DAVID BIANCULLI

Founder / Editor

Bianculli's Blog

ERIC GOULD

Associate Editor

The Cold Light Reader

LINDA DONOVAN

Assistant Editor

Dateline Donovan
Contributors

DAVID HINCKLEY

All Along the Watchtower

ED BARK

Uncle Barky's Bytes

ALEX STRACHAN

TV That Matters

MIKE HUGHES

Open Mike

ED MARTIN

Ed Martin's TV Mix

KIM AKASS

Aerial View

MONIQUE NAZARETH

MNtv

BILL BRIOUX

TV Feeds My Family

ROGER CATLIN

TV Eye

GARY EDGERTON

Must-Click TV

TOM BRINKMOELLER

Raised On MTM

GERALD JORDAN

Crossing Jordan

NOEL HOLSTON

The Grassy Noel

TVWW ARCHIVE

Contributors Archive
 
 
 
 
 
More Like "Grim Gables"
May 15, 2017  | By Bill Brioux  | 115 comments
 

[Editor's note: The new Anne of Green Gables adaptation just finished its CBC run in Canada before its Netflix release, and the results there were underwhelming. Read why Anne's country of origin might have been protective of (and more wistful for) the 1985 CBC original...]

Its CBC run over, Anne of Green Gables premiered Friday in nearly 100 million homes outside of Canada on Netflix.

It’s been renamed Anne with an E on the streaming service; presumably “E” stands for Export.

There are a lot of talented people behind it. The cast is stellar, especially leads Geraldine James as Marilla Cuthbert, R.H. Thomson as brother Matthew and Irish actress Amybeth McNulty (with James, top) as spunky young heroine Anne. Niki Caro (Whale Rider) brings her stark sensibility to the first two episodes as director. Vancouver native Moira Walley-Beckett, who shone as a writer on Breaking Bad, pushes Lucy Maud Montgomery’s narrative in a much darker direction.

Still, a lot of Canadians looked the other way. I suspect some felt as I did, that Kevin Sullivan’s mid-’80s opus Anne of Green Gables got things just right, and remaking this, even 32 year later, was akin to re-doing Casablanca or Citizen Kane. There are a lot of kindred spirits out there, loathe to betray our Anne.

That sounds dumb but I think it was a factor in Anne falling below expectations, ratings-wise, when it aired on CBC. Sometimes good reviews and promotion are not enough. You can’t blame an audience for having favorites.

No episode broke a million viewers (although the opener came close) and some sank around 600,000. Given the enormous promotional push and the Sunday night showcase, as well as the cherished property, that was surprising. It’s one reason CBC hasn’t ordered a second season yet, although that will likely be addressed before CBC’s upfront in Toronto May 25.

Most Canadian critics praised the adaptation and admired the performances as well as the modern spin. Promoting it as from the writer behind Breaking Bad, however, may have backfired. The overlooked fact about many of today’s most critically-praised dark dramas is that they draw a very small, if discerning audience. They aren’t always a great model for broadcasters.

CBC never built a bridge, either, for original Anne viewers to cross. Chatter about the public network’s all-time ratings winner was MIA in the lead-up to Anne and Megan Follows, done now with Reign, seemed whisked away by the witness protection program.

There would have been an easy fix to all of this: cast Follows as Marilla.

It worked for Patty Duke, who won an Emmy playing another Annie, Sullivan, in The Miracle Worker in 1979, 27 years after winning an Oscar for playing Helen Keller in the 1962 feature.

When I asked Walley-Beckett at the Netflix round table press conference in New York Wednesday if anyone had thought to cast Megan Follows as Marilla she looked at me like I had two heads.

“I – I don’t even know how to answer that,” she said.

So she didn’t. Certainly Walley-Beckett and everyone connected to this new Anne were entitled to make their own creative choices and impose their own vision of this classic Canadian story. CBC had to know, however, that the record number of viewers who grew up with and embraced Kevin Sullivan’s misty-eyed, romantic Anne might need to be led back to this story by a familiar face.

Now, perhaps somebody did suggest this, and perhaps Follows (as Anne, 1985, right)  wanted nothing to do with it. But had Follows or Sullivan been seen or heard saying, “give this new kid a try,” I’d bet a bag of PEI potatoes that more kindred spirits would have sampled the opener at least.

Some American reviewers, including Sarah Larson in The New Yorker (“How Not to Adapt ‘Anne of Green Gables’"), have already taken Walley-Beckett to task for turning Green Gables into Grim Gables. Vanity Fair has also weighed in, pointing out exactly why Sullivan’s original is such a hard act to follow.

