence, though not too bad, fires, explosions, shooting, avalanches, rescues, fights, lots of action. The characters, including repeating characters and are so well-drawn and acted, you end up taking them to heart. There are a few places where what they do doesn't quite fit with them, what they know or would do in just a few situations, but otherwise the character arcs, their growth and development over the years is an incredible journey of the heart. Totally enjoyable for the whole family, too. If you don't love horses when you start this series, you will.

Sorry, that headline might make you think I hate the show, but actually I'm loving it, for all the same reasons others have mentioned. Heartwarming, wonderful acting, good stories. But honestly, Lou and Tim and just plain insufferable. They're both self-centered, passive-aggressive, and frequently bullies.

That said, the real reason I watch the show is the horses. I can't get enough of those beautiful horses. And the horsemanship. At first I thought there was some camera trickery going on or a stunt double for sure. So I looked up Amber Marshall's (Amy) bio and learned she's a bona fide equestrian. I love watching her ride.

Heartland is a heartwarming, and exciting family series. My daughters and I love the show - it has become a real mother - daughters time for us. We love horses and the "Healing Horses / Healing Hearts" theme is really inviting and enduring to us. We have a large number of friends and family that share our feelings and interest in the show - which makes watching it even more exciting because my daughters love going to school the next day to talk with all of their friends about what happened on the last episode. We just finished watching the season finale and my daughters begged me to go online to find out if the first season will be coming out on DVD and when the second season will possibly start. We find the show very well acted, and extremely well written - the story line is infuriatingly enticing (we can hardly wait to see what will happen to the characters next). The fact that it is based in the Canadian Rockies is just a bonus and certainly must make filming the beautiful landscapes easier. The camera angles and lighting certainly create the right mood for the moment and really make the characters and setting believable. It is hard to believe that a story based on such a tragedy can bring such feelings of love and happiness to the surface, but this show really pulls it off. There is just the right combination of action, drama, romance and comedy to make it enjoyable for everyone watching. We look forward to the next season (we are saddened that the first season is over already). We surely hope that the first season will be brought out on DVD very soon as it is the type of show that one can watch over and over again.

I confess this show is one of my clearly-no-longer secret pleasures. The stories of Heartland resonate with me in quite a different way then most of the pablum I watch on television. The travails of a multi-generational country family, the mix of urban experience and back to the horse-manure land operation, the western motif and the youthful tales of love, of coming of age, of environmental concern, well I find some comfort and a strong sense of just about lost values in the telling. Above all else, the story of the young horse whisperer is almost mystical. If it borders on trite from time to time, it is easy to forgive this creative slight. A very pleasant TV experience.

I discovered this series by accident on UP TV. The saga revolves around the multi-generational Fleming family on their Heartland ranch in Alberta. Grandfather Jack is a somewhat crusty individual who is the one everyone else turns to for advice and help in times of trouble. Amy is the central character, one of Jack's two granddaughters, who is, if you will excuse the expression, a horse whisperer. Lou is the other granddaughter, a good-hearted but often too aggressive take-charge person. Chris Potter plays Amy's and Lou's father, an x-rodeo cowboy always looking for a make-money scheme. His wife was killed in an accident, which plays heavily in the first seasons episodes. Ty Borden comes to Heartland on a temporary visit and stays on as his character grows in importance. These cast members, and all the other permanent or temporary cast members are fine actors. The scripts are well written and directed. Once you see a few episodes you will be hooked and look forward to the next and the next.