bkoganbing Melissa Gilbert gets the shock of her life in Thicker Than Water after her father dies. She's a high powered attorney at one of Los Angeles's best white shoe law firms and just getting used to the idea that both of her parents are now deceased. Then the family friend Nan Martin drops an envelope on her with the news that her father had a wife before he married Mom. The first wife was a trick rider Rodeo Queen. As her father was a most conservative sort, that's something she can't figure.She goes in search of wife one and finds a graveyard with another daughter mourning her passing. The daughter is Lindsay Wagner and the half sisters after a bit of getting used to bond quite well.In fact a lawyer who is a sister of any kind comes in quite handy for Wagner who is having a dispute with her neighbor and landlord Granger Hines about water rights and the fact that Lindsay is caring for some wild horses still roaming the range. And there's romance for Gilbert in the person of veterinarian Brian Wimmer.Thicker Than Water is a nice Hallmark Channel production with good roles for both Wagner and Gilbert. I'm sure that is one of the reasons they signed for this film. It's an easy to take film with people you will grow to care about.

imidaho2 I have watched this movie over and over and I love the story. There are some parts that I laugh at every time. It is a clean movie. No cussing, nudity or violence. Unfortunately, this movie is very disappointing due to bad editing and poor direction.Brian Wimmer did an EXCELLENT job portraying Sam, the Vet. Mucho Kudos to Brian! He makes being a Vet look sexy! But the director could have pulled more out of Lindsay Wagner and Melissa Gilbert. Their characters were almost not believable. Lindy Newton did a wonderful job for such a young actress.I would love to find the uncut version of this movie. I believe that a lot of the poor editing choices probably was due to the fact they had to cut to fit television time. But this picture would have been so much better full length.

edwagreen Routine movie fanfare where Melissa Gilbert finds out that her late erudite judge father was previously wed to a rodeo queen. The latter let him go because she saw greatness in his future. If she felt like this, why did she marry him to begin with? Unbeknown to the future, he had a daughter with this woman. She is played by Lindsay Wagner.When Gilbert goes to the ranch to investigate, she soon finds that Wagner is in dispute with the new owner of the range regarding water rights for her horses. In fact, the film begins with the guy shooting at the horses. I was wondering if this was another "They Shoot Horses, Don't they?" Unfortunately, the true nature of the conflict between them is never revealed. As Gilbert is an attorney, she soon threatens the guy with jail if he doesn't let the horses get their water.Along the way, there is a budding romance between Gilbert and the town vet. Looks like the film is going to the dogs.

sleuth-5 For those of us who have walked in the shoes of marginalization or separation from blood kin due to parental decisions to keep secrets, this movie provided a warm and real option for closure. It was comforting, and helped me recognize that connecting to previously unknown relatives takes work, and requires honesty. Lindsay Wagner portrayed a credible role of a firstborn separated from half of her birth family. Estranged from her father, she learned early in life to reach out with love towards others, adopting, so-to-speak, perfect strangers, providing them a safe sanctuary. Her other option was to be bitter, self-centered, and angry, but she chose to give, rather than take. Conversely, Melissa Gilbert begins by being angry and mistrusting. These two characters actually portrayed the emotional schism that exists within children born unto such circumstances. Separating the juxtaposed emotions into two separate characters really helps the viewer, who may have experienced this dynamic, to sort out feelings and see potential character developments of each emotion. The fact that Gilbert's role evolved into a trusting, giving individual who reaches out to the lost and brings them into her heart demonstrated a resolution that people separated at birth might wish to follow. At least such a solution could bring peaceful closure to the wounds parents' decisions sometimes creates in the lives of their offspring.I gave this a high rating because of the realistic solution to real-life emotional turmoil this movie brought. Thanks for airing it.