It hasn’t helped, of course, that a second new Anne is already a PBS import or that broadcast TV has been fragmented to bits on Sunday nights. That’s part of the nostalgia surrounding Sullivan’s Anne; it was a simpler time for viewers as well as for carrot-haired heroines.


 
 
 
 
 
Leave a Comment: (No HTML, 1000 chars max)
 
 Name (required)
 
 Email (required) (will not be published)
 
XLOIC
Type in the verification word shown on the image.
 
 
 Page: 1 of 6  | Go to page: 
115 Comments
 
 
Window seal repair in Aurora helps when insulated glass turns cloudy, air leaks around the sash, or moisture starts showing between panes.
Jun 16, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
 
 
Window repairs can handle selected problems without replacing the whole unit, including panes, locks, seals, screens, and sash parts.
Jun 16, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
To fix windows in Aurora, the glass, frame, seals, sash alignment, and hardware should be checked together.
 
 
Window service can help with cracked panes, loose latches, worn seals, torn screens, and stiff window movement.
Jun 16, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Window fixing in Aurora can restore comfort when a window sticks, leaks air, fogs between panes, or stops locking securely.
Jun 16, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
A window repair service can fix glass, seals, balances, locks, screens, and worn parts around the frame.
 
 
Broken window repair in Aurora helps when cracked glass, damaged glazing, or faulty locks make the window unsafe or hard to close.
Jun 16, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Window repair around me can solve air leaks, fogged panes, torn screens, stuck sashes, and loose locks.
Jun 16, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Windows repair in Aurora can improve comfort when panes crack, seals wear out, locks fail, or screens tear.
Jun 16, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
A window fix can restore normal use when the problem is a stuck sash, loose latch, cracked pane, or failed seal.
Jun 16, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Window repair around me is often needed when cold air enters the room, the sash sticks, glass becomes cloudy, or a lock no longer catches securely.
Jun 12, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
A simple window fix can make a big difference when the problem is a loose handle, stuck sash, damaged screen, failed seal, or glass that needs replacement.
Jun 12, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
When window problems appear nearby, fast repair helps prevent drafts, water damage, and security issues. The right service can check the frame, glass, seals, and hardware together.
Jun 12, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
A window repair service can restore windows that are difficult to open, cloudy between panes, loose in the frame, or no longer sealing well against outside air.
 
 
Broken window repair in Aurora is useful for cracked glass, damaged sash parts, loose glazing, and unsafe openings. Repair helps return the window to normal use without delay.
 
 
UPVC window repair may involve fixing handles, hinges, locks, seals, glazing units, or alignment problems. Proper service helps the window close tightly and work without strain.
 
 
Windows repair in Aurora can handle cracked panes, fogged glass, worn balances, broken latches, drafty frames, and screens damaged by weather or everyday use.
Jun 12, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Residential window repair is a good option when the main unit is still sound but smaller parts have failed. Repairs can reduce drafts, improve closing, and extend the window’s service life.
Jun 12, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
 
 
 
 Page: 1 of 6  | Go to page: 
 
 
New From TVWW

PBS' 'Frontline’ Examines Pension Promises and — Spoiler Alert — Finds the Math Doesn’t Add Up
By Alex Strachan
 
 
 
 
The Decadence of ‘Versailles’ Comes to Ovation
By David Hinckley
 
 
 
 
Prescribing Mamie Gummer in 'Emily Owens, M.D.'
By Ed Bark
 
 
 
 
Looking for a Free Ride? HBO Can Deliver
By Christy Slewinski
 
 
 
 
'Pass the Biscuits' Part of the Hatfield-McCoy Pop-Culture Legacy
By Noel Holston
 
 
 
 

This Day in TV History

1957: Julie Andrews Stars in 'Cinderella'
By TV WW
 
 
 
 

Dispatches From TVWW

'Extinction: The Facts' is a Sobering Call to Action
By David Hinckley
 
 
 
 
How 'Mayans' Has Been Influenced by the Show's Creator Elgin James
By Mike Hughes
 
 
 
 
For Whom the Bell Tolls: Ken Burns and Lynn Novick Take on Ernest Hemingway, the Man and the Myth
By Alex Strachan
 
 
 
 
In the Final Season, Sutton Foster's Liza is Now the Genuine Version of Her 'Younger' Self
By Monique Nazareth
 
 
 
 
Season 2 of 'City on a Hill' Returns with Kevin Bacon, Aldis Hodge, and Boston Corruption
By David Hinckley