The Definitive Road to Avonlea

Series Overview

"Road to Avonlea" is a period drama television series based on the works of Canadian writer Lucy Maud Montgomery, particularly her "Anne of Green Gables" series. Set on Prince Edward Island (P.E.I.) between 1903 to 1912 (and a Christmas special taking place December 1914), the series follows the adventures and friendships of the residents in the quaint town of Avonlea. Produced by Sullivan Entertainment, "Road to Avonlea" originally aired in 1990 and ran for seven seasons, a total of 91 one-hour episodes and a Christmas special. The show included an extensive cast with several cameo appearances by famous actors/actresses, and claimed 15 Geminis, three Emmys and four CableAce awards along the way.

The End of a Series

When Sullivan Entertainment announced they were ending "Road to Avonlea" after its seventh season in 1997, devoted fans were shocked. After all, the series gained 2.5 million viewers and was available in 140 countries. Why pull the plug on a show that was such a hit? Sullivan responded with three relevant reasons. First, with nearly 100 episodes already produced, it was becoming increasingly difficult to write stories that were both creative and original. Sullivan claimed that all possible plot and story combinations had been used and any new episodes would risk being redundant. Second, the cast grew up. When "Road to Avonlea" began, its primary focus was on the adventures of its children actors/actresses. However, the series covered nine years and its characters began to move on. Felix joins the Navy, Sara travels the world and Felicity gets married. Towards the second half of the series, focus shifts to new additions to the cast and other youths, such as Davey and Dora. Sullivan didn't want to keep replacing older cast members with younger ones. Finally, the last episode takes place Summer 1912. In just a short time, World War I would start, and the tranquil little town of Avonlea would be changed irrevocably.

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News and Information

October 3, 2008: I have added a first season episode guide to the "Emily of New Moon" section of the "Anne and Emily" page.

September 29, 2008: Several new links have been added to the "Links" page, mostly links to online texts of L.M. Montgomery's "Avonlea" novels.

Also, I received my DVD boxset of the complete first season of "Emily of New Moon." The series can be described as a darker, earlier (by at least a generation) form of "Road to Avonlea." Considering how visually dark the series is, and so many scenes are filmed outdoors, the episodes look rather good on DVD (even better than the first season of "Road to Avonlea"), with very little grain. Unfortunately, the boxset offers no extras. But, the price of $20 for 13 episodes is a steal.

September 15, 2008: I just learned that the complete first season (13 episodes) of "Emily of New Moon" will be released on DVD for a mere $20. I have provided an Amazon link on the "Anne and Emily" page. I'm also planning on adding more information to this section, maybe an episode guide.

September 14, 2008: I have added new info to each actor's filmography, and revised the videos page intro paragraph to be more informative. Also, I have finally cleaned up the incorrect airdates listed in the episode guides. These problems were brought to my attention a couple years ago and I have been extremely tardy in correcting these. There may still be a few errors regarding these dates (and I believe a lot of the airdates posted on the Web are copied from the original mistake-ridden source), but I believe my dates to be pretty close to the truth. If anyone has contrary information, please feel free to correct me.

In regards to subtitled episodes of "Road to Avonlea", a message from Rick Lanser (rickl@dejazzd.com):
In the early 1990s, the Disney Channel broadcast in the USA the show "Avonlea." The show was closed-captioned for the hearing impaired, so I, who am deaf, was able to enjoy them. Since then the Canadian producer of the show has issued DVDs (under the name "Road to Avonlea") of seasons 1-7, but without closed captions or subtitles, and most have been converted to Divx format. If you could upload subtitles for this show, you would make me a VERY happy camper! I am sure anyone who taped the Disney Channel episodes to VCR tape recorded the closed caption signal as well, so this may be an easy way to grab subtitles for all seasons.

June 25, 2008: I have made some improvements to the homepage buttons, and cleaned up some of the Anne of Green Gables product links on the "Anne and Emily" page. The new Anne of Green Gables: The Collection looks pretty exciting and features all three "Anne" films and a bunch of new features in one set. Check out the Anne and Emily page for more information.

Furthermore, if you have a Road to Avonlea or Anne of Green Gables website please add a link to my site. Also, let me know your site URL and I'll add you to my links page.

November 18, 2007: Well, it looks like all of the site's Sullivan Boutique links are dead. I have tried contacting the business to get the links fixed but haven't heard back from them. So, I'm promoting the videos on my site through Amazon.com. They currently offer all seven seasons on DVD. I'll be adding new product links in the next few days.

What do you think about the site?

Please send me your comments, suggestions and/or report any dead links or errors.

Cast Timeline Videos Episodes Anne and Emily Links

About Me: My name is Mark, and I live in Seattle. I created this site because--at the time--I couldn't find a reliable source of information that adequately described the series. I will endeavor to update and improve this site, time permitting. Anyone who wishes to help may forward me ideas, images, stories, etc. and I will try to include them in the following pages.

Site last modified on: October 3, 2008
No copyright infringement intended.