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Road to Avonlea focuses equally on its child and adult characters.
Road to Avonlea is a television series which was first broadcast in Canada and the United States between 1990 and 1996. It was produced by Sullivan Films (later Sullivan Entertainment) in association with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and the Disney Channel, with additional funding from Telefilm Canada, the Ontario Film Investment Program, and the Cable Production Fund. It was adapted from a series of books by L.M. Montgomery, author of Anne of Green Gables, which Sullivan had previously adapted as Anne of Green Gables in 1985 and Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel in 1987.
In the United States, its title was shortened to simply Avonlea, and a number of episodes were re-titled and re-ordered. When the series was released on DVD in the United States, the title changed from Road to Avonlea to Tales from Avonlea.
The series is set in the fictional small town of Avonlea, Prince Edward Island, in the early 20th century (1903-1912). There, 11-year-old Montreal heiress Sara Stanley (Sarah Polley) is sent by her wealthy father to live with her two maiden aunts, Hetty and Olivia King, to be near her late mother's side of the family. The show's focus shifted over the years from Sara's interactions with her new-found relatives, to stories about the King family. Later seasons of the show focused more on residents of Avonlea who were connected to the King family, and Sarah Polley eventually left the show, although she returned for several guest appearances.
[edit] Characters
[edit] Major characters
- Sara Stanley (played by Sarah Polley) - Sara is an adventurous eleven year old girl used to fine living in Montreal who learns to adjust to the simpler life in Avonlea. Her mother was Ruth King, sister to Hetty, Alec and Olivia. When she arrives in Avonlea, she lives with her single aunts Hetty and Olivia at Rose Cottage. In the later seasons, Sara is travelling with her Nanny Louisa. (Seasons 1-5) In season 6 Sara returns from her trip with Nanny Louisa. Both Nanny Louisa and Aunt Hetty start planning Sara's future without consulting Sara. Sara, on the other hand, has plans of her own. She yearns to become a writer and has applied at a prestigious writing school in Paris. In the end, Nanny Louisa and Aunt Hetty agree to Sara's wishes. She later returns for Felicity's wedding.
- Hetty King (played by Jackie Burroughs) - Hetty is the staid, humourless, middle-aged schoolteacher of Avonlea and the head of the King family as she was the oldest growing up. She resides at Rose Cottage with her sister, Olivia, and her niece, Sara. In the later seasons, Hetty stops teaching to write. While Sara is in Europe with her nanny, Hetty takes in Mrs. Lynde and the twins Davy and Dora.
- Olivia King (played by Mag Ruffman) - Olivia is Sara's more affectionate, younger aunt and the youngest of her siblings. She later marries Jasper Dale and leaves Rose Cottage. Before her marriage Olivia works as a reporter for the local paper. It is through this job that Olivia becomes close to Jasper Dale because he does the photography for her stories and continues to do so after their marriage. Jasper and Olivia have a son named Montgomery and later adopt a baby girl from one of their employees at the cannery.
- Alec King (played by Cedric Smith) - Alec is Hetty and Olivia's brother and Sara's uncle and the first born son. He is a farmer and lives with his family next door to Rose Cottage at King Farm.
- Janet King (played by Lally Cadeau) - Janet is Alec's loving but independent-minded wife.
- Felicity King (played by Gema Zamprogna) - Felicity is the daughter of Alec and Janet. She often insists on taking on adult responsibilities and feels superior to her younger siblings and her cousin Sara. She had three beaux during the course of the series. She eventually chooses Gus Pike and marries him in the series finale. Over the course of the series, Felicity wants to be a wife, a teacher, and a doctor, but eventually runs the Avonlea Foundling Home.
- Felix King (played by Zachary Bennett) - Felix is Alec's and Janet's older son. He is mischievous and often gets into trouble. Felix befriends Izzy (Isolde), the daughter of the new widowed school teacher Mr. Pettibone, who takes over after Hetty retires. In the later seasons, there is the beginning of a romance between Felix and Izzy.
- Cecily King (played by Harmony Cramp and later by Molly Atkinson) - Cecily is the quiet, youngest daughter of Alec and Janet. The actress switch occurs after Cecily becomes ill with tuberculosis and goes to a sanitarium in the United States. She is more interested in the farm work than her brother, Felix, and Alec considers leaving the farm to her.
- Gus Pike (played by Michael Mahonen) - Gus is a young vagabond who grows to earn the respect of the townsfolk. (Seasons 2-5) Gus is also a sailor and he leaves Avonlea for a time to find his mother, whom he thought had died long ago. After word of a hurricane, he is presumed dead, but is found by Felicity and Hetty along the Eastern shore of the United States. When they find him he is blind and they bring him back to Canada for surgery to restore his sight. After the surgery, Gus marries Felicity.
- Jasper Dale (played by R.H. Thomson) - Jasper is a shy, stammering photographer and inventor who eventually marries Olivia. Jasper and Olivia buy the local cannery in the later seasons, which in the final season catches fire and burns down.
[edit] Minor characters
- Rachel Lynde (played by Patricia Hamilton) - Rachel is the local busybody and self-appointed moral guardian of Avonlea. Her character originally appeared in Anne of Green Gables
- Marilla Cuthbert (played by Colleen Dewhurst) - Marilla is Rachel's more tolerant best friend. She is also a character brought back from Anne of Green Gables. (Seasons 1-3: character passes away after the actual death of the actress in 1991)
- Muriel Stacey (played by Marilyn Lightstone) - Muriel is a schoolteacher and a rival of Hetty. The two women are true polar opposites. Her character also originally appeared in Anne of Green Gables
- Andrew King (played by Joel Blake) - Andrew is another King cousin sent to live on King Farm at the same time as Sara in Seasons 1 and 2. His father is Roger King, Hetty and Alec's younger brother. Roger and Ruth were born one year apart, to the day.
- Peter Craig (played by Miklos Perlus) - Peter is a hired hand about Sara's age. The son of Maud Craig, he works at the farm in the first season.
- Peg Bowen (played by Susan Cox) - Peg is a recluse and herbalist who is thought of as the witch of Avonlea.
Notable guest stars on the show included Jonathan Crombie, Diana Rigg, Faye Dunaway, Shirley Douglas, Madeline Kahn, Christopher Lloyd, Christopher Reeve, Stockard Channing, Michael York, and Kyle Labine.
[edit] Executive Producers
[edit] Writers
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- Janet MacLean
- Marlene Matthews
- Jerome McCann
- Fiona McHugh
- Yan Moore
- Deborah Nathan
- Laurie Pearson
- Raymond Storey
- Patricia Watson
- Grahame Woods
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[edit] Directors
- Dick Benner
- George Bloomfield
- René Bonnière
- Robert Boyd
- William Brayne
- Graeme Campbell
- Stacey Stewart Curtis
- Allan Eastman
- F. Harvey Frost
- Stuart Gillard
- Otta Hanus
- Kit Hood
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[edit] External links
Canada
