Sometimes when we watch a show like Hope Valley: 1874a prequel to the Hallmark hit When It Calls the Heartwe can be a little sarcastic, calling out the times when things feel sweet or predictable. But when the episode we watched is over, we can’t help but feel the warm feeling that a show like this, built on a community trying to build something out of North America’s past, is trying to evolve.
Opening shot: As we see a mother and daughter in a horse-drawn wagon riding through the countryside, we hear a voice say that Canada’s northwest is a land of opportunity.
Idea: Rebecca Clarke (Bethany Joy Lenz) and her daughter Sarah (Mila Morgan) have come to this remote place on the border from Chicago. Rebecca looks at the newspaper listing for the house she lives in and finally buys. Their goal is to get there, but they have faced violence. The latter is a broken cart wheel.
They were able to find a tire from an abandoned wagon and put it on theirs. As they pass a camp of gold prospectors, Rebecca goes down to get food from Hattie Quinn (Jill Hennessey), who sells food and other goods to the prospectors. Suddenly, a stick of dynamite is detonated, and Rebecca’s horse starts running with Sarah in the cart. Tom Moore (Benjamin Ayers), a local rancher, herds cattle there and helps out with a rogue horse.
Tom is not happy that the inspectors are there, and confronts Archie Doyle (Ryan Robbins), who is part of the dynamite crew. Meanwhile, Rebecca and Sarah find themselves with a flat tire again. After Hattie’s encouragement, Tom offers them the services of a blacksmith, Clayton (Jedidiah Goodacre) and a place to stay. He reluctantly accepts her, but she insists on his tent instead of staying in his house.
Rebecca and Sarah keep where they came from and where they’re going a secret, because Rebecca is running away from a bad situation in Chicago. But, he finally mentions the house he lives in, which is in a nearby town, across from Hattie’s trading post. That’s when he found out that the building was old and dilapidated; in other words, he was expelled.
Rebecca is depressed, but she feels that there is a community she wants to be a part of, especially when she is called to help deliver a baby in a scout camp – her late husband was a doctor and he helped her at times, giving her medical knowledge beyond anyone else in the area.
What Shows Will Remind You? As the title may suggest, Hope Valley: 1874 it’s a prequel to When It Calls the Heartwhich takes place nearly 36 years before the first season of the acclaimed Hallmark Channel series. The series was created by Alfonso H. Moreno.
Ours: Hope Valley: 1874 it’s actually a show traditionally, to say the leastLittle House on the Prairie on the contrary, he says, 1883. All three are about pioneer families and communities, and they all take place at the same time. But what Hope Valley: 1874 he tries to show mostly positive events, with little conflict to make things interesting.
Rebecca sets out to fix up and open the boarding house, and gets help from Tom, Hattie and others in the neighborhood. Tom and Rebecca slowly fell in love with each other. Prospectors, especially the likes of Doyle and his crew, threaten the beauty and natural resources of the area, with Rebecca and Tom at odds over whether prospectors are good for the area or not.
We are also sure to find stories about other small town dwellers or explorers. We know that Hattie’s daughter Olivia (Roan Curtis) has plans that could take her over the border, and that the new Northwestern Mounted Police officer, Alexander Vaughn (Lachlan Quarmby), will fall for Olivia.
What the show hopes to do is create a sense of community similar to that of its parent show, and show how Hope Valley is growing in the years to come. It helps that Lenz, Ayres and Hennessey all project both the warmth and energy that helps shows like this connect with viewers, and that the simmering chemistry between Lenz and Ayers is there from the moment they first meet.
Performances to Watch: Bethany Joy Lenz exudes determination and energy as Rebecca Clarke, more than enough to want to help her as she fixes up the apartment.
Sex and Skin: Nothing.
Splitting gun: Constable Vaughn introduces himself by breaking up the fight between Tom and Doyle. He tells them: “I stand for the law, and no one is above it.”
Sleeping Star: We always let Jill Hennessey grace our screens, and she looks great here as Hattie, who finds herself needing to be strong for her daughter and to be a mentor of sorts to Rebecca.
Most Pilot-y Line: Tom keeps calling the inspectors “locusts” because the name he wants to call them is probably not allowed in a Hallmark game.
Our Phone: It’s already spread. Hope Valley: 1874 is a lighthearted, community-oriented Western show reminiscent of shows like The Little Houseand is aided by the highly regarded performances of Lenz, Ayers and Hennessey.
Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and technology, but he’s no joke: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.
