Hallmark Movies: Small Town Royalty Magically Celebrating Rekindled Love! - General Discussion

[TVFan17]

I'll reserve my final judgment until after I see the movie (the Debbie Gibson movie with many of the WCTH people in it) on Saturday, but right now I am still leaning towards the very first Summer Nights installment -- Summer Villa, with Hilarie Burton and Victor Webster -- as being my favorite of the summer movies.  I've liked elements of all of the other movies -- some more than others -- but Summer Villa is the one that really stands out for me the most.

I also made myself watch Unleashing Mr. Darcy again today -- simply because I continue to see people raving about this movie, and I know that a different day and a different mood can make a big difference in my enjoyment of it.  I needed to see if I would suddenly love it too, like so many others do.  And, while I did enjoy it more today than I did the last time I saw it, without question, it's still not one that I am going to need to watch again and again.  It's no Love on the Air, in other words.  I would get the DVD for Love on the Air if a DVD is ever sold.  I don't think I would get an Unleashing Mr. Darcy DVD -- it is cute enough, but not an all-time Hallmark favorite.

[nextian]

I liked Chesapeake Shores, but I read the book series it was inspired by, so I already have an affection for the characters. I think the cast is good, and I found it enjoyable, but yes, it is slow moving. The main family has five children and they are focusing pretty heavily on the oldest daughter these first two weeks, the first book in the series was about her as well, so I guess they are going to take their time delving into each character. I'm sure I'll watch the rest of the season, but I hope that they won't only focus on the oldest daughter and her old boyfriend (Jesse Metcalfe), that will get old. One of the reasons I enjoyed the book series was because I come from a big family myself and liked how the author really caught the different family dynamics, so I'm hoping for more of that as the season progresses.

[In2You]

AV Club did a review of the show. Also reading the comments I see the main character's name is Abby Winter which is also the name of a porn pay site. They probably should've changed the main character's name.

http://www.avclub.com/tvclub/chesapeake-shores-offers-more-idyllic-and-unrealis-241109

[Luckylyn]

Did anyone catch Summer Love?  The boss was so creepy  , looking through her employee file for info so he can hit on her.  I was shocked when she agreed to go out with him when he was being so inappropriate especially when she said she would only go out platonically, and he was clearly ignoring that.  Wasn't surprised when he was nosy and looking through her phone.  It was unrealistic that her phone had no passcode.  I always enjoy Lucas Bryant in movies.   I thought he and Rachel had chemistry but needed more of a romantic build up.  I was confused about why she didn't tell her professor the specific reasons she quit rather than vaguely saying she quit for personal reasons.  Your boss stealing from you is a valid  professional reason to quit.

[TVFan17]

2 hours ago, Luckylyn said:

Did anyone catch Summer Love?  The boss was so creepy  , looking through her employee file for info so he can hit on her.  I was shocked when she agreed to go out with him when he was being so inappropriate especially when she said she would only go out platonically, and he was clearly ignoring that.  Wasn't surprised when he was nosy and looking through her phone.  It was unrealistic that her phone had no passcode.  I always enjoy Lucas Bryant in movies.   I thought he and Rachel had chemistry but needed more of a romantic build up.  I was confused about why she didn't tell her professor the specific reasons she quit rather than vaguely saying she quit for personal reasons.  Your boss stealing from you is a valid  professional reason to quit.

I watched it.  Summer Villa is still my favorite of the Summer movies as of right now (only one more movie to go).

I agree about the chemistry between Rachael and Lucas -- I think there was something there to work with, but more build-up was needed.  

[twoods]

I got bored within 5 minutes so stopped watching. Will probably give it another chance this weekend.

Chesapeake Shores are two hour episodes! That is a lot of time commitment. Oh well, will give it a try just because of gorgeous Jesse.

[Irlandesa]

5 minutes ago, twoods said:

Chesapeake Shores are two hour episodes! That is a lot of time commitment. Oh well, will give it a try just because of gorgeous Jesse.

I think it was just the first episode.  The rest are an hour long.

[twoods]

The second episode says its 2 hours too. 

Edited and you're right- it was only an hour and then started taping Golden Girls. I wonder why it taped 2 hours of it. I liked it enough- it's good background noise while I clean and do laundry.

