Menu Close

Emily of New Moon (1998–2003 television series)

Emily of New Moon was a television series that aired on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation between 1998 and 2003. Based on L.M. Montgomery’s novels Emily of New Moon, Emily Climbs, and Emily’s Quest, the series consisted of four seasons of a total of forty-six episodes.

Related Pages: Emily of New Moon (1998–2003): Season 1 | Emily of New Moon (1998–2003): Season 2 | Emily of New Moon (1998–2003): Season 3 | Emily of New Moon (1998–2003): Season 4

Contents

Overview
Credits
Episodes
Awards
VHS Releases
DVD Releases

Overview

Visually and thematically the antithesis of Road to Avonlea, Emily of New Moon offered a drastic reconfiguration of popular notions of Victorian time/space. Instead of presenting Prince Edward Island as Avonlea’s fantastic bubble where reality rarely intrudes, Emily of New Moon openly explored such themes as illegitimacy, drug addiction, mental instability, hypocrisy, child abuse, misogyny, and the effects of extreme Protestant repression. Developed by longtime Road to Avonlea writer and story editor Marlene Matthews, the series was a co-production of Salter Street Films (Halifax) and Cinar Productions (Montreal) and filmed entirely in Prince Edward Island.

Like Montgomery’s novels, the television series initially follows the adventures of eleven-year-old Emily Byrd Starr, an orphan who must negotiate her passionate spirit and desire to write with the limits imposed by a repressive environment. In addition to this general framework, the series writers, working under Matthews’s supervision, added a number of elements and subplots that offered a record of 1890s Prince Edward Island that is radically different in tone and in topic from Montgomery’s. Emily’s “flash” and encounters with the supernatural are heightened in the television series, so much so that Ellen Vanstone refers to the production as “The X-Files meets Anne of Green Gables” (C1). As well, characters such as Aunt Laura (McCarthy), Aunt Thom (Janet Wright), and Margaux Lavoie (Jacqueline MacKenzie) all contribute to the series’ unflinching rejection of the Victorian idolization of courtship and its creation of situations that entrap women legally, sexually, and emotionally.

The regular cast consisted initially of Susan Clark as Aunt Elizabeth, Stephen McHattie as Cousin Jimmy, Martha MacIsaac as Emily, and Sheila McCarthy as Aunt Laura. Susan Clark left the show at the beginning of the second season and was replaced by two Scottish relatives, Linda Thorson as Cousin Isabel and John Neville as Uncle Malcolm. Thorson and Neville both left after the third season. In the fourth season, Jessica Pellerin was added to the regular cast after playing the recurring role of Ilse Burnley for the first three seasons.

Although the series was produced for broadcast on WIC stations across Canada, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation eventually bought first Canadian broadcast rights and premiered the series on 4 January 1998 in Road to Avonlea’s former time slot. After airing for two seasons between January 1998 and January 1999, the CBC put Emily of New Moon on hiatus, with the remaining two seasons airing sporadically between January 2002 and February 2003. Individual WIC stations began airing episodes of the series in fall 1998, but because they did so independently of each other, no uniform WIC airdate can be provided.

Back to Top }

Credits

Company Credits
A Nova Scotia–Québec co-production produced by Salter Street Films Ltd. and Cinar Productions Inc. Produced in association with WIC Entertainment.

Regular Cast
Susan Clark as Aunt Elizabeth (season 1; guest, season 2), Stephen McHattie as Cousin Jimmy, Martha MacIsaac as Emily, Sheila McCarthy as Aunt Laura, Linda Thorson as Cousin Isabel (seasons 2–3), John Neville as Uncle Malcolm (seasons 2–3), and Jessica Pellerin as Ilse Burnley (season 4; recurring, seasons 1–3).

Recurring Cast
Chip Chuipka as Mr. Carpenter (season 2; guest, seasons 1, 3), Emily Cara Cook as Rhoda Stuart, Mackenzie Donaldson as Jenny Strang, Peter Donaldson as Ian Bowles (season 3; guest, seasons 1–2, 4), Richard Donat as Dr. Burnley, Adam Frost as Jack Haszard (season 4), Sheena Larkin as Mrs. Bowles (season 3; guest, seasons 1–2), Kris Lemche as Perry Miller (seasons 1–3; guest, season 4), and Shawn Roberts as Teddy Kent.

