''In a Heartbeat'' is a

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

television series inspired by real life EMT squads whose staff consists of high school students in

Darien, Connecticut Darien ( ) is a coastal town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. With a population of 21,499 and a land area of just under , it is the smallest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast (Connecticut), Gold Coast. Situated on the Long Island ...

. The series follows the lives of several teenagers who volunteer as part-time EMTs while going to school and trying to maintain their lives as normal teenagers. In Canada, the series was aired on Family Channel while in the United States it was aired on the

Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...

. The series is fact-based, as there are teenage volunteer EMTs in service all across the United States.

Synopsis

The EMT squad is made up of Hank Beecham (Danso Gordon) who manages playing football with the high school team as well as being the EMT-Intermediate of the group; Val Lanier ( Reagan Pasternak) who is noted for being an excellent student and cheerleader; Tyler Connell ( Shawn Ashmore), a football player and Hank's best friend; and Jamie Waite ( Christopher Ralph), the newest member of the squad initially there not by his own choice but as a result of a new program to help troubled teens get their life together by becoming EMTs. Other characters in the series are Brooke Lanier ( Lauren Collins), Val's twelve-year-old sister who volunteers with the squad after school and whose main job consists of managing the paperwork; and Caitie Roth (Jackie Rosenbaum), Val's best friend, a goth who is known for her dark clothes and purple-streaked hair.

Cast

* Danso Gordon as Hank Beecham * Reagan Pasternak as Val Lanier * Shawn Ashmore as Tyler Connell * Christopher Ralph as Jamie Waite * Lauren Collins as Brooke Lanier * Jackie Rosenbaum as Caitie Roth * Nikki Goodell as Penelope London

Episodes

Reception

'' Variety''s Laura Fries reviewed the show favorably, remarking that "Disney's original high school drama series "In a Heartbeat" has characters every bit as appealing as anything you'd find on the WB, only a heck of a lot smarter." Lynne Heffley of ''Los Angeles Times'' described the show as "surprisingly watchable".

References

External links

* {{Former Disney Channel original series 2000s American teen drama television series 2000 American television series debuts 2001 American television series endings 2000s Canadian teen drama television series 2000 Canadian television series debuts 2001 Canadian television series endings Television series by Disney Television shows set in Connecticut Disney Channel original programming American teen drama television series Canadian teen drama television series American television series about teenagers Canadian television series about teenagers Television shows filmed in Toronto Television series by Alliance Atlantis Television series by Corus Entertainment Television series by Lionsgate Canada American English-language television shows