UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. — "The Magic of Ordinary Days" (Sunday, 8 p.m., CBS/Ch. 2) isn't a sequel or prequel to any other "Hallmark Hall of Fame" production. It's a stand-alone TV movie based on the novel by Ann Howard Creel.
But this tale of unexpected romance does have something in common with the 222 "Fame" productions that have gone before: It's several steps above most TV movies — the sort of high-class, high-quality production you rarely find on either the small or big screen.
Which is entirely by design. And under the mandate of the Hall family, which owns Hallmark cards.
"They believe in this type of entertainment," said Brad R. Moses, president of Hallmark Hall of Fame productions. "They believe in trying to demonstrate to the viewer our commitment to good taste and to quality and to the kind of values that are embedded into this movie and the other ones we do."
While most movies race along at a breakneck pace, "Ordinary Days" unfolds more languidly, allowing characters to build. It's the story of Livvy (Keri Russell of "Felicity"), a single young woman who gets pregnant by a boyfriend who ships off to battle during World War II. Her stern father sends her to a marriage of convenience with an earnest, lonely and uncommunicative farmer, Ray (Skeet Ulrich), who ekes out a living in the middle of nowhere, Colorado.
Livvy isn't happy about her situation — she pines for the big city. And she finds Ray cold and distant.
It's no surprise where this story is headed. But it's the journey that matters — a journey well worth spending two hours to take.
"I was intrigued by the period, and it was just a beautiful story," Ulrich said.
"I just thought it was a beautiful, simple story," Russell echoed.
Which it is. It's the story that counts — a story that is wonderfully acted (by a cast that includes Mare Winningham as Ray's sister), beautifully filmed and skillfully directed by Brent Shields.
"Having . . . a lot more money on a 'Hallmark Hall of Fame' (movie), having the luxury of working with talent like this, it raises the threshold," Shields said. "Because (viewers) expect quality and they expect something that's not typically offered on the network, it does raise the stakes."
But Hallmark holds the winning hand. There's no gamble here for viewers — they come out ahead by watching.
"We do spend more on these movies, and the movies themselves are a little longer because we have less commercial time, so there is a different pace," Moses said. "We do that very consciously."
And they do it extremely effectively.
E-mail: pierce@desnews.com