My how Disney has changed since then. It used to be like an oasis of peace and quiet. Good family shows. Even in the early 2000s shows like Lizzie McGuire and Even Stevens were decent family fare. Once Hannah Montana was a hit the channel changed for the worse.
shareThis wasn't really a Disney production though. They distributed it in the US, but it wasn't their baby.
shareIt was not their baby, but they did help produce it. It was a joint effort between Sullivan's production company, CBC, and Disney.
shareYes. All I meant was that even though they did help produce it, at it's heart, it was a Sullivan production more than anything. Cheers!
shareTrue.
It's interesting to think about what Disney would put on their channel back then as opposed to now. A show like Avonlea would never have a chance on Disney now days.
Have you seen Anne? Even it's much edgier than the Anne of Green Gables books. I don't think Avonlea would make it on many channels these days.
shareWhat is so edgy about it?
shareWell I think that it wouldn't be considered edgy by today's standards, but compared to the book, I would use the word edgy. I am talking about the new series, I see on IMDB it's called Anne with an E. Just little things like Mr. Hammond having a heart attack while beating Anne instead of waiting for his lunch. Talking about periods, robbers coming to Green Gables, Matthew attempting suicide...these really change the wholesomeness of the stories.
shareWow I had no idea
shareYeah, there's a lot of stuff in Anne with an E that is not in the book. It diverges from the source material so much that they might have been better off just to create an entirely new story.
I think this little trend we're going through now is going to look silly in about ten or so years. The trend of having to make everything dark and super serious. With a show like Breaking Bad, the dark tone and seriousness makes sense, but what Vince Gilligan realized that a lot of the copycats don't realize it that it also has to be enjoyable to watch. BB had bits of humor in it. They knew when to be serious and when to give the audience a rest. They also didn't shoot it super dark like so many shows today. If it was the middle of the day in the desert, it looked like the middle of the day in the desert instead of being shot with an extremely dark filter over the lens.
Now everything has to be re-imagined in a super serious tone. Although I haven't watched it, there's a dark, serious show about Archie and Jughead. The sequel series to Boy Meets World lost all of the humor of its predecessor and became super serious. It wasn't true to itself. As silly as Fuller House is, it realizes what it is and where it came from and doesn't take itself too seriously.
It's pretty obvious that the makers of Anne with an E just didn't understand the books. In the books, despite what Anne had been through or seen in her 12 years of life, she tried to stay positive and look at the bright side of life. Her imagination helped her through that. Once she got to Green Gables and knew that Marilla was going to allow her to stay it was as if everything she'd ever dreamed of came true. She lived in a beautiful place with people who loved her. She could get a proper education. She finally had a friend her own age in Diane. Yes, Anne got into scrapes after being taken in by the Cuthberts but they were more of the Leave It To Beaver type scrapes; dying her hair green, selling the wrong cow etc.
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Ultimately Anne overcame her rough early years and had a happy life. Part of the problem with productions like these is looking at a story that takes place in the 1870s/1880s through the eyes of 2017. You have to trust the source material of the person who lived through those years and wrote it.
I do thin that Anne of Green Gables would be a great TV series, though. There's just too much in the books to put into a movie, although I love the first two Kevin Sullivan films. I think an AoGG series that stayed true to the books and the beauty of the island would be great.
Yes, I totally remember watching this on the Disney Channel. I liked season 3 the best. It was one of my favorite shows along with Bill Nye the Science Guy! :)
shareYeah, by season 3 the actors knew their characters pretty well and were able to experiment a little more with it. As evidence in the Jo Pitts episodes where Sarah was allowed to break out of the Sara Stanley character mode and have some fun.
shareI have season 3 on DVD. My husband bought it for me for my birthday last year. :)
shareI’ve always remembered this show too. I found the first season at a yard sale today. I couldn’t believe my luck. I had forgotten it was even available on dvd! Disney was way much better back in the early 90s. Nothing worth watching on there today.
Agree. There's really not much true family entertainment on Disney or anywhere else for that matter. Avonlea was good family entertainment.
shareThe Disney Channel was really good in the 1980s too. I remember watching Walt Disney Presents episodes and the Wuzzles cartoon on Saturday mornings. :)
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