Notable Guest Cast
Beatrice Arthur as The Voice, Martha Burns as Eve Kinch, Anna Cameron as Aunt Ruth, Maury Chaykin as Lofty John, Susan Clark as Ada Pickett, Phyllis Diller as Great Aunt Nancy Priest, Barbara Feldon as Madame Marlena, Macha Grenon as Nadine, Martha Henry as Megan Moore, Lisa Houle as Iris Campbell, Lisa Houle as Eve Kinch, William Hutt as Reverend Pitch, Sheena Larkin as Mrs. Bowles, Jacqueline MacKenzie as Margaux Lavoie, Greg Malone as Mad Man Morrison, Tom McCamus as Dr. Campbell, Michael Moriarty as Douglas Starr, Joan Orenstein as Great Aunt Caroline, Liisa Repo-Martell as Maida Flynn, Mary Walsh as Miss Pick, and Janet Wright as Aunt Thom.

Writers
Nobu Adilman, Leila Basen, Heather Conkie, Dennis Foon, Edwina Follows, Rob Forsyth, Jeremy Hole, Janet MacLean, Marlene Matthews, Peter Meech, David Preston, Lynn Turner, and Joe Wiesenfeld.

Directors
George Bloomfield, Chris Bould, Randy Bradshaw, Richard Ciupka, Phil Comeau, Steve Danyluk, Douglas Jackson, Jimmy Kaufman, Michael Kennedy, Gordon Langevin, Lorette Leblanc, Eleanore Lindo, Don McBrearty, Stephen McHattie, Bruce McDonald, Matthew Nodella, Gabriel Pelletier, Jean-François Pouliot, Stefan Scaini, Mark Sobel, and Giles Walker.

Credits
Salter Street Films and Cinar present. Developed by Marlene Matthews. Executive producers: Micheline Charest, Michael Donovan, and Ronald A. Weinberg. Executive producer for WIC Entertainment: Dale A. Andrews. Creative producer for CINAR: Patricia Lavoie. Based on the novels Emily of New Moon, Emily Climbs, and Emily’s Quest, written by L.M. Montgomery.

IMDb
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0135727/

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emily_of_New_Moon_(TV_series)

Back to Top }

Episodes

S1E01: The Eye of Heaven
S1E02: Storms of the Heart
S1E03: The Book of Yesterday
S1E04: The Disappointed House
S1E05: Paradise Lost
S1E06: The Enchanted Doll
S1E07: Falling Angels
S1E08: The Tale of Duncan McHugh
S1E09: Wild Rover
S1E10: The Ghost of Wyther Grange
S1E11: A Child Shall Lead Them
S1E12: A Winter’s Tale
S1E13: The Sound of Silence

S2E01: Summer of Sorrows
S2E02: And So Shall They Reap
S2E03: A Shadow in His Dream
S2E04: Where Angels Fear to Tread
S2E05: The Witches’ Spell Book
S2E06: Rivers of Babylon
S2E07: A Time to Heal
S2E08: The Devil’s Punchbowl
S2E09: Pins and Needles, Needles and Pins, When a Man Gets Married, His Trouble Begins
S2E10: Crown of Thorns
S2E11: When the Bough Breaks
S2E12: Love Knots
S2E13: The Book of Hours

S3E01: Ask Me No Questions, I’ll Tell You No Lies
S3E02: The Return of Maida Flynn
S3E03: Under the Wishing Moon
S3E04: Bridge of Dreams
S3E05: Bred in the Bone
S3E06: The Return of Malcolm Murray
S3E07: In the Valley of the Shadow of Death
S3E08: Had a Wife and Couldn’t Keep Her
S3E09: A Fall from Grace
S3E10: The Bequest
S3E11: Command Performance
S3E12: A Man May Work from Sun to Sun but a Woman’s Work Is Never Done
S3E13: A Weaver of Dreams

S4E01: Rites of Passage
S4E02: The Taming of Ilse Burnley
S4E03: A Bill of Divorcement
S4E04: Too Close to the Sun
S4E05: The Weight of the World
S4E06: Away
S4E07: A Seller of Dreams

Back to Top }

Awards

Combined, the first two seasons won three Gemini Awards (out of nineteen nominations), but the remaining two seasons were ineligible for Gemini Award nomination because of a technicality.

