{alltv} 'Heartland' goes beyond high school

Amber Marshall is happy her series Heartland is nothing to Screech about.

"(Amy) actually is graduating high school this year, so that's something new," Marshall said of her character. "That's what I love about Heartland, it's not a Saved By the Bell.

"Heartland isn't a show that needs to take place in high school. It can take place anywhere, as long as it's centred on life on the farm."

Without question, Screech -- the most annoying character among a whole class of them on Saved By the Bell -- would be out of place on the farm. But rural life works just fine for Marshall and Heartland, the fourth season of which debuts Sunday, Sept. 26 on CBC.

"You don't want to be trapped in a time bubble," continued the 22-year-old Marshall, who grew up in London, Ont.

"Heartland never was specifically a high school-based show, so we don't need to be trapped in that. We can explore and go beyond high school and see Amy's life maturing as a young adult."

Heartland is a horses-and-heartaches family drama, shot and set in Alberta. The Alberta landscape almost serves as a character in Heartland, which has been a strong ratings performer since its debut in 2007.

As the fourth season begins with Heartland's 50th episode, Amy (Marshall) is becoming a rising star on the Ring of Fire circuit. Amy is thrilled when Ty (Graham Wardle) returns to the ranch on his motorcycle -- all girls are suckers for that, aren't they? -- but Amy is chagrined to find that Ty has not come back alone.

Marshall is thankful that Amy has been allowed to "grow up," slowly but surely. And looking to Marshall's future as an actress, that transition obviously will help in terms of how the showbiz industry views her.

"That's very true, it's a good point and I have thought about it before," Marshall said.

"I portray a teenager in this show. That's what my character is. But as the show is progressing, so is my character, and so is her age. As I see her turning into a young woman, I think the viewers will start viewing her as a young woman, too.

"Definitely if you look back in Season 1, Amy was a child. She was a young girl. But as she is gaining more responsibility, I think the viewers are going to start trusting her and respecting her more as a young adult instead of a child."

Make no mistake, no matter what age she's playing, Marshall still loves her job. And a large part of loving her job is linked to where she gets to do it.

"Just the other day, we were in a beautiful location -- it was a big cow pasture, actually," Marshall said with a laugh. "But it looked out over the mountains, and there were cattle and horses, and even now, four years into this, I still found myself just staring and going, 'Wow -- I work here. This is so cool.' "

As long as Screech doesn't show up, it's all good, Amber.