I first saw the incredible movie "Love Comes Softly" in 2003 not long after it was first released. I can't exactly pin point the day or the time. But oddly enough, I can vaguely remember where I was sitting in my family's double-wide mobile home that day long ago. I was lounging on the floor like every kid does and we happened to turn it to the movie. We had never seen it before. I had never even heard of Janette Oke before. But I can sincerely say that that moment in time changed my life forever. No, it wasn't in some drastic way. I wasn't immediately swept away into another realm. Rather, it was simple and slow. After seeing that movie, we eventually learned about the continuing movie series being made and purposed to keep up with the series. It wasn't long after that as I progressed through school and book reading that I took interest in the author who inspired the movies. So I began reading the "Love Comes Softly" book series by Janette Oke through my book report years. Every chance I got it was a given. I'd be reading an Oke book whenever A Beka let me read a fiction title of my choice. It was my first real experience in the world of fiction.
Fast forward a few years to my mid-teenage years. One day I decided to sit down and start writing a story. I don't know why I did it. But I did. It was something that had been on the inside of me that had finally begun to surface. Truth be told, I didn't know squat about how to write a story. Looking back on that time, I can laugh. But every writer starts somewhere. Along with my growing passion for the art of writing came the love for storytelling. Eventually I began falling in love with characters and their stories and the struggles of life that make up the greatest stories ever told. The grit. The raw emotion. Not the drama. The stories. Not the romance. But the love. Not the perfect scene. But the messed up scene. The scene that made me relate to it. Because in this world I began to discover an appreciation for real life as it has progressed, changed, and developed over centuries passed until today.
Somewhere around 2008 or so (don't quote me on that), I found out that Janette Oke's book series "When Calls the Heart" was set to be made into a series of movies much like the "Love Comes Softly" series. I was ecstatic. I couldn't wait! And as footage began to emerge of this first taste of the new film about Elizabeth Thatcher and her journey into the Canadian wilderness, I could not wait until I could see the entire movie. Yet time marched on and so did any sign that this movie was to be released. They blamed the abrupt cancellation of the movie on the spiraling economy of that time. But for the longest time, I continued to support and search and try to keep up with this film series with the strongest of hope in my heart that it would happen someday. But it never did. Instead, when the economy got back up (supposedly) and Hallmark got into the original series business, they created an entirely different story for display on the little screen. In this newly revamped WCTH pilot movie, we see this other Elizabeth Thatcher live her aunt's journey of becoming a school teacher on the Canadian prairie. Despite my utter disappointment of not seeing Elizabeth and Wynn's story unfold in full, I greatly enjoyed this movie. So again I held to my hope that there was a decent future for this upcoming series. But again my hopes were dashed when they recast the lead roles AND changed the Mountie. (Count em. We've been through three Mounties so far since this thing began.) But being the faithful supporter of faith and family drama that I was, I stuck it out and gave it a chance. In so doing, I was very pleased with the first season of the program. There was no soap opera feel. The stories were not injected with frivolous drama. And the actors were good. At the end of season one, I was looking forward to season two. But that is when everything changed. And not for the better.
