heartland

Family favourite 'Heartland' is debuting its first Christmas special, 'A Heartland Christmas,' this week. The stand-alone film features the 'Heartland' gang banding together to help rescue some horses trapped by an avalanche in the fictional town of Pike River.

Veteran actor Nicholas Campbell ('Da Vinci's Inquest,' 'Haven') guest stars as a crusty old Pike River resident who makes life difficult for Amy (Amber Marshall) and Ty (Graham Wardle). Meanwhile, frazzled Lou (Michelle Morgan) is trying to create the perfect Christmas back at home.

TV Squad caught up with Marshall, Wardle and Campbell to get the scoop on the Christmas special. We chatted about everything from Christmas traditions to horse makeup to what it was like acting while having snow cannons shoot them in the face.

Since its debut in 2007, the wholesome CBC series 'Heartland' has defied odds and expectations. Focusing on a young Alberta woman who can 'talk' to horses, this show has maintained and grown a devoted fan following that shows no sign of dissipating. The third season launched on October 4, and the premiere had its biggest audience ever - over 1 million viewers.

Parents and children alike appreciate 'Heartland's positive messages (a rarity in today's primetime line-up), and series star Amber Marshall is a genuine role model for Canadian girls who tire of the typical overly-done-up women who headline contemporary TV shows. AOLTV spoke to Marshall about what her life is like now, and how it feels to work with horses nearly every day.

• At 8, ABC has a new Wife Swap (oh no), followed by the premiere of Fat March (oh God) and a new Supernanny (sigh).
• NBC has a new Singing Bee at 8, then new episodes of Age of Love and Dateline.
• ABC Family has a new Kyle XY at 8, then a new Greek.
• TNT has new episodes of Heartland, The Closer, and Saving Grace, starting at 8.
• Learn the history of chocolate on a new Modern Marvels, at 8 on History Channel.
• Food Network has a new Emeril Live at 8.
• At 9, FOX has a new Hell's Kitchen.
• There's a new Monday Night RAW on USA at 9.
• Food Network has a new Unwrapped at 9.
• HBO has a new Big Love at 9.
• Also at 9: Travel Channel has the special Zimmern & Bourdain: New York.
• At 10:30, hard candy is featured on a new episode of The Secret Life Of... It's on Food Network.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 7, CNN has that YouTube Democratic Debate.
• At 8, FOX has a new Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader, followed by a new Hell's Kitchen.
• ABC Family has a new Kyle XY at 8, then a new Greek.
• TNT has a new episode of Heartland at 9, then new episodes of The Closer and Saving Grace.
• At 9, ABC has the CMA Music Festival.
• NBC has a new Age of Love at 9, then a new Dateline.
• There's a new History Detectives on PBS at 9.
• Lifetime has yet another one of those movies at 9, where a young woman has visions of death or something. This one is called I Know What I Saw.
• History Channel has a new Cities of the Underworld.
• HBO has a new Big Love at 9.
• Also at 9: USA has a new Monday Night RAW.
• At 10:30, BBC America has a new Hollyoaks.

Check your local TV listings for more.

(S01E05) The preview for Heartland that ran during The Closer said it was a can't miss episode. To be honest, I have no idea what they were on about. There wasn't anything particularly shocking, or interesting, nor any big revelations about any of the characters. It was, for the most part, just like every other episode has been. That is, somewhat disjointed with too little focus on the main characters.

And with this episode, I think they finally lost me. The promise that I saw in the premiere hasn't turned into a show that I am going to watch every week. Add in the fact that my Monday TV schedule is already pretty busy with Inside Nextel Cup, The Closer, Big Love, Hell's Kitchen, and the upcoming Saving Grace, and there just isn't enough room for Heartland. So, I'm checking out of St. Judes, and this will be my last post on the show.

• At 8, NBC has the special Victoria Beckham: Coming To America, followed by new episodes of Age of Love and Dateline.
• TLC has two new episodes of Little People, Big World at 8.
• ABC Family has a new Kyle XY, then a new Greek.
• Food Network has a new Good Eats at 8, then a new Secret Life Of...
• At 9, FOX has a new Hell's Kitchen.
• ABC has a new Extreme Makeover at 9.
• There's a new History Detectives at 9 on PBS.
• USA has a new Monday Night RAW at 9.
• LIfetime has the new movie Lost in the Dark at 9.
• VH-1 has a new World Series of Pop Culture at 9.
• There's a lot of shows on at 9 tonight, eh? HBO has a new Big Love.
• Also at 9: TNT has a new episode of The Closer, then a new Heartland.
• At 10:30, BBC America has a new Hollyoaks.

Check your local TV listings for more.

(S01E04) This week we finally got the big clash between Nathaniel and Jonas that has been coming since Jonas left Stanford to return to St. Jude. Unfortunately, it is still such a one-sided relationship that there wasn't a lot to the clash. It came down to Nathaniel jerking Jonas around while Jonas had no recourse other than to beg and plead.

The decision that Nathaniel was struggling with regarding the fetal uterine transplant was interesting. Certainly the dangers and risks of experimental surgery are nothing new to him, as evidenced by the Neubacher heart for baby Maya. It's a tricky bit of business though when the guy who blew up his marriage by cheating on his wife, and then cheats on his new girlfriend with the ex-wife, starts pulling out the morality card.

