Oh, Canadian TV

If you heard a loud, piercing squeal sometimes yesterday afternoon it was just me. I was just reacting to news that Megan Follows was joining the cast of “Wynonna Earp” in a recurring role as Momma Earp. SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEL!

This is Emily Andras making all of my wildest Canadian dreams come true. You all already know how much I love, love, love (love, love, love) Anne of Green Gables and Megan Follows. Interviewing Megan a few years ago was a fantasy bucket list accomplishment. And now, holy cow, is this just wonderful, wonderful casting.

I cannot wait to see the layers and loveliness that Megan brings to the show. She has always been a ferocious actress, capable of conveying intellect and introspection so clearly. I have no doubt she will be perfect as Momma Earp. In fact I cannot wait.

Also perfect, Emily’s response to casting Megan:

Me every day on the #WyonnnaEarp set (IN MY MIND). pic.twitter.com/sVLanMAVqN

— Emily Andras (@emtothea) February 5, 2018

Thank you so much, Canada, for giving us something so great to look forward to in 2018.

My Weekend Real Anne

My love for Anne of Green Gables is eternal. The magic of those books found me even before the mid-80s miniseries. But it was through that series and endlessly irresistible charms of Megan Follows I feel in love for good. And, I say this every time, but I really did make my family vacation on Prince Edward Island one summer. I even have a little vial of P.E.I.’s famed red sand somewhere in a keepsake box.

But now with the released of this new Netflix “Anne With An E” series on Netflix (also, uh, what’s with the late name change wasn’t it just “Anne” before that), I just feel perplexed and very sad. I was willing to give this “grittier” reboot of L.M. Montgomery’s beloved heroine a chance. I really was. But then I read negative review after negative review. Though, to be honest, if Heather Anne Hogan says to skip it, I will always skip it. (In my world, the abomination known as “Skins Fire” does not exist).

Because, and I ask this quite sincerely, why? Why make a dark, gothic, gritty Anne of Green Gables? Why? Sure, realism is important and the world is admittedly awful. But we all know that already. To be honest, we have all the darkness we can deal with right now, thank you very much. What made Anne Shirley special wasn’t just how she overcame her life’s tragedies. It wasn’t because of her being beaten mercilessly. Or her dealing with PTSD. Or her being rescued from a would-be rapist in the woods. Sure, in the real world maybe she would have had to deal with these things. Sure, in the real world too many people have to deal with these things.

But Anne Shirley made us always believe in a better world. Some would call it innocent or naïve or fanciful. But it was her unrelenting optimism and determination and, yes, spirit that made us all think things could be better. We could be better. And people who make us feel like that, well, you love forever. So no thank you, Anne With An E, I already have a bosom friend. I’ll keep my Anne of Green Gables just as is. Happy weekend, all.

p.s. I know the new Anne is apparently canonically gay (or at least professes her love for Diane in a gay way), but you know what, we all knew that already.

That Anne Girl

So, as you know, Anne of Green Gables is one of my things. I love her, I love the books, I love Megan Follows. So when Netflix announced the new series, I was excited and skeptical and nostalgic. It has been a slow reveal, with just a teaser trailer so far. But now the official trailer is out and while I still can’t say I’ll love it, I can say I’ve fallen in love all over again with Green Gables. There’s a reason I made my family vacation in Prince Edward Island one summer. And it’s that P.E.I. is as much a part of the books as the characters. And from what I can see so far, gosh doesn’t she look pretty?

So far, I actually think it feels pretty authentic. The new Anne is scrawnier and gawkier than Megan’s Anne, which actually works for the books. But she also looks a tad on the Pippi Longstocking side, to me at least. I can’t tell if she’ll have the same winsome charm. But I am willing to give this Anne a chance. Though she’d better start calling Diana her “bosom friend” instead of just “best friend.” If they change that I shall be most cross.

My Weekend Anne

I won’t lie, I don’t know how I feel about this. On the one hand, OMG, a new Anne of Green Gables. If you have been here for any length of time you know Anne Shirley is one of my favorite characters, period. I remain convinced Anne and Diana were bosom friends with benefits. I have read, and this is not being hyperbolic, everything L.M. Montgomery has ever written. Fine, everything she published in the United States that I could get my hands on about Anne and Avonlea and Emily and Pat and even “The Story Girl.” Hell, I made my family vacation on Prince Edward Island. Megan Follows was one of my first crushes so interviewing her was one of the highlights of my professional life.

So I come at the new Netflix adaptation of “Anne of Green Gables” with a mixture of hope and dread and nervous excitement. Will it be as good? What does “grittier” mean? So now we see our first glimpse of our new Anne in action and I’m… I don’t know. She certainly looks the part from the books. A thin, small face with all those freckles and red hair. She looks decidedly more gawky than Megan, which isn’t bad necessarily.

My only real complaint right now. That weak-ass slate slap. Dude, Anne SMASHES her slate over Gilbert’s head when he calls her “carrots.” There’s no tepid slap. Crush that thing, girl.