Season two began a downward trend, taking a complete turn away from and slap in the face of what "When Calls the Heart" is as Janette Oke originally wrote it. As the original Elizabeth and Wynn would have lived during the 1910s. The sad part is, the entire perspective of making television and the audience reception has changed these days in just a short decade to where people and the creators of the shows just really don't care! All they want is a good, juicy story for entertainment and appeasing their flesh. They no longer care about enriching their spirits with hope. Sure they say they fill each episode with hope. But what they don't realize is that the more fake you make a production, the more false hope you are giving your audience. The audience deserves a raw, realistic look into that character's life. How else can he truly relate to a character that is completely opposite from the way they would have been in the 1910s? Oh wait that's right. They can relate to the character. Why? Because the character is straight out of 2017. At least that's what I see when I look into their face to see a modern makeup job, a modern hairdo, and a modern way of carrying themselves. (Takes a deep breath)
I was told recently by someone involved with the show that no one wants to see a show where the characters look dirty and haven't bathed for a week. That if I wanted to see something out of history I should go watch a documentary or read a book. Their show doesn't aim to replay history but to entertain. And to these rude comments I shook my head thinking to myself how arrogant it was for someone to say this to a young woman who has seen far too many historic dramas to count that accurately displayed their historic setting AND entertained me very well. No, they never got everything right. I'm the first person to give any show grace in this area. But as producers of entertainment, you automatically have a responsibility to live up to. As soon as you state your drama is set in 1910, 1792, or 2002, you automatically have a responsibility to portray the world your character lives in as accurately as you possibly can. What if in a couple hundred years from now they make a movie set in the year 2017. When the producers gather around the table they say, "We are going to leave out all cell phones and iPads from this movie because no one wants to see people using such primitive technology compared to what we are using today! Besides, it had such a negative effect. We are just here to entertain people. So no cell phones. People don't want to see that." You as a person living in 2017 would automatically feel insulted. Why? Because the world you live in has cell phones and such technology. Why would anyone portray our world differently?? It doesn't matter what you want as a writer or producer. If you say your show is set in 1910, give your viewers 1910. If you say your movie is set in 1983, then give me 1983. NOTHING ELSE WILL DO! Anything short of that is disrespectful and a slap in the face of those that lived before us. Not to mention it is exceedingly rude to the author of these wonderful stories.
If you want to continue writing these fantasy stories, go ahead. Be my guest. But do me a favor. Take off the name "When Calls the Heart." Don't put Janette Oke's name in the credits. She had nothing to do with these stories you are writing. If you were inspired by her writing, then it was very loosely. For you failed to truly see her beautiful work for what it is. She did not write these soap opera stories. Instead, she wrote the story of Elizabeth Thatcher and Wynn Delaney. This Elizabeth was a weakling who became strong. A polar opposite of Miss Krakow's representation. I no longer see a woman who gave up her convenience. To me, she brought her convenience with her. A mark of a strong woman would be one who dares to live without convenience for the sake of the greater good. The original Elizabeth gave up an easy life for the hard life. The hard life where she couldn't go back to her home on a whim as if this whimsical Hamilton was a quick ride down the road. Instead, she was thrust into a hard life on the prairie in the middle of nowhere. There wasn't even a town! Just a schoolhouse and a little shack to call home. She was alone for much of the time, preparing lessons and choring. There wasn't a swarm of drama around her. She got dirty. She had struggles. She suffered. She didn't have makeup, fancy clothes, a curling iron, or indoor plumbing. And she sure as heck didn't wear low cut v-neck blouses. Her world didn't revolve around some supposedly drop-dead gorgeous Mountie that leaves her in tears and a pouty face when he rides off after asking her to marry him. No, the real Elizabeth went with Wynn. They struggled and trudged through life at his posting in the Northwest Territory together. But of course that doesn't help television show ratings rise of course. Supposedly. Well, at least it used to.
I could say much more on this subject, but I won't for now. I might in the future. All I can say is, the "When Calls the Heart" television series has lost a viewer. A viewer who loves true raw wholesome storytelling. Not the fantasy wannabe family-friendly picture portrayed by this show. As a person aspiring to write television, I feel like WCTH is an insult to the industry I love that has given us dozens of successful, real, and meaningful television classics. Yes, I do want to see people getting dirty. Why? Because that's how they lived back then. And it's how I live today. They were real people doing real things to survive. Maybe our world would be a better place if a few more people would be willing to get dirty and sweat for what they want in life instead of keeping their heads buried in the fantasy sands that WCTH has become, wishing their life into success. Suck it up. Use some elbow grease. From now on, this is my Elizabeth Thatcher. Thank you, Janette Oke, for writing Elizabeth and Wynn's story. You have been and will always be my hero and inspiration for why I pursued being a writer. Thank you for writing this story. It will always be what "When Calls the Heart" truly is for me. This is the heart and soul of the true "When Calls the Heart." 💕