I tried Summer Love again and lasted another 5 minutes. It was so boring and had no hook for me. 

Edited August 24, 2016 by twoods

[TVFan17]

A few weeks ago I found out about a Hallmark movie that was going to be filmed soon, called Each Precious Heartbeat.  I assumed it was going to end up being a Countdown to Valentine's Day movie, or maybe something for Winterfest -- or maybe just a random movie on the HMM channel.

It turns out that Each Precious Heartbeat is a Christmas movie, and it stars familiar Hallmark faces Crystal Lowe, Emilie Ullerup and Kimberly Sustad (love Kimberly -- especially in Nine Lives of Christmas!).  No clue as to who the male lead is.  Crystal took to Periscope today to talk about it (but I don't know if you'll be able to view the video) -- https://www.periscope.tv/w/1OwxWqBBoWAGQ

I'm going to guess that EPH is bound for the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel.  The Christmas movie line-up on the main channel is already filled up, whereas HMM still has 4 spots available.  And I am guessing there could be a title change as well. 

 

Edited to add:  I just watched Crystal's follow-up Periscope from today, in which she says that Each Precious Heartbeat is about a nursing ward and the work they do there (while still being a Christmas movie).  She also said it's very heartfelt.  Yep -- sounds like it's destined for the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel.

 

In other Hallmark movie news, it looks as though Brendan J. Penny might be the lead actor opposite Rachael Leigh Cook in Autumn in the Vineyard.  I didn't think that Brendan and Sarah Lancaster had good chemistry in last year's 'Tis the Season for Love, and I'm uncertain as to whether or not he and Rachael will mesh well.

Also, Julie Gonzalo appears to be the likely lead actress in Pumpkin Pie Wars.

Edited August 25, 2016 by Sherry67
"Ward" is different than "home," and I shouldn't try to type when I am half asleep!

[Bwill3133]

I like Julie Gonzalo. Will be interesting to see her in a Hallmark movie. 

[Irlandesa]

So I started catching up on my recordings.  Thankfully.  I have a big DVR but it was starting to get crowded because of the backup.

I did record the JL Family Ranch movie even though it didn't look appealing.  I ended up giving up early on and just watching the end.  I don't know if it was good or bad. It just wasn't the kind of story that interested me.

Summer In The City was pretty decent.  Having some authentic scenery really did help.  I liked the love interest even though the movie really wasn't about that.  I did think the whole Food Truck angle was silly.  And unnecessary.  It's not like he was a major force in the movie so I don't understand why they felt they needed to add in that subplot.  Mainly, it reminded me of how much I like Marla Sokoloff and would like to see her headline another movie. It wasn't a rewatcher but not one I hated either.

I have a lot to say on Summer Love.  I was too distracted the whole time by how much this was not how business worked.  There was the weird intern competitiveness even though they are all in separate departments so they likely wouldn't compete for a position.  Or there was the boss saying it wasn't "legal" to ask about her age (it's legal, btw, but not done because it's illegal to base hiring decisions on that info) but then is willing to press her for a date.   And she's an accountant? Who came up with an app?  And there is no way I can believe that the app would make her rich.

And she is praised for being so well put together but then she gossips about the CFO being tough to someone she met 30 seconds ago.  Office gossip is real but most people know to keep their mouths shut for at least a few days to get the lay of the land.

I liked the casting of both of the guys but the love story didn't really do it for me mainly because I felt Lucas Bryant's character felt bland and underdeveloped.  Way underdeveloped.  You can't say that he's rumored to be tough on his interns and then spend the rest of the movie basically showing him be the exact opposite of that. 

While the boss was a creep, I actually think he was the most developed/real character in the movie.  He was somewhat elitist, entitled and operating under the panic of being a one hit wonder.  He was the 'villain' and wrong for her but he's the only character I really connected with.

[kirinan]

Just watched Summer in the City. It was okay; not one of my favorites, but not bad. Happy to see the shots of my beloved Chrysler Building. But you know you're getting old (or you really weren't that much into the movie) when your overriding takeaway was that the lead actress's skirt was so short that she was one bend-over from flashing Manhattan. Do girls her age really wear skirts that short these days? 

[editorgrrl]

30 minutes ago, kirinan said:

Just watched Summer in the City. It was okay; not one of my favorites, but not bad.

