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Life Is Wild

 (Series -- CW; Sun. Oct. 7, 8 p.m.)

By BRIAN LOWRY

'Life is Wild'

Filmed in Johannesburg, South Africa, by Company Pictures in association with CBS Paramount Television and Warner Bros. Television. Executive producers, Charlie Pattinson, George Faber, Michael Rauch; producers, Lance Samuels, Adam Friedlander, William Shephard; director, Bryan Gordon; writer, Rauch;
 
Katie Clarke - Leah Pipes
Danny Clarke - D.W. Moffett
Jo Clarke - Stephanie Niznik
Jesse Weller - Andrew St. John
Art - David Butler
Chase - K'Sun Ray
Mia - Mary Mouser
Oliver - Calvin Goldspink
Tumelo - Atandwa Kani
Emily - Tiffany Mulheron
 

The revised version of this CW pilot not only alters the cast but cuts to the chase -- opening in South Africa, where a blended family has relocated for reasons that are sputtered out in one absurd gulp of dialogue. "Life Is Wild" is the latest example of a series given an exotic locale in the hope that it will breathe life into an otherwise mundane family drama, and it's not a good sign that the animal actors are the only ones you'd object to seeing hit with a tranquilizer dart. Expectations had best be modest, because it's hard to foresee a stampede in this show's direction.

The narrative is told largely from the perspective of teenager Katie (Leah Pipes), whose clunky voiceover narration informs us that her veterinarian dad (D.W. Moffett, a post-development replacement for Brett Cullen) and stepmom (Stephanie Niznik) have loaded up the truck and moved the family from Manhattan to a reserve filled with wild beasts. (Insert your own "How is that different from New York?" joke here.)

Katie spends much of the time feuding with her stepbrother Jesse (Andrew St. John), who's about the same age, and there are two younger kids to balance out the "Aw" quotient and do stupid things like get lost in the wilderness when there's a wounded lioness on the loose. They also take up residence with Katie's cranky grandfather Art (David Butler), hoping to restore the lodge that he's allowed to slip into disrepair.

Mostly, though, this is a chance to showcase the local fauna, an approach tried in past years by programs ranging from "Second Noah" to the BBC's more recent "Wild at Heart," the inspiration for this series. Meanwhile, Katie and Jesse get to be surly and yell things like "Don't you talk about my dad!" and "You do that, Dr. Doolittle," even as they meet the local kids, ranging from a South African youth with a talent for tending to animals (Atandwa Kani) to a brother-sister tandem seemingly plucked out of a "South Africans Gone Wild" swimsuit calendar.

Even a hard-hearted critic would find it difficult not to coo at the lion cub that wanders onto the grounds, but the series can deliver only so many Animal Planet moments before leaving auds to grapple with its trite elements and annoying characters. And while the concept of exploring cultural differences is welcome, there's such a conspicuous deficiency of black Africans in the premiere that, if not addressed in future episodes, the show could be subject to charges of taking a "Tarzan"-like approach.

So while the inclination is to give CW credit for trying something different conceptually, turning this peek beyond U.S. borders into "Dawson's Congo" or "7th Heaven: Africa" doesn't really qualify. Then again, as long as they're in Africa, maybe they should just cast the whole thing with meerkats.

camera, Peter Sinclair, Lance Gewer; editors, Michael Berenbaum, Stephen Mark; music, Maurice White, Bob Christianson; production designers, Robert Van de Coolwijk, Victor Botha; casting, Christine Smith Shevchenko, Alexis Frank Koczara, Lucinda Syson, Moonyeen Yee. RUNNING TIME: 60 MIN.