Wild at Heart (TV Series) was a British TV Sunday Evening Drama Series created by Ashley Pharoah. It starred a Veterinarian Surgeon, Danny Trevanion (Stephen Tompkinson), who leaves Bristol with his family to move to South Africa with his family. It also features Susie Blake as Judith.
The Series begins with the Trevanion family at home in Bristol, England where Danny discovers an abandoned Vervet Monkey. His wife Sarah (Amanda Holden), suggests that the family return it to Africa to rehabilitate it. They arrive at Leopards Den, where they meet Anders Du Plessis (Deon Stewardson). As the owner, he persuades them to permanently reside at Leopards Den and to become a business partner.
The first series introduces the Travanion family, their new home in South Africa called Leopards Den. The former cattle ranch which is converted into a game park. It introduces the conflict between the family consisting of Rosie- the Bratty Teenage Daughter who is originally resistant to the change. Evan- the older brother who is emotionally unstable and constantly causing mischief and Olivia- the younger sister of Evan and second of Sarah’s children. Anders Du Plessis (Dup) is introduced as the owner of the land. Alex Tate is introduced, who is the successful rival next door.
This Series includes examples of:
- Actually Pretty Funny
- Danny and Dup are tracking a lioness. They intend to use a disk with a distressed pig. Evan switches the disc to a musical CD. Danny initially is frustrated while Dup laughs, but even Danny smiles when he turns away.
- Affably Evil- Alex Tate, very friendly to the family on arrival. Occasionally even helps. However, he is the owner of Mara, a rival game park.
- Animal Stereotypes- Averted, the series focuses on many real wild animals in Africa. While they are played for drama at times, they generally behave in realistic fashion.
- Berserk Button Never turn a car with Danny as passenger.
- Big, Screwed-Up Family The Trevanion family consists of Danny and Sarah, Evan and Olivia, who are Sarah’s children from a previous marriage and Rosie, who is Danny’s daughter from his late wife. Their family conflicts are the main source of plot for the series. When Sarah dies in a bush fire she is replaced by Alice in series four. The changes and conflict between the family further drive the plots later in the series.
- Bratty Teenage Daughter-
- Rosie qualifies as this in spades in the early part of the series. She is rude and obnoxious towards both Danny and his new wife Sarah. She mellows as she ages.
- Olivia becomes one later in the series, but also mellows.
- Bring It Back Alive- justified with Danny, who is a Vet, and owns a resort that focuses on animal welfare. He comes into conflict with his neighbour Alex Tate, who opens his resort to hunters.
- British Brevity- Averted, due to costs related to filming and production, along with strict rules for filming with animals in South Africa, the show’s series each consists of 6 episodes in Series 1. This then ranged between 10 episodes in series 2,4,5,6 and 7. With Series 3 having only 8 episodes.
- Clean Pretty Reliable- Olivia is bitten by a Cobra. Danny administers anti-venom but it doesn’t work quick enough and Olivia stops breathing. Danny used two hands on a child, (a no-no for a young child) and he only does five compressions before jumping straight into a dose of adrenaline.
- Evil Brit
- Alex Tate, the owner of the bigger resort next door qualifies as this. He starts off friendly, but then starts attempting to sabotage Leopards Den.
- Simon, the father of Evan and Olivia is more of an obstacle than evil. He is confrontational and creates a hostile atmosphere due to conflicts over custody of the children.
- A theme regarding British people in general with the locals. Throughout the series, the local people occasionally display xenophobic attitudes towards foreigners.
- Married to the Job both Danny and to some extent Sarah end up like this. Danny being the only Vet in 100 miles is constantly busy. Sarah has her hands full with the kids but also has her hands full with managing accommodations of the park.
- Misplaced Wildlife- Zig-zagged The show starts with a vervet monkey in an urban city in the UK. The Family return it to its natural habitat. The new home is in Africa, meaning that the indigenous animals are native to the environment. Then New owners of Mara purchased exotic animals illegally.