Me, too. And now I'm watching My Summer Prince. Marina Sirtis is aging gracefully; Vanessa Angel not so much.

[Fostersmom]

On August 14, 2016 at 0:14 PM, Karen885 said:

I thought Summer in the City was pretty enjoyable. I didn't recognize the leaf actress from anything but she was pretty cute. I wouldn't mind seeing her in more Hallmark stuff. I liked that the romance wasn't the center of the movie. I always enjoy Vivica A Fox so that was a nice suprise. I don't know why the description for the movie said she was from the South when she was from Ohio though, that was annoying. 

I was annoyed from the get go on that one. Her home town was supposed to be Ashtabula, Ohio. Has anyone been there? Cuz I have, it's about 45 minutes down the freeway. Let me tell you, there's sure as hell no cute little boutiques giving fresh baked cookies away luring in fashionistas. You know what is there? A crack den mall that has an anchor store of a going out of business Kmart, I kid you not. A Kmart! In a mall! You know what else is in that city? Heroin…. lots and lots of heroin. But, come to think of it, maybe that would explain the leads horrific clothing choices. And let's not speak about the hat. I did appreciate there was no love triangle or scorned ex, jilted love story line though. The movie was pretty basic and boring to be honest though.

And that brings me to the Debbie Gibson movie that's on right now. What is Hallmark's new love of Ohio? Now this one is supposedly in Youngstown, Ohio. Again, anyone been there? Obviously no one involved with this movie was. A good hour down a different freeway, but somehow even less "quaint" than Ashtabula. Rampant drugs and crime, broken down schools, surely not the city being depicted in this movie. Much more inner city than Mayberry. Again, I am appreciating no stupid will they or won't they love plot. Sure, it's got 40 minutes to go, but it's pretty obvious where this story's going to end up. Debbie's not as bad or as annoying as I thought she would be, but the kid playing the boy in the foster care system looks demonically possessed! LOL!

[Irlandesa]

1 hour ago, Fostersmom said:

I was annoyed from the get go on that one. Her home town was supposed to be Ashtabula, Ohio. Has anyone been there? Cuz I have, it's about 45 minutes down the freeway. Let me tell you, there's sure as hell no cute little boutiques giving fresh baked cookies away luring in fashionistas.

Ha.  I also loved how the Iowa movie took place in a city in Iowa with tons of rolling hills surrounding this city.  I haven't been everywhere in Iowa so maybe this exists someplace, but the topography didn't really strike me as Iowan.

 

Quote

Again, I am appreciating no stupid will they or won't they love plot. Sure, it's got 40 minutes to go, but it's pretty obvious where this story's going to end up. Debbie's not as bad or as annoying as I thought she would be, but the kid playing the boy in the foster care system looks demonically possessed! LOL!

And when her second chance at being a recording artist came, they were so adult in how they handled it.  No feelings of betrayal.  Now "how could yous?" No misunderstandings.  Just pure adultness where they regret what could have been romantically but both being happy about her new professional opportunity.  So adult and mature I could have fainted. 

Overall, this movie just made me smile.  I'm not sure if it was because I was a big fan of Debbie Gibson as a teen but I love that it wasn't a sad movie.  Debbie looked to be having a blast and injected a lot of fun into her role.  I liked the sister relationship.  The kids weren't too annoying. I like Robert Gant in general.  And the only times I found was annoyed because "that wouldn't happen" were with the program shutting down mid-semester and the kiddie music exec (ha) wanting to sign Debbie again over a 30 year old song.  No way.  If he liked the song, he'd want to buy it and have one of his new teenybopper stars sing it. 

I also loved the shout out to Tiffany.

[In2You]

I saw a little bit of Summer in the City and it was too eye roll worthy for me. I was laughing when she broke the return policy to return thousands of dollars of merchandise for good customer relations purpose. Please they would never do that in a small town store. And the offering it to come out of her paycheck like New York living isn't expensive. 

And her style was awful and outdated looking.

Fostersmom mentioned that not being how Ohio is, the writer of this movie is from New York so he knows nothing about Ohio life. Also their are quite a lot of small towns that are just like that poster described.  I wouldn't mind the all small towns are quaint and cozy narrative being let go for awhile.

