"Happy Christmas" Not So Happy

"Road to Avonlea" was a surprisingly successful series from Sullivan Entertainment. Based loosely on the Story Girl books by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery, and shortly before Christmas in 1998, CBC television aired the first made-for-TV movie to follow the series, "Happy Christmas, Miss King".

"Happy Christmas, Miss King" starts off a few years after the series finale of "Road to Avonlea", in which Felicity King and Gus Pike wed. Unlike the series, though, which could best be described as bubblegum fare, safe for children of all ages and a cleaner, happier answer to "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman", "Happy Christmas, Miss King" is anything but. There is little of the happy-go-lucky series to be found in this telemovie. The happiest moments are the announcement of a living Felix, and Gus and Felicity's impending "new" arrival.

Glaringly absent from the movie were two of the most beloved characters in Avonlea history. Sarah Polley (who left at the beginning of the last season) is noticeably absent from the role of Sara Stanley, the central character in the early years of the show. Polley has been the shining star of the Avonlea alumni, having started her career with a small role in the 1985 Canadian Christmas film "One Magic Christmas", and working her way up lately to American releases like "Go", Atom Egoyan's "The Sweet Hereafter" and David Cronenberg's "eXistenZ", as well as roles in the upcoming films "Kingdom Come", "Love Come Down", and "Stillwater". Her burgeoning career made her absence much more understandable.

Harder for fans to understand was the absence of Michael Mahonen, who has played Gus Pike (off and on) since the start of the second season, and is the on-screen husband of central character Felicity King. According to fan pages, Michael opted not to return to the role because he felt that the salary was too low, and to accept such a wage would be doing a disservice to the long-time fans of the show. While the general consensus seems to agree with him, many fans are disappointed that he didn't choose to do it anyway. (To add my own two cents, they better have been offering him a three-figure or less salary. Mahonen is a relatively unknown actor outside the "Road to Avonlea" fan circle, and any role is a credit to his resume, even if it's just a Canadian made-for-TV film that is not likely to appeal to viewers who have never seen "Road to Avonlea". There are better ways to make a stand than by refusing a role and forcing the script writers to re-write a movie.)

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