• At 8, FOX has a new On The Lot, then a new Hell's Kitchen.
• TLC has two new episodes of Little People, Big World starting at 8.
• There's a new Kyle XY on ABC Family at 8, then the premiere of Greek.
• Food Network has a new Good Eats at 8.
• ESPN has the Home Run Derby at 8, then the premiere of the miniseries The Bronx is Burning.
• Also at 8: American Life has 77 Sunset Strip, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Newhart, WKRP, and The Bob Newhart Show.
• At 9, ABC has a new Extreme Makeover.
• NBC has a new Age of Love at 9, followed by a new Dateline.
• PBS has a new History Detectives at 9.
• USA has a new Monday Night RAW at 9.
• TNT has a new episode of The Closer at 9, then a new Heartland.
• A new Unwrapped tours Chicago. It's on Food Network at 9.
• At 10, a new Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on Food Network features retro food places.
• At 10:30, BBC America has a new Hollyoaks.

Check your local TV listings for more.

(S01E03) The folks over at St. Jude's aren't doing a lot to assuage my concerns about the show becoming too repetitive. Three episodes is still too early to say this is how it is going to be, but I'm starting to worry. The stories and conflicts that were put in play from the first episode seem to be getting little play as we focus on the cases of the week. These aren't bad stories, but I'm far more interested in the main characters that we see each week.

While that is something to keep an eye on, we did get two interesting cases to look at this week. First, heart transplant patient Andrew Wyles (K'sun Ray). As they talked about how Andrew's treatment wasn't working whenever he left the hospital I thought it could go one of two ways. Either he was making himself sick, or it was Munchausen by proxy and his grandmother was doing it. I was leaning toward the grandmother until we actually met her. She didn't come across as the type to be behind it, which made it clear that Andrew was a very troubled boy.

• At 8, TLC has two new episodes of Little People, Big World.
• Soccer players join Emeril on a new Emeril Live on Food Network at 8.
• At 9, ABC has a new Extreme Makeover.
• FOX has a new Hell's Kitchen at 9.
• There's a new Age of Love on NBC at 9, followed by a new Dateline, a salute to Stone Phillips.
• PBS has a new History Detectives at 9.
• TNT has a new episode of The Closer at 9, then a new Heartland.
• USA has a new Monday Night RAW at 9.
• I didn't know that American Life had started showing The Mary Tyler Moore Show. The first episode is on at 9, followed by the first episodes of Newhart, WKRP In Cincinnati, and The Bob Newhart Show.
• Also at 9: GSN has a new High Stakes Poker.
• At 10:30, BBC America has a new Hollyoaks.

Check your local TV listings for more.

Here are the weekly cable ratings, by number of viewers.

1. The Closer (TNT)
2. Hannah Montana (Disney)
3. Nextel Cup Racing (TNT)
4. Hannah Montana (Disney)
5. WWE Monday Night RAW - 10pm (USA)
6. WWE Monday Night RAW - 9pm (USA)
7. Heartland (TNT)
8. Spy Kids 3 (Disney)
9. Army Wives (Lifetime)
10. Family Guy (Cartoon Network)

I'm not sure if this means that TNT doesn't have any faith in the show or if they have a lot of faith in the show. I sense the former.

The network has announced that they are moving the new Treat Williams medical drama Heartland from the cushy post-Closer spot at 10pm on Mondays to 8pm. That means it won't have a strong lead-in (The Closer is doing great in the ratings) and will have to kick off the night on its own. Heartland isn't exactly a hit with critics.

What's going in the 10pm slot? Glad you asked! It's Saving Grace, a new show starring Holly Hunter as an alcoholic cop who gets help from an angel after she causes an accident.

[via TV Tattle]

(S01E02) With Nathaniel taking over for Bart as the Chief of Staff at St. Jude, his old position is available. This week we learn that it has been filled by one Dr. Tom Jonas (Rockmond Dunbar). I was curious to see how this would go because this is a much different character than C-Note from Prison Break. Give some credit to Dunbar. I was on board with him as Jonas right away.

It was good, but not what I was expecting. Based on the previews I expected there to be more animosity between Nathaniel and Tom. There was a bit of that as they disagreed over the treatment of Gilliam, but by the end of the episode they were joking with each other so it looks like the writers are going in a different direction.

(S01E01) I was curious to get a look at this show as soon as I heard about it. If you were even the most casual fan of Everwood, the premise had to sound some bells. Treat Williams as a brilliant surgeon who struggles to juggle all of the balls in his personal life. That's a thumbnail sketch, but it's one that fits both Nathaniel Grant and Andy Brown very well.

TNT and TBS will offer all seven of their original summer series for free online. New episodes will appear on Turner websites about about 3 am the morning following their debut, and the episodes will be available for viewing for about a month each.

Believe it or not, Turner is one of the first cable networks to do the streaming episodes thing, following in the footsteps of the big four networks, ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX. Last summer, only ABC Family offered its original programming for free online. Other networks, such as FX, Sci Fi, USA, and E! have streamed occasional episodes (mostly premieres and finales) but not entire seasons. As Broadcasting and Cable points out, it's probably because the cable networks can't demand a ton of money from carriers if their content is also available for free online.

Beginning next month, The Closer, Heartland, Saving Grace, and The Company will be on TNT.tv, while House of Payne, The Bill Engvall Show, My Boys, and The Frank Show will be on TBS.com. Episodes of The Closer, Bill Engvall, My Boys and The Frank Show will also be available on iTunes.