By Pat Centner
April 17, 2001

(AgapePress) - Whether you are a devoted fan of the book or original TV series, or just someone longing to see clean, wholesome television programming, tune in to PAX TV on Sunday and Monday evenings, May 13 and 14, and be prepared for a pleasant surprise.

Christy, Choices of the Heart, a two-part mini-series, will take you back in time to the early 1900s and Cutter Gap, a small settlement in the beautiful Smoky mountains of Tennessee. There you'll find Christy Huddleston and the beloved characters that originally graced the pages of Catherine Marshall's novel, Christy, and later charmed viewers in the TV series by the same name. The new mini-series will air Sunday evening at 9:00 p.m. and Monday at 8:00 p.m., Eastern and Pacific.

The new films draw on Marshall's best-selling novel as the basis for the mini-series, as it was for the 1994 series on CBS TV. Although a fictional account, Christy reflects the life of Marshall's mother, Leonora Wood. It tells the story of a young woman who leaves her well-to-do family and travels far back into the hills of Tennessee to teach children at a mission school. Marshall's beautifully descriptive stories of Christy's faith and determination to make a difference in the lives of the poor, but fiercely proud, residents of Cutter Gap have endeared her to people around the world.

New Christy cast -- Lauren Lee Smith (front) plays Christy; James Waterston (left) portrays The Rev. David Grantland; Diane Ladd plays Miss Alice; Stewart Finlay-McLennan (right) returns as Dr. Neil MacNeill
© 2000 PAX TELEVISION NETWORK

Return to Cutter Gap, a pilot episode for the new series, aired last November on PAX TV. It featured Christy as an elderly woman who delights her daughter by relating escapades and adventures from her early days in Cutter Gap. The film was enthusiastically received, both by fans and movie critics alike.

The May 13 film, A Change of Seasons, will focus on the testing of Christy's faith in God and, on the 14th, A New Beginning will culminate with Christy as a radiant bride, having finally chosen one of the two men she's long been torn between. Will it be Dr. Neil MacNeill or the Rev. David Grantland? Only a very few people know, since wedding scenes were shot with both men in order to maintain an element of surprise.

Tom Blomquist, executive producer and co-writer of the new series, says he wants prospective viewers to know beforehand that it's not necessary for them to have prior knowledge of Christy, either as a book or a TV series. He emphasizes that he and Jeff Sagansky, president of PAX TV and key figure in bringing Christy back to TV, collaborated on the structure and story line of the series to make certain new viewers would quickly acquire an understanding of the characters and plot.

Blomquist says the new series was a labor of love for everyone involved, including the production team, the cast, the crew and members of Catherine Marshall's family. "It was amazing," he says. "There was an alchemy between the cast and crew and scripts that is very rare. Sometimes everything just congeals, and this was one of those times. Everyone knew it and felt it."

Christy (Lauren Lee Smith) and Dr. Neil MacNeill (Stewart Finlay-McLennan)
watch as crew members work on the set for the "rain scene"
© 2000 CYber SYtes, Inc.

There was also an unusual bonding and camaraderie among the cast members, Blomquist said, especially given the fact that some were new to their roles, while others returned to play the same characters they portrayed in the CBS series.

Lauren Lee Smith, a model and actress from Vancouver, British Columbia, is new to the role of Christy. In the former series, Christy was played by Kellie Martin, who was unable to return because of other commitments.

Blomquist only has words of praise for both Smith and Martin: "Lauren was an absolute miracle and godsend to us. We were all really skeptical that we could ever find anyone who could live up to Kellie's portrayal of Christy. But Lauren has many of her same qualities. She brings intelligence, grace, innocence and a certain spiritual purity to the role."

Smith says she is thrilled to have been picked for the role of Christy. "Even though I feel I'm still just starting my career, I know that roles like Christy Huddleston don't come along very often. I knew how special the original series was, and it was a dream come true to be involved with something like that."