[Fostersmom]

7 minutes ago, In2You said:

Fostersmom mentioned that not being how Ohio is, the writer of this movie is from New York so he knows nothing about Ohio life. Also their are quite a lot of small towns that are just like that poster described.  I wouldn't mind the all small towns are quaint and cozy narrative being let go for awhile.

Here's the thing, there are TONS of small towns in Ohio that really are like the towns depicted in both of these movies. Super quaint and picture perfect, everyone knows everyone's name, one cute little shop after another. But the two cities they apparently randomly picked names off the map for for these movies, aren't these cities. In fact, they are the polar opposite of them. LOL! I'm not saying they need to depict the towns as they really are, no one wants to see heroin ODs, crime, and boarded up houses in a Hallmark movie, but at least make up a name or put 10 minutes into Googling these places and pick another name. It would be interesting to see some realistic looking towns with more realistic issues though. Maybe not the heroin ODs, but towns that have seen better days, people worried they are going to lose their job or house, kids who have real problems. Imagine what a month of those movies would look like!

[kirinan]

5 hours ago, Fostersmom said:

It would be interesting to see some realistic looking towns with more realistic issues though. Maybe not the heroin ODs, but towns that have seen better days, people worried they are going to lose their job or house, kids who have real problems. Imagine what a month of those movies would look like!

Like real life, LOL, which I don't think is part of the Hallmark brand. But honestly? I wouldn't mind seeing some of those stories mixed in among the sugary stuff. It won't happen, though; they're having success with the fluff, so I completely understand why they wouldn't change. Maybe they could start a third channel so they'd have the Hallmark Channel, the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel, and the Hallmark Hopeful-But-More-Realistic-For-Those-Who-Need-A-Break-From-The-Fluff-And-Would-Also-Like-Some-Diversity Channel. :)

[In2You]

6 hours ago, Fostersmom said:

Here's the thing, there are TONS of small towns in Ohio that really are like the towns depicted in both of these movies. Super quaint and picture perfect, everyone knows everyone's name, one cute little shop after another. But the two cities they apparently randomly picked names off the map for for these movies, aren't these cities. In fact, they are the polar opposite of them. LOL! I'm not saying they need to depict the towns as they really are, no one wants to see heroin ODs, crime, and boarded up houses in a Hallmark movie, but at least make up a name or put 10 minutes into Googling these places and pick another name. It would be interesting to see some realistic looking towns with more realistic issues though. Maybe not the heroin ODs, but towns that have seen better days, people worried they are going to lose their job or house, kids who have real problems. Imagine what a month of those movies would look like!

They don't need to show druggies and crime but boarded up houses is just a sign of hard times. It doesn't need to be happy sunshine fantasyland in every movie where the biggest problem is being in a love triangle. These movies air at 9pm ET. I'm sure the adults watching can handle a story a little more deep than small town girl keeps small town charm. Hallmark uses to make more meaningful movies than the current romantic coms they're over producing lately. The fluff only wasnt the norm until recently. They're lucky the other channels who create light hearted films don't have the money to produce as many movies to give them some real competition. 

Edited August 28, 2016 by In2You

[Luckylyn]

8 minutes ago, In2You said:

They don't need to show druggies and crime but boarded up houses is just a sign of hard times. It doesn't need to be happy sunshine fantasyland in every movie where the biggest problem is being in a love triangle. These movies air at 9th ET. I'm sure the adults watching can handle a story a little more deep than small town girl keeps small town charm. Hallmark uses to make more meaningful movies than the current romantic coms they're over producing lately. The fluff only wasnt the norm until recently. They're lucky the other channels who create light hearted films don't have the money to produce as many movies to give them some real competition. 

I don't mind some fluff but more variety would be fantastic.   Stories with more depth and some realistic stakes is something Hallmark used to do well.  I remember how much I loved Hallmark Hall of Fame movies when they were on CBS.  You might get a drama, romance, a biography.....    Those movies were must see for me and then there was a shift and all movies eventually  became bland romances.  I remember a change in quality when the movies moved to ABC and now on Hallmark exclusively.  I love romance but don't necessarily only want to see only romantic movies on Hallmark especially since they've become so generic.    I wouldn't even might all romance all the time if there was some variety in the storytelling (comedy, drama, tearjerkers).   Also even when the leads have chemistry they're restrained by Hallmark not letting them generate as much heat as they could.  I'm not saying I need a love scene but constantly saving the kiss for the end is ridiculous.   Let the characters show passion a little more.   I really liked the way the leads in Summer Villa had a nice sexual zing even if they weren't touching like in the "come here scene."  I want to see more of that in these movies.  

