The Hope Chest of Arabella King
Olivia is feeling the strain of Hetty’s demanding ways, so she decides to make her own way in the
world. To get a job with the Avonlea Chronicle, she sets out to find an interesting story with the help
of Jasper Dale, whose photographs Olivia is certain will improve the failing newspaper's circulation. While the two-some
look high and low for an interesting story, they come into many comic and entertaining positions,
proving that behind Jasper’s shyness lurks a great sense of humor.
The story turns out, however, to be in Olivia’s own back yard... or rather, in the King family
kitchen, where Sara discovers an old clock and some letters in Arabella King’s long locked blue
chest. When the letters reveal that Arabella’s fiancé might have been murdered. It’s up to Olivia,
Jasper and Sara to find the truth behind the mystery. Jasper’s mechanical ability is revealed when
he fixes Sara’s clock.
Nothing Endures But Change
Sara’s father shows up to take her home to Montreal, much to the King family’s dismay. When
Hetty and Blair begin to fight, the children take matters into their own hands by trying to hide
Sara until the grown-ups resolve their quarrel. Jasper sensitively lends his support to Olivia during
all this stress, and when the Avonlea skating party comes off, it is evident that Jasper’s and
Olivia’s relationship is much more than professional.
May the Best Man Win
When Olivia’s old beau, Edwin Clark returns to Avonlea a wealthy man, determined to win Olivia
once again, Olivia must choose between Edwin and Jasper. Sara is insistent Jasper must win; Edwin
is a complete and total jerk, especially compared to the "Awkward Man". So she enlists the help of Felix and
Peg Bowan to ensure Olivia chooses the best man, with disastrous results. Peg provides Sara
with a love potion, which Olivia drinks, only to become “betrothed” to Felix. In the end, it’s
up to Jasper to divulge his love for Olivia on his own, and in the process reveals himself to be
much more courageous, ingenious, sensitive and compassionate than Edwin could ever hope to
be. A lovely ending in which true love conquers all.
Dreamer of Dreams
Olivia’s love for Jasper has given him some new found confidence. This episode opens as he
demonstrates his new and improved toasting invention to Mr Lawson. When his experiment goes
up in smoke, the gossips of Avonlea laugh, causing Olivia to announce to the town that Jasper is
working on a flying machine. This is her proof that Jasper is a genious. Sadly, instead of impressing the ladies, Olivia’s announcement causes
more ridicule. However, the whole town is out in full force when Jasper tests his new glider,
making it all the more humiliating when the test fails. Jasper begins to doubt if he is good enough
to marry Olivia.
In the mean time, Olivia is in charge of charge of the Avonlea Improvement Society’s funds, and
Sara and Felicity are busy publishing their own newspaper. When S and F’s scandalous Ask
Madame X column ends up in the Chronicle, and the Society’s funds are stolen, all the blame falls
upon Olivia. Jasper uses one of his inventions to catch the actual thief, and restore
honour to his lady love. The reconciliation has one of the best Jasper/Olivia moments on
Avonlea!
Misfits and Miracles
When Archie Gillis rejects half of Avonlea for his Hockey Team, the Avonlea Avengers, Alec challenges him to a game with Avonlea's misfits. His team includes Andrew, Felix, Jasper, and Peg Bowan. Peg not only proves herself to be a fantastic player, but makes a wager with Archi Gillis to ensure he doesn't cut down the forest around town. All the talk of hockey has Sara joining the Misfits, but she gets discouraged when the other school children taunt her. Unlike Sara, Jasper is not daunted by his clumsiness on the ice, and manages to hold his own on the rink. With these players, how will the trees ever be saved? Ms Stacey, who takes over for injured Alec, has something up her sleeve.
In the end the whole town wins, but the most exciting event is not the game, but the birth of Daniel King!
The Ties that Bind (Sister of the Bride)
Olivia and Jasper want a simple wedding; no fuss or furbelows. However, Olivia fears that the ceremony will be too much for Jasper, so she proposes to elope. Their plans fail when Hetty catches poor Jasper in the act of eloping, causing Hetty to take the plans into her own hands.
The simple wedding becomes a monstrous affair, with (horror of horrors!) a head table! Jasper is more nervous than usual, so he enlists Sara to help him with his wedding speech. Her answer is to choose a flowery passage from Hetty's book of speeches, and to coach Jasper in fine art of elocution by filling his mouth with marbles. Jasper, sweetie that he is, puts up with it all patiently.
Meanwhile, back at the King farm emotions are running high. Hetty's constant interference has everyone on edge. Olivia runs away from Rose Cottage, trying again to elope, but Jasper reassures her, and sends her over to King Farm, where the rest of family (minus Hetty) is staying.
Despite all the turmoil, the wedding dawns, and turns out beautifully in the end, despite a wedding dress mix-up and a lost ring. However, it's Jasper's impromptu speech that brings the whole family back together.
