Search - Avonlea Christmas - Spin-off from Anne of Green Gables and Road to Avonlea on DVD

A treasure for die-hard series fans!

Rory Walsh | Indianapolis, USA | 06/07/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Olivia visits from England with Montgomery donning an accent. Clara Potts now disdainingly refers to Felicity as "Felicity Pike!" Felix has put aside the hospitality business to fight in WWI. Daniel is a student of Hetty's and Hetty is exactly the same. How wonderful to follow up on an extended family I feel is an extention of my own!Alright, so our beloved Jasper, Sarah, and Gus are absent (Sarah's not even mentioned), but still this irresistably charming vingette of a Christmas plagued with dissapointments satisfies the loyal viewer who dreamt of what occured after the series' end. I'm glad I own it to be able to revisit my fictional friends, and I think it's worth it to every fan who feels as I do.The relationships between the characters take precedence in the movie, with Janet agonizing over Felix's MIA status, Olivia turning to Alec for tender brotherly support when Jasper forgets the especially important engagement of catching their boat to Avonlea, Felicity wishing Gus were with her as she tries to decide what to do with her life, and everyone, as always, annoyed with Hetty. For all its faults and loose ends, I still treasure this video as a window into the lives I've spent so much time watching over the years. To those who made it- thank you, and please send more!"

A rather disappointing reunion for the "Avonlea" cast

Lawrance M. Bernabo | The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota | 01/22/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Think of having a "Friends" reunion with only four of the characters (your pick) and you get an idea of why fans of "Avonlea" (a.k.a. "Road to Avonlea") were less than thrilled with this 1998 television movie. The premise of "Happy Christmas, Miss King" is that the King family has gathered together during the First World War to celebrate Christmas, but word comes that Felix has been listed as missing in action in France. Other plot lines have Aunt Hetty (Jackie Burroughs) hurting her back, Aunt Olivia (Mag Ruffman) thinking of moving back to Avonlea, and Felicity (Gema Zamprogna) trying to find a new career. The problem is that which each of these last three plotlines each character is missing their key counterpart from the series: Sara Stanley, Jasper Dale, and Gus Pike respectively. The Story Girl and the two husbands appear in old footage, but that just emphasizes the fact that they should have been there. The story is by Raymond Storey, although those who have read the entire Lucy Maud Montgomery canon will recognize the son missing in action bit from "Rilla of Ingleside," the last of the Anne of Green Gables books. In a sense, that novel becomes my basis for comparison as much as the original series, because that is the one book I have read that really gave me a sense for what the First World War was like for the people of Canada. The war went on for years before the United States entered and Montgomery really gave a sense of how long it was, whereas "Happy Christmas, Miss King" takes place during the holiday season. However, to be fair, this story is not as disappointing as the "Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story," which finds Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe still not married during the war years. Too bad, because "Rilla of Ingleside" was one of Montgomery's better novels because of its treatment of what happened during that time.It was nice to see familiar faces, such as Cedric Smith as Alec King, and Patricia Hamilton as Mrs. Rachel Lynde, but if you are going to bring most of the cast back it should have been for something more special than this. Dealing with the war really should have been the dominant focus without the half-hearted efforts to get us up to date on some of the characters. Against the backdrop of a world war the petty marital squabbles of Olivia and Felicity seem rather childish. Besides, the television series ended with Felicity's marriage and it is just wrong to throw out that happy ending without serving some greater purpose than what we have here. "Happy Christmas, Miss King" will disappoint most viewers, simply because of the heightened expectations they will have based on their memories of the beloved series. Fans will want to see it, but they should do so with lowered expectations."

The Return!

Lawrance M. Bernabo | 01/15/2000

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I was so excited to learn that Kevin Sullivan had decided to make a sequel to "Avonlea"! I just saw "Happy Christmas Miss King", and was a little disapointed. Sara Polley didn't appear, eventhough the show was originally centered around her character! Zach Bennett had very few lines, and "Gus Pike" didn't appear either. Although it was nice to see how some of the characters developed, you can't expect that same old feeling to come back when all the old cast isn't there. I hope in the future, Sullivan makes another movie, but this time with everyoe in it. The series always had a charm about it, and for that "may we be truly thankful!""

Not as good as the series

Lawrance M. Bernabo | 04/05/2000

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I got the video yesterday and watched it. I wasn't happy with it either. The sound was awful! It sounded like it had been copied from a copy. They didn't even mention Sarah. Heck and family memeber goes missing and you don't even call Sarah? I will stick to watching the reruns! I used to tape every episode (for my own use) I would watch them all the time. I found myself bored with the movie, something that never happened before."