One of the fans' favorite characters, the compelling Dr. Neil MacNeill, is once again being played by Stewart Finlay-McLennan. "The joy of playing MacNeill lies in the character's complexity," he says. "It is rare for an actor, particularly on television, to get to play what's not being said. It is those unsaid 'undercurrents,' along with the more obvious, that make the soup of MacNeill's life an enjoyable challenge to play."

When Finlay-McLennan was asked to describe Dr. MacNeill in one word, he chose " 'love' -- his love of the children. . . of Christy. . . of his people and culture. . . of the outdoors, and the love he shares through healing the sick."

Diane Ladd, gifted actress and recipient of numerous acting awards, including three Academy Award nominations, will play Miss Alice Henderson, the spirited Quaker missionary who takes Christy into her heart and life. Rev. David Grantland, Cutter Gap's young minister and suitor of Christy, will come to life in the person of James Waterston, actor of both stage and screen.

"We wanted the sets, the costumes, the props, everything, to be as authentic to the descriptions in the novel as we could make them, and that takes a lot of money," Blomquist continues. "We weren't able to pay some of the cast and crew members as much as they could make on other films. But they were more than willing to work for less, just because they wanted to be a part of this project. Not a day went by that one of them didn't thank me for the opportunity."

The fact that Christy is returning to the small screen is an incredible story within itself, and it involves a lot of very special, important people, says Blomquist.

First, and foremost, are the thousands of Christy fans who have worked so hard to keep alive their dream for a returning TV series, Blomquist observes. Their unquenchable enthusiasm and support are evidenced by dozens of web sites and an online community of fans who have spent untold hours sending thousands of emails and making hundreds of phone calls, all geared to promote the ultimate return of Christy.

"You hear, periodically, about a show that has unusual fan support, but these people are amazing!" Blomquist exclaims. "You need to realize there are really three groups of fans: the original fans of the novel published almost 40 years ago; the fans of the original CBS series, many of whom had also read the novel and loved it; and the new fans resulting from the November film. I can't express in words the deep appreciation I have for all of them and their complete devotion to Christy."

It took many people, working together toward a common goal, to make the stories in this mini-series come to life, Blomquist said. Some who played vital roles in the project were Jeff Sagansky, PAX TV president; Nancy LeSourd, attorney, family member and spokeswoman for the Catherine Marshall family; and actor/producer John Schneider.

Jeff Sagansky was president of CBS and very instrumental in the airing of the first Christy series. Blomquist, who worked with Sagansky on the original series, says he is very much a man who wants to bring quality family programming to TV. When he became president of PAX TV, he began to work toward that goal. John Schneider was searching for family-friendly TV programming to produce and had loved the original Christy series. He contacted LeSourd to see if the Marshall family would be in favor of another series of films. They struck a deal and began to work with Sagansky, who asked Blomquist to spearhead the project. In the meantime, Christy fans had kept cyberspace singing with notes to PAX TV, encouraging them to bring back their beloved Christy.

Blomquist says the way the pieces fell together was "miraculous" and obviously meant to be. "This whole experience has made me much less pessimistic about the TV business, that something like this, the revival of a long-deceased project that I loved, that it would even be possible, has re-invigorated my sense of optimism. And from a personal perspective, I have been able to suspend all the normal rules, expectations and challenges of my life and go live, once again, with these characters I love so much."

Special Note: Christy lovers everywhere are excited about the opportunity this mini-series holds for the return of Christy to a regular TV series. But there is no guarantee of that, Tom Blomquist says. "Ratings are the thing, and ratings are impacted by how many people watch a show. If people really want good wholesome TV shows, they have to watch the shows, and more than that, they have to let the networks know they enjoy the shows and want them to continue!"

WATCH AND RESPOND TO:
PAX TV Audience Relations
601 Clearwater Park Road
West Palm Beach, FL 33401
Email: viewermail@pax.net

Pat Centner is Staff Writer for AFA Journal, a monthly publication of the American Family Association. She can be contacted at pcentner@afo.net. For everything you ever wanted to know about Christy and this new mini-series, visit www.christy.tv.

© 2001 AgapePress all rights reserved.

 

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