Friends and Relations
It's a day of relaxation and fun for the King family. The men set out ice fishing, while the ladies head to the White Sands for a day at an auction, leaving Sara and Felicity home to mind the children. Jasper and Alec start reminiscing about the old days, which leads to Alec jump into the freezing-cold water. He nearly drowns, but Japer is there to save the day (of course!) The ladies aren't having much fun either; Janet and Abigail end up making the day miserable for everyone with their constant bickering.
Meanwhile, a bet made earlier in the day between Sara and Felix has Felix searching for information about love. He gets very little information until Jasper takes him gently aside and explains to Felix what he doesn't know.
Back at King Farm, the girls lose cousin Lucky, and then get lost themselves. The whole family, aside from Cecily ("I know, stay here.."), sets out in a raging snow storm to search for the missing children. They are all reunited in the woods, where Olivia joyfully throws her arms around Jasper. All fueds are forgiven when the family finds themselves cozily at home around the fire.
After the Honeymoon
This episode opens with Olivia having to compete for Jasper's heart. She is threatened by the arrival of scientist Sydney Carver, who shares a strong interest in vampire bats with Jasper. When the two scientists start spending all their time together researching echo location, Olivia begins to fear the worst.
Sara and Felix are also fearing the worst; that Jasper is under the spell of a Vampire! After gathering "evidence" (ie. a stuffed vampire bat, Jasper nibbling Olivia's "delectable digits", and a rash on Jasper's neck) they decide to follow Jasper and Sydney into a cave where the scientists plan to observe the bats. Olivia does the same, and they soon find themselves in danger.
The episode ends with the reassurance that Jasper and Olivia are meant for each other.
Tug of War
The birth of Jasper's and Olivia's son highlights this episode in which we meet Jasper's eccentric, free thinking family. With the birth of the Dale's first child just weeks away, Jasper's family descends upon the newlyweds. We soon find out that his family is much stranger than Jasper. Their ideas about art, science and poetry are at odds with the conservative Kings, disturbing the Dale's tranquility. Jasper and Olivia are torn, and Olivia takes off by herself to Rose Cottage during a family picnic. When the baby is born, Jasper is forced to take the helm, and the joy of birth wipes all feuding away. A magical ending :)
Jasper's Home Movie
A businessman, Mr. Dunn, arrives in Avonlea intending to change it into the city of the future. Much of Avonlea is thrilled with the idea of indoor plumbing and modern conveniences, all except Hetty, who does not want to see her town change.
In the mean time, Jasper and Olivia are having financial troubles, and Hetty's constant reminders of Jasper's inability to provide are keeping the Dales and at odds. Jasper forgets his woes one day by watching a moving picture. When Sara discovers Jaspers interest in the Edison Projector, she uses her inheritance to buy one for him to experiment with. He immediately goes around Avonlea filming daily life. The hoax backfires when Mrs. Bugle overhears Sara talking to her solicitors and thinks it's Hetty trying to sell Avonlea to Mr Dunn. When the truth comes out, Hetty says even more biting things about Jasper, but soon learns that they both share a similar vision for Avonlea. They work together on a motion picture that saves Avonlea from becoming the city of the future.
Hearth and Home
Mr Pettibone assigns the children of Avonlea a science experiment, but Sara and Felix are both baffled by the ideas they are learning in school. When Great Aunt Eliza falls in the ice, and the baby lambs lives are threatened during a cold snap, Sara and Felix save the day. Using Jasper's light bulbs to create heat, they make the King Barn nice and cozy for both the lambs and Great Aunt Eliza.
Modern Times
When the Dale's financial situation goes from bad to worse, Hetty buys the Avonlea cannery and puts Jasper and Olivia in charge. Jasper takes the opportunity to modernize it, using the new assembly line process. The results, at first, are chaos. Despite Gus Pike's help, the idea suffers from bickering workers who won't listen. Luckily, Olivia finds a shipment of lobster to can that might make the difference between failure and success. All ends happily when Hetty sells the Cannery to Jasper and Olivia.
Best Laid Plans
aka "Jasper's Evil Twin". Jasper
accidentally invents a hard plastic that Olivia is convinced should be
patented and marketed. Despite Jasper's objections, Olivia enlists the
help of Jasper's cousin, Jeremiah, who is an outcast in the Dale family
because he is an unscrupulous businessman. Jeremiah gets the community of
Avonlea to invest in the plastic, called Jasperon, but it's not long before
they find out it's a scam. Jeremiah tries to take off with the
investments, but Davey, in his attempt to do 3 good deeds, manages to capture
Jeremiah, and return the money to all the villagers.
Great Expectations
When Davey decides that school is not for him, Hetty gets Jasper and Olivia to hire him on at the cannery, where she wishes to instill in Davey just how hard work is. By the end of his first day Davy finds himself stumbling about the cannery dropping and breaking things right and left. Davy's struggles remind Jasper of himself, though, so Jasper sets out to gently instill in Davy the joy of learning. He takes Davy under his wing, buying him sodas and entering him into a "Father/Son" lobster race. The episode ends with Davy back at school and also working with Jasper in his lab, where Jasper is working on a water tight vacuum cleaner.
