Heaven on Earth (1 Mar. 1987)

Heaven On Earth follows several children and teens as they are sent from their homes in Wales and England to Canada. Host families await them and each child must adapt to their new ... See full summary »

Director:

Allan Kroeker

Writers:

Margaret Atwood, Peter Pearson

Stars:

Torquil Campbell, Sarah Polley, Fiona Reid

Cast

Episode credited cast:
Torquil Campbell	...	Len Hawkins
Sarah Polley
Fiona Reid	...	Abigail
Sian Leisa Davies	...	Megan Davies
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Nathan Adamson
Amos Crawley
Huw Davies	...	Gareth Andrews
Donna Edwards	...	Sophie Payne
David Hughes
Alison MacLeod	...	Lorna
Loreena McKennitt	...	Lady traveler
Maureen McRae	...	Mrs. Macdonald
Nicholas Rice	...	Gentleman traveler
Judy Sinclair
Cedric Smith	...	Mr. Macdonald

Storyline

Heaven On Earth follows several children and teens as they are sent from their homes in Wales and England to Canada. Host families await them and each child must adapt to their new surroundings, deal with their new duties and families and survive by holding into their friendships. Heaven on Earth is based on historical events and focuses on the trials and hardships of children who were unwanted but ultimately found their place in the world.

Details

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 March 1987 (UK)

Filming Locations:

Manitoba, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), Opix Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Color:

Color

User Reviews

The Home Children

I remember watching this on PBS "Masterpiece Theater". It was the first Canadian production shown on Masterpiece Theater.

It is based on the "Home Children" project. The project's aim was to emigrate British children to Canada where they were adopted by Canadian families. Most of these children were orphans and abandoned children. As you can imagine some of these children were treated very well by these families, others were not. The program sent about 100,000 children to Canada between the 1860s to the 1930s (or 1940s according to some sources).

"Heaven on Earth" is loosely based around the plight of these Home Children. The story centers around 4 teenagers who are sent to live in 3 very different homes.

It is a very moving program and if you can find it on video or DVD (or if it's ever shown again on TV), I highly recommend it.