[dalek]

@Luckylyn, at the risk of sounding like someone who should be standing on her lawn yelling at clouds, I agree with you about missing  the old Hallmark Hall of Fame "event" movies on broadcast network tv.  It was a prestige brand and as you said, could involve a literary book adaptation or a biography, etc.  I'm a huge Anne Tyler fan and really looked forward to those adaptations.  My cable company added Hallmark and Hallmark Movies and Mysteries over a year ago and pretty much the only Anne Tyler movie they ever show is Saint Maybe during the Christmas holiday season.  To be fair, I really like that book and it's a pretty good adaptation, but I wish they did more of the sort of movies they used to do.

[Fostersmom]

What happened to the Hallmark Hall of Fame movies? They were "event" movies and I remember plenty of people tailing about them. I'll be 40 in December, and watched them for as long as I can remember, so it's not like they didn't have a built in audience. 

[Shanna Marie]

I finally caught Summer Love, and I liked it, but not as much as I wanted to. It had a good cast, better-than-usual production values, and a premise with a lot of promise. But it didn't quite live up to the promise. They could have done a lot with the idea of a technophobic mom having to intern at a young, hip Internet company. They even set up some potentially fun things like mentioning her being the Mary Poppins of the company, and they could have even used her supposed technophobia to set up her phone not having any kind of password, so that the boss could swipe her stuff. But other than telling us that she was a mom and technophobic, they didn't do anything with that. She wasn't playing Mom to the younger interns, and we didn't see her struggling with technology, other than that retinal scanner thing. They acted like she was some kind of crone, but she didn't look any older than any of the interns. They may as well have gone with the premise of her taking advantage of her youthful looks and some things she borrowed from her daughter to try to blend in with the interns, only to find herself working for the one "adult" in the company, finding herself torn between the hip, young CEO she has to maintain her fake persona to be with and the guy who's better suited to her real self. That's almost what they did, without the part of her pretending to be younger and with everyone acting like she was ancient.

As usual, the romance is one of the weaker parts of the story. It's not just because they play it so chaste. They just don't bother to develop it. There was a sense of connection in a few of the scenes, and Lucas Bryant was playing the pining to the hilt. But too many of the "romantic" scenes were with Mr. Wrong, and she didn't seem to even notice Mr. Right as anything other than a friend/boss until that last scene when she kissed him. All these romances in these movies seem to jump from 0 to 120 in the last scene, often with the woman not showing any interest in the guy until then.

It's funny that when Lucas Bryant did a couple of Lifetime Christmas movies before and in the early years of Haven, he tended to be cast as the goofball, which is apparently close to his real personality. In the two Hallmark movies he's done this year, he seems to have been typecast closer to Nathan from Haven, the serious, somewhat shy, adorkable type. That last scene, when he stammered his way through his offer to fund her company, was pure Nathan.

[Luckylyn]

4 hours ago, dalek said:

@Luckylyn, at the risk of sounding like someone who should be standing on her lawn yelling at clouds, I agree with you about missing  the old Hallmark Hall of Fame "event" movies on broadcast network tv.  It was a prestige brand and as you said, could involve a literary book adaptation or a biography, etc.  I'm a huge Anne Tyler fan and really looked forward to those adaptations.  My cable company added Hallmark and Hallmark Movies and Mysteries over a year ago and pretty much the only Anne Tyler movie they ever show is Saint Maybe during the Christmas holiday season.  To be fair, I really like that book and it's a pretty good adaptation, but I wish they did more of the sort of movies they used to do.

I loved the Anne Tyler adaptations.  Back When We Were Grownups is one of my favorite Hallmark movies of all time.  Her struggle with being taken for granted by her family and a romance where a woman decides at the end she'd rather be single than with the wrong person was so compelling,   The ending was so bitter sweet.  I just loved it.   None of the new movies this year hit me emotionally the way Hallmark movies used to.  I used to be so excited to see the next Hallmark Hall of Fame movie. 

