The Globe and Mail - October 20, 1979

"Matt and Jenny"
Donn Downey

When A television network almost screams about how good its new series is, there is generally room for suspicion, but Matt and Jenny, Global's Canadian-produced adventure series, almost lives up to its impossible billing.

Produced at a cost of $3.5-million, the series has been described by one enthusiastic Global official as another Jalna, at least as far as its budget is concerned. But when that $3.5-million is spread out over 26 episodes it is not the blockbuster the official may think it is.

Nonetheless, it is by no means bargain-basement programming if the first two episodes are any indication. Manitou Productions Ltd., the company behind the production, has already sold it in West Germany, Italy and France and is committed to producing 26 weeks of the series, regardless of what happens in the ratings. But Matt and Jenny appear to have little to worry about. It certainly held the attention of my son and daughter and I am told that it will have a priority second only to Three's Company in my household.

For those who have come in late, Matt and Jenny (played by Derrick Jones and Megan Follows) are two orphaned children from Bristol who arrive in Canada in 1850 in search of an uncle who is supposed to have a farm somewhere in the vast expanse of Canada. They think they know where it is - they have a map that puts it near Halifax - but in the first episode, which can be seen tomorrow night at 7 p.m., they discover only an abandoned farmhouse. This, presumably, is only the first of several disappointments that will eventually lead the pair across Canada to Vancouver where the trail may or may not end. It will all depend on the ratings.

The first episode starts out in the confines of the ship that is carrying Matt and Jenny Tanner to Canada after the death of their father.

But the captain has more bad news. Typhoid has claimed their mother and the children fear that the captain will return them to England or else place them in an orphan's home in Montreal. They escape in Halifax but are falsely accused of theft. It is at this point that one of their two guardian angels, Adam Cardston (Neil Dainard), comes to their rescue, ultimately offering to take them to their uncle's farm. Cardston himself is a mysterious man who has travelled throughout the world and is himself returning home, but his occupation, at least in the first two episodes, remains his secret.

The second episode is, perhaps, a more honest indication of how the series will go. The children are by this time in the wilderness and face as their enemy not the captain but a forest fire. It is here that they meet their other guardian, Kit (Duncan Regehr), a young man of the wilderness who helps them survive the fire and, incidentally, save the life of a man with a broken leg.

Both Jones and Follows depart from the pattern of child actors by avoiding the tendency to be just a bit too cute. Follows particularly has a no-nonsense air about her that makes sure Jenny will not be classified as a clinging vine. Dainard as Cardston is a good-natured addition as is Regehr's Kit.

Still to come is an army of soldiers, scoundrels, preachers and travellers who will make up the guest cast for the series.

Source: The Globe and Mail