The series entry amounts to a Donahue showcase as the charming young actress runs persuasively through a range of emotions. The 30-minutes is also notable for raising a deeper issue than the skillfully feel-good series usually does.
Old man Emery (Ruysdale) has preserved an obstructive high hedge around his aging house in the Anderson family's city. In fact, it's sort of like a barricade to keep the forces of newly arriving 50's suburbia separated from him and his cloistered nostalgia for the old days. Trouble is the high hedge is causing constant traffic problems for neighborhood cars that have trouble seeing past the obstruction. But despite persuasive efforts, old curmudgeon Emery refuses to even trim the growth. Instead, he's sticking to his island come heck or high traffic. In fact, he reminds me of an old-time cattle baron resisting the onslaught of newly arriving farmers. After all, times do change for better or worse. So to me, the entry has a certain unexpected historical resonance.
Anyway, Betty (Donahue) is inspired at school to take on civic betterment causes no matter how dim the prospects for winning. So she decides to take on Emery and his inviolable hedge. Given her determination and winsome charm, it's an unswervable force meeting an umnmovable object. Happily, the upshot's reasonably credible given the factors involved. So, give the series sleeper a try for both the plot and the talented Miss Donahue.
Old man Emery (Ruysdale) has preserved an obstructive high hedge around his aging house in the Anderson family's city. In fact, it's sort of like a barricade to keep the forces of newly arriving 50's suburbia separated from him and his cloistered nostalgia for the old days. Trouble is the high hedge is causing constant traffic problems for neighborhood cars that have trouble seeing past the obstruction. But despite persuasive efforts, old curmudgeon Emery refuses to even trim the growth. Instead, he's sticking to his island come heck or high traffic. In fact, he reminds me of an old-time cattle baron resisting the onslaught of newly arriving farmers. After all, times do change for better or worse. So to me, the entry has a certain unexpected historical resonance.
Anyway, Betty (Donahue) is inspired at school to take on civic betterment causes no matter how dim the prospects for winning. So she decides to take on Emery and his inviolable hedge. Given her determination and winsome charm, it's an unswervable force meeting an umnmovable object. Happily, the upshot's reasonably credible given the factors involved. So, give the series sleeper a try for both the plot and the talented Miss Donahue.