[In2You]

1 minute ago, Fostersmom said:

What happened to the Hallmark Hall of Fame movies? They were "event" movies and I remember plenty of people tailing about them. I'll be 40 in December, and watched them for as long as I can remember, so it's not like they didn't have a built in audience. 

I don't know but the description for the Christmas one this year Christmas Angel in Training sounds just like the movie Ion aired last year How Sarah Got Her Wings. 

[Luckylyn]

18 minutes ago, Fostersmom said:

What happened to the Hallmark Hall of Fame movies? They were "event" movies and I remember plenty of people tailing about them. I'll be 40 in December, and watched them for as long as I can remember, so it's not like they didn't have a built in audience. 

They were really high quality movies that people looked forward to and talked about.   The whole reason Hallmark Channel exists is because of these movies they showed on network tv that had such acclaim.   I don't understand why they've stopped producing those kind of prestige tv movies.  They are making more movies than ever.  So there's room to have more variety in storytelling. 

[In2You]

2 minutes ago, Luckylyn said:

They were really high quality movies that people looked forward to and talked about.   The whole reason Hallmark Channel exists is because of these movies they showed on network tv that had such acclaim.   I don't understand why they've stopped producing those kind of prestige tv movies.  They are making more movies than ever.  So there's room to have more variety in storytelling. 

They're making more movies than ever but going for quantity over quality. There's more movies but less diversity in storytelling and racial and ethnic diversity. 

[SlovakPrincess]

I have a soft spot for the sentimental silliness of Hallmark movies and series.  Even when I make fun of them, I'm still enjoying them.

I really wanted to get into Chesapeake Shores, and I thought the pilot was pretty good.  They're kind of losing me as it goes on, though.  I think they brought the "run away mom" back to reconcile with the family way too early in the series.  

I would have liked to see more of Wall Street Abby, torn between her high-powered New York life and moving back to her family home.  Instead, the supposed workaholic pretty quickly gave up all pretense of trying to do work remotely and just moved right to making puppy eyes at Trace ... and lamenting her lost time with her daughters while simultaneously not spending much time with her daughters anyway.    

Connor ... annoys me very much.  Why isn't that kid studying for the bar?  Why is Abby taking legal advice from her annoying kid brother who hasn't even passed the bar?  

Also, why is everyone wearing slouchy, bulky sweaters in the middle of summer?  Maybe I know even less about Maryland than I thought, but doesn't it get pretty hot near Baltimore in July???   This is driving me batty.  

[Irlandesa]

41 minutes ago, Fostersmom said:

What happened to the Hallmark Hall of Fame movies? They were "event" movies and I remember plenty of people tailing about them. I'll be 40 in December, and watched them for as long as I can remember, so it's not like they didn't have a built in audience. 

They used to be "event" but "event" TV really isn't much of a thing anymore. They used to be on ABC and then CBS took them over but canceled them due to low ratings.  Technically, Hallmark has them now but I think it has been about eight years since I saw one of those that I loved.  I think I would rather watch fluff with low expectations than so serious with high expectations.

That said, some of my favorite love stories have been the HOF and if they could go back to that quality, I'd be happy.

[twoods]

While watching Chesapeake Shores (I will get around to asking for a new forum for the whopping three of us that watch this show) I saw a preview for the Fall fest movies. 3 out of the 4 actually look promising (Good Witch may be decent if the show wasn't so damn boring). I may get hungry during that Pumpkin Pie bake off movie or whatever. At least the leads are actresses that I like.

[In2You]

10 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

They used to be "event" but "event" TV really isn't much of a thing anymore. They used to be on ABC and then CBS took them over but canceled them due to low ratings.  Technically, Hallmark has them now but I think it has been about eight years since I saw one of those that I loved.  I think I would rather watch fluff with low expectations than so serious with high expectations.

That said, some of my favorite love stories have been the HOF and if they could go back to that quality, I'd be happy.

Event TV has basically been the only thing NBC is having some success with lately. 

Unless they up the quality of the films its hard to care about HOF movies on the Hallmark Channel when they have a movie premiering almost every weekend of the year. I could do wihtout the Christmas overload too.  Starting in October is too much. And at least show some Thanksgiving movies on Thanksgiving.

