Back in March, I discovered Ballykissangel,
a series set in Ireland and on the air for the second half of the 90s.
The only English character is Father Peter Clifford (Stephen
Tompkinson), around whom the first three seasons revolve. I've now moved
into the post-Peter era on Ballykissangel, but I was curious to
see whether Tompkinson had been in any other series that I could nab
through Netflix. Checking out his IMDb page, I zeroed in on Wild at Heart, a current show that debuted in 2006.
The premise, involving a veterinarian setting up shop in a lodge in
South Africa with his blended family, struck me as very familiar. I soon
realized that was because I'd seen the pilot of Life Is Wild, an
American remake that lasted only one season. Danny Trevanian
(Thompkinson) is the vet in the British version. His wife Sarah (Amanda
Holden) comes up with the idea of going to South Africa for a trip after
Danny revives a monkey brought into his practice. The idea is that they
will rehabilitate him and release him into the wild, getting in some
much-needed family bonding at the same time.
Danny is a
widower, and his teenage daughter Rosie (Lucy-Jo Hudson) hasn't taken
very kindly to her stepmother. Meanwhile, Sarah's son Evan (Luke
Ward-Wilkinson) has a knack for attracting trouble, making his
relationship with Danny strained even though he admires his stepfather
very much. The only member of the family who seems to get along with
everyone else swimmingly is Sarah's sweet daughter Olivia (Rafaella
Hutchinson), who younger than Evan and insists on politely calling her
stepfather "Mr. Trevanian". (I don't recall that the show specifies
their ages, but when the series started airing, Ward-Wilkinson was 14,
and Hutchinson was 11.)
Upon their arrival in South Africa,
the Travanians meet eccentric, crusty Anders Du Plessis (Deon
Stewardson) and gentle Nomsa Nguni (Nomsa Xaba), who reside together at a
tumble-down nature lodge. When a miscalculation by Evan forces Danny to
demonstrate his veterinary prowess, Du Plessis (as everyone calls him)
offers a life-changing proposition. Why don't the Trevanians stick
around and help him get his preserve into working order? It seems
ridiculous at first, but Danny and Sarah both find themselves drawn to
the outlandish possibility, especially when they see the wonder in the
eyes of their children, even snitty Rosie, as they get up-close and
personal with the native wildlife. For better or worse, they will stay.
And there's plenty of both. Each episode is about an hour long, and
while there are many light-hearted moments, peril is plenteous. Danny
has to charge in and save the day time and again when his family members
are threatened by rhinos, lions, poisonous snakes and deadly diseases.
Beyond that, he must deal with injured animals, and even with his
considerable skill he can't save them all of the time. There are also
pesky tourists and unsavory neighbors to contend with, and the new
surroundings don't automatically smooth out the dynamics of his family.
This is a beautiful show to look at, with lots of fantastic footage of
giraffes, elephants, wildcats and other animals. African chanting
enhances the action, though at times it comes across as a bit
overbearing. Both beatific Olivia and impish Evan are adorable, as are
the various pets they take on, particularly a lion cub named Miranda.
Rosie starts off pretty obnoxious, but as the first season progresses,
she softens, both out of concern for her imperiled stepsiblings and
starry-eyed euphoria that romance has begun to blossom with handsome,
helpful local Themba Khumalo (Siyabonga Melongisi Shibe).
Tompkinson is noticeably older here, though only it's only eight years between the end of his run on Ballykissangel
and the beginning of this series. There's a certain heaviness about his
eyes that often makes him seem exhausted and exasperated. He's a good
guy, to be sure, and as a vet, he becomes almost as integral to his
little corner of the continent as the gregarious Peter is to his
congregants. I like him, but I don't find myself quite as drawn to him
as I expected. Conversely, I generally prefer the supportive Sarah to
the saucy Assumpta, Peter's love interest. Sarah is a strong, determined
woman, but she seems much more willing to compromise. What the central
love story in this series lacks in intensity, it makes up in maturity.
Nomsa doesn't have a lot to do in the first season but is a constant
supportive presence. My favorite character aside from the kids is
probably Du Plessis, who is so lovably cantankerous and unpredictable.
He's not used to sharing his home with a lot of people, which leads to
some awkward situations, but he serves as an indispensable guide to this
new life, particularly for Danny and Evan.
Season one of Life Is Wild
has six episodes, during which we see the greatest changes occurring in
Evan and Rosie, accelerated by the arrivals of Evan's dad midway
through the season and Rosie's best friend in the last episode. For the
most part, I'd say the series is appropriate for children, who might be
drawn in by the animals and the presence of Evan and Olivia, though a
few scenes, mostly involving the adults' romantic entanglements, are
pretty adult in nature, and some of the life-or-death moments get quite
intense. On the whole, though, the family-centric storylines and the
wonderful animal footage make this a good show for parents and older
kids to watch together. Give it a chance, and you might just find
yourself wild about Wild at Heart.
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