Love May Be Blind...But the Neighbors Ain't
Avonlea is busy preparing for the annual Dominion Day Picnic, but there is trouble in the Dale household because Olivia fears that Jasper is discontented with his life in Avonlea. She is also worried because she thinks they might not be able to have any more children. Adding to her worries is the fact that Jasper is being very secretive about something. The "something" is an offer to teach and work at a university in England. Their quarrelling comes to a head when Jasper agrees to teach the Avonlea Youth group how to row a boat. During the outing Jasper and Olivia quarrel, ending up on the bottom of the pond. Their reconciliation is lovely, but ends with a sad note; Jasper is leaving for England.
Meanwhile, Felicity accepts Stuart's proposal and Izzy and Felix have a huge falling out.
King of the Great White Way
Jasper sends Olivia a recording machine from England; his own invention. With the help of Jasper's cousin, Selena, Olivia discovers a heartfelt, sentimental message on it, from Jasper. Felix is fascinated by the machine, and tries to sell it to visiting songwriters, Rudy and Betty Blaine. However, it's not the machine they are interested in, but Alec's voice. Will the Kings move to New York?
The Last Hurrah
Olivia prepares for Jasper's homecoming by fixing up the cannery, while the town of Carmody tries to amalgamate Avonlea. Promises of wealth sway Archie Gillis and Mrs. Bugle, so they look to win the support of the rest of the village. Alec, Stuart and Mr. Potts, however, work to keep Avonlea the same.
Jasper comes home to find that Olivia has hired young Lottie Cooper, a homeless woman with a little baby, to care for their home. As Lottie sees how nicely she and her little girl are treated by the Dales, her heart opens to them both.
Alec struggles with a speech to sway the vote in favor of Avonlea, but it's Jasper who steps in with an excellent speech about "misguided progress" that saves the little village. Eulalie angrily tells Jasper that things will not always go his way.
Eulalie is right. That evening lightening strikes the Dale cannery, destroying it in a blazing inferno. Jasper and Olivia watch as their lives crumble before them. The next day all of Avonlea, including a humble Eulalie Bugle, helps the Dales re-build theirs lives. While the rest of town is organizing, Lottie Coopers leaves, without her little one, who she hopes will find a proper home with Jasper, Olivia and Monty.
So Dear to My Heart
Stuart McRae advises Jasper and Olivia not to rebuild the cannery because the competition from Carmody will put them out of buisiness. With no means of supporting their family, they decide that "when life gives you lemmons; make lemmon-aid". They decide to move to England where Jasper will continue teaching. Hetty, however, does not like their decision, fearing that the very fabric of Avonlea is now crushed. She cuts herself off from the family, deciding not to attend Felicity's wedding to Gus Pike.
At the wedding, Felicity staunchly insists Hetty attend, which she does. The final scene ends with Hetty eloquently accepting the change coming to the quiet village of Avonlea.
Happy Christmas Miss King
Olivia takes her children back home to Avonlea in the winter of 1914 to visit her family for Christmas. Jasper is supposed to be with them, but he "misses the boat". Olivia struggles with the thought that Jasper is "irresponsible" throughout the entire movie, finally giving into Hetty's cruel opinion. Olivia changes her mind, though, when Jasper sends her a lovely music box for Christmas.
Meanwhile, Cecily brings the news home that Felix is missing in action, and Janet (in a moving performance by Lally Cadeau) struggles with her grief and fear. In addition, Hetty injures herself in an attmept to convince former student to perferm at the Avonlea School Christmas concert. All of Avonlea worries and waits for her recovery. Also, Felicity struggles, again, with carreer choices when the Foundling Home closes.
Although there were some fine performances and some interesting story lines, I was very disappointed in this movie. Many of Avonlea's characters seemed flat or superficial. I have an old TV Guide artical on "Avonlea" in which Kevin Sullivan is quoted as saying something like Avonlea is successful because..." it's never been an immitation of itself." Well, this cannot be said of Happy Christmas, Miss King. How many times have we seen Hetty alienate Olivia by complaining about Jasper, become threatened by a new school Superintedant, go through desperate measures to get a famous erformer to be in one of her productions, become so ill she reflects on her past (note... poor Jack Burroughs... could they have made her look any more ape-like than they did durring the operation scene?), ect, ect, ect? It's almost like the writers pasted together several "Hetty" episodes instead of trying for an original story.
The charcterization of Jasper was all wrong. He might be awkward and forgetful, but he is NOT irresponsible. Every episode involving Jasper after he is married shows how much he is dedicated to his family. Once more, Olivia has much more faith in him than what she demonstrated in "Happy Christmas Miss King". I think they could have done a much better job. Ok, I'm off my soap box now.... Thank you.