[chitowngirl]

What the Deaf Man Heard is my all time favorite HOF movie. The Hallmark commercials that ran during them were special too. They were made for the specials, then edited down for regular broadcasting. I remember a series of commercials  they did with Kimberly Williams and George Newburn (from Father of the Bride).

[TVFan17]

...

Edited September 1, 2016 by Sherry67
Because there is no way to delete posts

[LilWharveyGal]

On 8/28/2016 at 9:31 PM, twoods said:

While watching Chesapeake Shores (I will get around to asking for a new forum for the whopping three of us that watch this show)... 

I just did. :) 

[Jaded]

On 8/28/2016 at 10:00 PM, Irlandesa said:

They used to be "event" but "event" TV really isn't much of a thing anymore. They used to be on ABC and then CBS took them over but canceled them due to low ratings.  Technically, Hallmark has them now but I think it has been about eight years since I saw one of those that I loved.  I think I would rather watch fluff with low expectations than so serious with high expectations.

That said, some of my favorite love stories have been the HOF and if they could go back to that quality, I'd be happy.

They've actually aired on ABC. CBS, NBC and even once on PBS apparently. I only remember them being on CBS and then ABC before moving to the Hallmark Channel. The last two HOF movies which which were made in the last few years that I enjoyed aired on ABC. Remember Sunday being one and In My Dreams being the other. This is a really neat list of all the HOF movies made so far. 

Apparently a HOF movie was supposed to be on CBS earlier this year but was scrapped after details about decades old abuse stories about a school similar to the one in the movie came out. 

[chitowngirl]

Chesapeake Shores has a forum!

[editorgrrl]

39 minutes ago, chitowngirl said:

Chesapeake Shores has a forum!

http://forums.previously.tv/forum/2716-chesapeake-shores/

[bunnylove]

Is there a category/sub forum for the Hallmark show called Home & Family? I did a search, but didn't see anything. Thank you!

[TVFan17]

On ‎9‎/‎8‎/‎2016 at 7:57 AM, bunnylove said:

Is there a category/sub forum for the Hallmark show called Home & Family? I did a search, but didn't see anything. Thank you!

I could have missed it hidden somewhere in these forums, but I don't think there is even a dedicated single thread for Home & Family, let alone a forum or sub-forum.  I thought I had seen one in the past, but then I was surprised to not find anything when the Cristina Ferrare issue was happening in June and July (in the wake of her being fired due to her age).  I wondered if the thread I thought I saw got moved somewhere else, or if I had just never seen it at all.  I could have easily overlooked it, though.

In any case, H&F is an original Hallmark series, and although a lot of people don't like it and complain about it, it seems like it should have a forum.  Have you put in a request for a H&F section?

Edited September 9, 2016 by Sherry67
typo, as usual!

[In2You]

If alot of people are interested in discussing the show request a forum. If alot of people aren't just create a thread

[bunnylove]

Thank you for your replies!  In fact, I never have seen Home & Family! :)  I watch I Love Lucy on Hallmark and there are constant commercials for this show.  It seems it would be ripe for snark! :)  

[In2You]

4 hours ago, bunnylove said:

Thank you for your replies!  In fact, I never have seen Home & Family! :)  I watch I Love Lucy on Hallmark and there are constant commercials for this show.  It seems it would be ripe for snark! :)  

Home and Family is so boring to me. Every episode I watched was bland interviews and DIY not sure how much you'd be able to snark about.

[TVFan17]

9 hours ago, bunnylove said:

Thank you for your replies!  In fact, I never have seen Home & Family! :)  I watch I Love Lucy on Hallmark and there are constant commercials for this show.  It seems it would be ripe for snark! :)  

H&F is not a bad concept in general, but the execution and pacing of it are often lacking.   The point of it is to be something more than a typical talk show, or more than a typical lifestyle show or cooking show, by making the viewers feel as though they are being welcomed into a home and are part of a family.  For that reason, the show is longer than the average daily talk/lifestyle/cooking show.  Instead of one hour, it clocks in at 2 hours, but they sometimes cram a lot of things into that time.  They interview guests, they cook, they decorate, they craft, they garden, they do home improvement/DIY sorts of things, they play games, they give shopping tips, they give entertaining tips, they give travel tips, etc. 

