Disney Offers Family Drama 'In A Heartbeat'

Author: F. Colin Kingston
Published on: Mar 2, 2001

Few series can claim to combine real-life adventure/danger with the trials and tribulations faced by the average high school student. The new Disney Channel series IN A HEARTBEAT does that and more.

The premise of the series isn't as far-fetched as you might think. IN A HEARTBEAT is based on actual programs in many American cities in which teenagers serve as volunteer EMT's.

An EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) assists accident victims, administers first aid and communicates with professional medical personnel at local hospitals when administering treatment. While their training is not as in-depth, their duties are fairly similar to that of a paramedic.

IN A HEARTBEAT focuses on the lives of four volunteer EMT's: Tyler Connel (Shawn Ashmore), Val Lanier (Reagan Pasternak), Hank Beecham (Danso Gordon), and Jamie Waite (Christopher Ralph).

Tyler is a star student and football player at his high school. His parents were divorced when he was younger and he lives with his mom and step-father. He enjoys his work as an EMT and works hard at it.

Val hopes to become a doctor someday and takes her EMT training very seriously. Also a star student, Val is a cheerleader as well. She has helped to keep her family together since her father on the series recently had a heart attack.

Hank is the star quarterback on his football team and a scholar as well. His father is a successful surgeon and Hank puts a lot of pressure on himself to succeed. He is the oldest EMT and serves as the team leader.

Jamie is the rebel of the group. He became an EMT only as a condition of his probation when he was sentenced to community service. He is slow to trust others but is enjoying his work as an EMT and grudgingly is making friends with the other team members.

Rounding out the primary cast of characters is Brooke Lanier (Lauren Collins) and Caitie Roth (Jackie Rosembaum). Brooke is Val's younger sister and volunteers doing the paperwork for the EMT's. Caitie is Val's best friend. Though the two have little in common they have a strong friendship that nothing can break.

In addition to saving lives, the four EMT's must cope with typical teenage issues such as dating, school, preparing for college, getting along with family, etc.

Executive Producers Richard Pierce and Keith Pierce have assembled a fine cast and a good group of writers. The show successfully blends drama and adventure with a sprinkling of laughs thrown in for good measure. I highly recommend it. This is one of the few television series that the family can watch and enjoy together The series airs on the Disney Channel Friday thru Sunday at 7 p.m. ET/PT.

For more information on IN A HEARTBEAT check out http://www.disneychannel.com.

This week in television history: March 3, 1976 marks the end of the series PETROCELLI. Airing on NBC, the series focuses on Tony Petrocelli (Barry Newman) an unconventional lawyer who lives in a trailer house and practices law in cattle country. Susan Howard played his wife Maggie. The series was spawned from a successful television movie called THE LAWYER.

Coming next week: Catch a preview of some of the programming PBS will be offering during their March fund drive. Also, this week in television history. Final thoughts: Do you have a television related web site that you'd like me to review? Perhaps you have a television trivia question that you'd like me to answer. If so, drop me a line at F_Colin_Kingston@suite101.com. Until next week, happy viewing!