Season 1: 13th Annual Gemini Awards (1998)

Michael Donovan, Marlene Matthews, Micheline Charest, Ronald A. Weinberg: Best Dramatic Series (Nominee)

Sheila McCarthy, “The Enchanted Doll”: Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role (Winner)

Stephen McHattie, “The Book of Yesterday”: Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role (Nominee)

Jessica Pellerin, “The Enchanted Doll”: Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Series (Nominee)

Kris Lemche, “Falling Angels”: Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Series (Winner)

Maury Chaykin, “Paradise Lost”: Best Performance by an Actor in a Guest Role Dramatic Series (Nominee)

Marlene Matthews, “The Eye of Heaven”: Best Writing in a Dramatic Series (Nominee)

Christopher Dedrick, “The Eye of Heaven”: Best Original Music Score for a Dramatic Series (Nominee)

Perri Gorrara and Andrée Brodeur, “The Disappointed House”: Best Production Design or Art Direction in a Dramatic Program or Series (Nominee)

Kate Rose, “The Enchanted Doll”: Best Costume Design (Nominee)

Season 2: 14th Annual Gemini Awards (1999)

Sheila McCarthy, “Rivers of Babylon”: Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role (Nominee)

John Neville, “The Book of Hours”: Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role (Nominee)

Martha Henry, “The Book of Hours”: Best Performance by an Actress in a Guest Role Dramatic Series (Winner)

Chris Bould, “Pins and Needles, Needles and Pins, When a Man Gets Married, His Trouble Begins”: Best Direction in a Dramatic Series (Nominee)

Steve Danyluk, “Rivers of Babylon”: Best Photography in a Dramatic Program or Series (Nominee)

Kate Rose, “The Book of Hours”: Best Costume Design (Nominee)

Christopher Dedrick, “Rivers of Babylon”: Best Original Music Score for a Dramatic Series (Nominee)

Perri Gorrara, Zoë Sakellaropoulo, Don McEwen, and Dan Owens, “A Shadow in His Dream”: Best Production Design or Art Direction in a Dramatic Program or Series (Nominee)

Back to Top }

VHS Releases

Emily of New Moon. 6 volumes. Koch Vision, [2000].

  • The Eye of Heaven / Storms of the Heart
  • The Book of Yesterday / The Disappointed House
  • Paradise Lost / The Enchanted Doll
  • Falling Angels / The Tale of Duncan McHugh
  • Wild Rover / The Ghost of Wyther Grange / A Child Shall Lead Them
  • A Winter’s Tale / The Sound of Silence

Back to Top }

DVD Releases

Emily of New Moon: The Complete First Season. Echo Bridge Home Entertainment, 2008.

  • Disc 1: “The Eye of Heaven,” “Storms of the Heart,” “The Book of Yesterday,” “The Disappointed House”
  • Disc 2: “Paradise Lost,” “The Enchanted Doll,” “Falling Angels,” “The Tale of Duncan McHugh,” “Wild Rover”
  • Disc 3: “The Ghost of Wyther Grange,” “A Child Shall Lead Them,” “A Winter’s Tale,” “The Sound of Silence”

Emily of New Moon: The Complete Second Season. Echo Bridge Home Entertainment, 2009.

  • Disc 1: “Summer of Sorrows,” “And So Shall They Reap,” “A Shadow in His Dream”
  • Disc 2: “Where Angels Fear to Tread,” “The Witches’ Spell Book,” “Rivers of Babylon”
  • Disc 3: “A Time to Heal,” “The Devil’s Punchbowl,” “Pins and Needles, Needles and Pins, When a Man Gets Married, His Trouble Begins”
  • Disc 4: “Crown of Thorns,” “When the Bough Breaks,” “Love Knots,” “The Book of Hours”

Emily of New Moon: The Complete Third Season. Echo Bridge Home Entertainment, 2010.

  • Disc 1: “Ask Me No Questions, I’ll Tell You No Lies,” “The Return of Maida Flynn,” “Under the Wishing Moon”
  • Disc 2: “Bridge of Dreams,” “Bred in the Bone,” “The Return of Malcolm Murray”
  • Disc 3: “In the Valley of the Shadow of Death,” “Had a Wife and Couldn’t Keep Her,” “A Fall from Grace”
  • Disc 4: “The Bequest,” “Command Performance,” “A Man May Work from Sun to Sun but a Woman’s Work Is Never Done,” “A Weaver of Dreams”

Emily of New Moon: The Complete Fourth Season. Echo Bridge Home Entertainment, 2010.

  • Disc 1: “Rites of Passage,” “The Taming of Ilse Burnley,” “A Bill of Divorcement”
  • Disc 2: “Too Close to the Sun,” “The Weight of the World,” “Away,” “A Seller of Dreams”

Back to Top }



Published on 20 January 2008; last updated on 17 March 2024. Please contact the site owner with additions, corrections, questions, and suggestions.