Michele LeTourneau
Northern News Services

NNSL (Mar 01/99) - North of 60 -- the popular television series starring aboriginal icons Tom Jackson and Tina Keeper -- was axed by CBC at the height of its popularity.

Weekly, 1.4 million faithful viewers tuned in to watch the action in tiny Lynx River -- a fictional town located in much the same place as Fort Simpson, NWT.

Based on the popularity of both the series and its leads, it comes as no surprise that the producers chose to look for other ways to keep the project alive.

They found a way and the result is a two-hour television movie being touted as "a contemporary police thriller."

In the Blue Ground -- blue ground refers to a geological phenomena pointing to the existence of diamonds -- presents a sleeker, more fast paced makeover of the old series.

The story revolves around Michelle Kenidi (Keeper), who must come face to face with a nemesis from her past. The context is the discovery of diamonds around Lynx River, with the possibility of the town benefitting.

Michelle, is an irascible character, which is part of her appeal. And she's a woman with a lot on her plate. Besides the madman in the woods, she has to deal with the self-righteous Constable James Harper (Peter Kelly Gaudreault), the latest in a long line of male partners with whom she has battled.

(One good note: Keeper's character has managed to maintain a happy personal life with companion Andrew One Sky, played by Michael Horse).

As for Const. Harper, he has his own problems to deal with, mostly personality problems resulting from the extreme isolation of the North.

Isolation, vastness, and a sense of place is something this film communicates that the series never did.

As Gauldreault explained in a telephone interview, the nature of making the film was very different from making the series.

Financially, it allowed for aerial shots of the North

"You see the dense forests, the winding rivers. The isolation -- you appreciate what it's really about. You get a clearer sort of vision," says Gauldreault about his own experience watching the finished product.

Gaudreault arrived to North of 60 quite late in the day. Brought in for the final episode in the second-to-last season, he then continued throughout the final season.

"I felt kind of cheated," says Gaudreault. "It was a wonderful show, there was lot of area to expand the character."

Another difference that Gauldreault noted was renewed energy with which his cast-mates came to the film.

"A lot have been involved for five or six years," he explains. "You reach a level of fatigue shooting for six months. This was such a small window of time to commit to (one month) and we'd been off for a year."

If this new, slicker version of the tried and true proves a hit with viewers, you can look forward to another instalment in the future.

In the Blue Ground airs on CBC on March 28 at 8 p.m.