H&F is also a great platform for Hallmark to promote their movies -- especially the ones with actors who are not as well known.  In other words, Danica McKellar, Alicia Witt and Candace Cameron Bure would have no problem being able to promote their movies on any network because they are well known enough to be able to do that.  But someone like, for example, Jack Turner or Fiona Gubelmann might not be well-known enough to a wider audience, and Home & Family is a place where they can appear and get the viewers interested in them enough to want to see their movies.

The problem with H&F is that, because of the length of the show, on days when there is no holiday to cover, the segments can drag.  I usually don't watch H&F most of the time.  I couldn't even tell you who was on the show yesterday or today.   I will generally just tune in if there is a specific guest or segment I want to see, or during the holidays.   I find that it flows better as a show when, for example, we start getting right into the super-active October-November-December block of time and there is a lot of ground to cover with segments about Halloween-Thanksgiving-Christmas-New Year's.   Outside of the busy last few months of the year, though, H&F can be boring, for sure.  No doubt about that.

They recently got rid of their longtime co-host, Cristina Ferrare, in hopes of attracting a younger demographic with a new co-host (Cristina has said that this is what happened).  The thing is, I don't know how many younger people are home at the time the show is on, and how many of them want to watch a 2-hour lifestyle show even if they are home?   AND H&F outraged many of their existing "older" fans because they dumped Cristina due to her age, so they probably lost some viewers too.

My guess is that H&F might have to be dramatically revamped or reformatted down the road, probably shortened and just given an overhaul.  It will probably end up becoming more of what it set out not to be in the first place, but that may be what keeps it on the air.  It's not an entirely useless show -- there are a lot of good segments sprinkled throughout -- but I think the length of it and the pacing of it turn viewers off.

Edited September 9, 2016 by Sherry67

[In2You]

The thing about Hallmark movie actors promoting on Home and Family is that its kind of pointless. The main viewers of Home & Family already watch  all the Hallmark movies  and will watch regardless. They're promoting their movies on the same channel the movies are airing on where ads are also airing during the show for said movies. Now if they were revealing new an interesting things about themselves it would be different.  They need to pick what type of show they want to be. Do they want to be a talk with celebrity guests or a DIY show? The mixed format doesnt work, their interviews aren't really great, and the running time is too long.

Edited September 9, 2016 by In2You

[bunnylove]

From the commercials, it looks all 'goody goody'!  In other words, unbelievable.  Maybe I should actually watch an episode to see if there is any fodder to snark about.  

[WendyCR72]

Allow me to address the above from earlier. This is PTV. And while it may share overlap with TWoP just by the virtue of having posters from there who are also here, PTV is its own site with its own style and policies.

And posters come here for many reasons: Snark, discussions, friendly debates, and even some online friendships. Defining the whys will depend on each poster. And what some find non-snarkworthy, others will have fun with. Comes with the territory of people with different opinions.

So let's live and let live and allow people to post for their own reasons, provided other posters are not attacked.

To add, please don't debate what deserves a forum or what does not. It's simple: If you want a forum, feel free to request one in the New Show Request Forum. If others want to discuss a show in that forum, great. This thread is for Hallmark Channel Movie programming as a whole (with overlap with the Holiday Movie thread). But if new forums for shows do come to be, that given topic can be discussed in its own created forum. But it is not to debate the pros and cons of creating show forums. Do or don't, but let's get back to discussing the Hallmark content and not poster habits or proposed forums.

[Court]

I'm excited for the 4 new fall movies. 

[WendyCR72]

Saw commercials for Christmas movies already. I love Christmas as much as the next person, but I cannot believe how early these films seem to start. And they seem to start earlier every year.

But the ratings must be super because it still happens.

[In2You]

7 hours ago, WendyCR72 said:

Saw commercials for Christmas movies already. I love Christmas as much as the next person, but I cannot believe how early these films seem to start. And they seem to start earlier every year.

But the ratings must be super because it still happens.

It's the highest rated time of the year for Hallmark but I think they keep starting earlier because of the competition from the other channels too. With other channels like Lifetime,  Ion, and Up showing Christmas films every weekend too there's more options

[Irlandesa]

Believe it or not, I think it's starting later this year.  According to the Hallmark website, the first new movie is on Nov. 5th.  Last year, the first new movie was on Nov. 1st, although I think there may have been a fallish-themed movie on 10/31.