When Calls the Heart

By Jim Hagarty
2018
I am addicted to a show on Netflix called When Calls the Heart. It is a western and rom com combined into one. After the first episode, I asked myself, “Why is this so good?” Then the credits rolled and I saw the name Michael Landon Jr. and knew that was my answer. His father, “Little Joe”, directed some episodes of Bonanza in its final years and of course, produced the marvelous Little House on the Prairie series as well as Highway to Heaven. When Calls the Heart seems to combine the best of all the shows Michael Landon Sr. was involved with. It is smarmy, hokey, simplistic and cartoonish – all the things I love. But the writing and acting is superb, the scenery is magnificent and the music wonderful. It is shot in Western Canada and is a fully Canadian show as far as I can see, although I do not know at this point the precise origin of the production or the nationality of the people involved in it. I can’t stay away from my TV and will be heartbroken when I get all caught up.

Author: Jim Hagarty

I am a 72-year-old retired journalist, busy recovering from a lifelong career as an unretired journalist. This year marks a half century of my scratching out little fables about life. My interests include genealogy, humour and music. I live in a little blue shack in Canada and spend most of my time trying to stay out of trouble. I am not that good at it. I also spent years teaching journalism. Poor state of journalism today: My fault. I have a family I don't deserve, a dog that adores me, and two cars the junk yard refuses to accept. My prized possessions include my old guitar and a razor my Dad gave me when I was 14 and which I still use when I bother to shave. Oh, and my great-great-grandfather's blackthorn stick he brought from Ireland in the 1850s. I have only one opinion but it is a good one: People take too many showers.