WILD AT HEART, SERIES ONE

Description

Product Description In this hit British drama series, a newly blended family finds common ground in the African bush The Trevanions are middle-aged newlyweds who fell in love after Danny (Stephen Tompkinson, Brassed Off, Ballykissangel) lost his first wife to cancer and Sarah (Amanda Holden, The Grimleys) lost hers “to a nineteen-year-old.” But all is not well in the new household. Trouble simmers between Sarah and stepdaughter Rosie, still hurting from her mother’s death. Danny, a suburban vet, has a better way with animals than he does with stepson Evan. And Sarah’s daughter Olivia, the peacemaking third child, insists on calling Danny “Mr. Trevanion.” Tired of treating pampered pets and seeking escape from domestic woes, Danny takes the family on a trip to Africa. Vacation turns to vocation, however, when they decide to restore a rundown game reserve deep in the African bush. As the Trevanions help the wild animals around them, they begin to heal their own wounds as well. DVD FEATURES INCLUDE production notes and photo gallery. .com The beauty of the African landscape--and the magnificent animals that live there--forms a stellar setting for the warm but realistic family dynamics of the BBC series Wild at Heart. The first episode wastes very little time taking British veterinarian Danny Trevanion (Stephen Tompkinson, Ballykissangel) and his family down to South Africa to return a rescued monkey into the wild. But once they arrive at a run-down yet intriguing game preserve, Danny's wife Sarah (Amanda Holden) sees how life on the savannah might unite their stitched-together family (Evan and Olivia, her young son and daughter from a previous marriage, and Rosie, his teenage daughter who still mourns losing her mother to cancer). They form a partnership with a crusty old Afrikaaner and struggle to turn their small preserve into a thriving destination for tourists and animals in need. Wild at Heart works because it isn't The Brady Bunch--the fractures left by divorce and grief aren't glossed over, and the genuine threats of their new life (from wild beasts, disease, and competition from a rival commercial game preserve) loom on all sides. But watching the Trevanion family bond to each other and to the glories of Africa is warm and satisfying. The cast is charming, particularly Luke Ward-Wilkinson as the sensitive son Evan (Lucy-Jo Hudson, as teenaged Rosie, is a bit irritating at first, but gradually redeems herself). This series--which has several more seasons to follow--skillfully balances adventure and domestic drama and grows more engaging with each episode. --Bret Fetzer