So, what do you think. There’s really not enough here to say anything definitively. Though, I feel pretty safe in saying that no matter what, this new adaptation has to be better than that weak-ass PBS version with Martin Sheen terribly miscast as Matthew. Let us never speak of that version ever again. Happy weekend, all.

Vacation Vixen: Megan Follows

I’m very, very happy that Megan Follows has been gainfully employed on “Reign” for a few years now. But I truly and sincerely hope Netflix will make a place for her, to at the very least guest star, on its new Anne of Green Gables series. I mean, they have to, right? They have to.

That Anne Girl

Whew, just made it under the wire today. It was a kind of crazy, kind of strange weekend and I simply did not have the time to get to my normal post. Please accept Anne Shirley being Anne Shirely as my most sincere apology. Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?

That Megan Girl

I know, I know, I’ve been blathering on and on about how great it was to interview Megan Follows. But, really, it was great to interview Megan Follows. And now that interview is finally up. Please know that she used the words “delicious,” “utopia,” “shit” and “fuck” all within the confines of a very smart, very articulate 31 minute and 45 second conversation. And I loved every nanosecond of it.

You can read the interview yourself here. Enjoy.

My Weekend Hero Worship

The line between artist and character is real and important. While we fans may stretch the bounds of reality sometimes in our fanaticism, it is always important to remember fact and fiction isn’t just in our heads. These people, the ones we watch and follow and adore, they’re still people. They’re not their characters.

I know this, this is true. But sometimes, just sometimes, when you get a chance to talk with the artist who played a character you watched, followed and adored, it’s easy to forget – if even just for a little while. Though it is not out of delusion of malice that I tend to blend the two, but more often sheer delight. So when I tell you I interviewed Anne of FREAKING Green Gables yesterday, I will hope you grant me the leeway to be a ridiculous fangirl and just savor the moment.

Indeed, yesterday I did get a chance to interview the one and only Megan Follows. We had a lovely 31 minutes and 45 second phone conversation. I tried not to sound like an idiot. She sounded very much like a smart, passionate and articulate artist she has distinguished herself as over the years. But in the back of my head, my 12-year-old self was screaming, “OH MY GOD, YOU’RE TALKING WITH ANNE SHIRLEY!” You will, however, be proud of me for not actually screaming that into Megan’s ear at any point during the interview. (You will also be able to read the full interview next week on AfterEllen.)

The reason for my interview was Megan’s performance in a short film premiering at OUTFEST in Los Angeles tonight. It’s called “Where Are the Dolls,” and it is as short (only 7 minutes and 37 seconds) as it is dreamy (based on an Elizabeth Bishop poem). The movie by out filmmaker Cassandra Nicolaou is a lovely little waking dream, more of a moody poem than a movie with a discernible plotline. But when it delivers, oh kittens, it delivers. Consider it 7 minutes and 37 seconds of wish fulfillment for every lesbian “Anne of Green Gables” fan who ever dreamed of her own special bosom friend. Because what it delivers Megan making out with another woman. Yeah, I know, you’re scheming ways to get to LA right now.

In my career I’ve been very fortunate to be able to interview many of the people I admire most, from activists and artists and all-around interesting folks. But now, now I can say I’ve interviewed the person who made me connive and finally convince my entire family to spend its summer vacation in Prince Edward Island so I could touch the red sand beaches that Anne with an e also touched. In fact, now that I’ve interviewed the artist formerly known as Anne Shirley (Megan) and the artist formerly known as Wonder Woman (Lynda Carter), I only need the artist formerly known as Princess Leia to complete my favorite childhood heroines hat trick. Carrie Fisher, call me. Happy weekend, all.

ETA: You can read the interview here.

Anne for all ages

There is a new Anne Shirley. Long live the old Anne Shirley. To be honest, the news of a new “Anne of Green Gables” series fills me with mixed emotions. On the one hand, it’s great that a whole new generation of little girls and boys can experience the adventures and mishaps of a red-headed orphan on Prince Edward Island. On the other hand, wasn’t the beloved 1980s “Anne of Green Gables” series starring the even more beloved Megan Follows enough? Can’t we just play it on a continuous loop for future generations as a reminder that imagination, spunk and a bosom friend are all you really need to make it in this world?

Alas, everything must be constantly reinvented for the screen. This new 13-episode Canadian production is helmed by original Anne author L.M. Montgomery’s heir. Which seems good, but when you dig a little deeper it’s really all about money. Which is, well, a bummer. But, still, one hopes the Anne story of perseverance and independence is one that will translate beautifully for any time. So this new “contemporary” and “modern-day” Anne is supposed to “present her in a more global perspective.” I don’t know entirely what that means, but the extreme optimist in me hopes it will present her love for one Diana Barry in a more “contemporary” and “modern-day” light. Because today if you tell a girl you love her and give a girl a lock of thy jet black tresses to cherish forever, you’re going to follow that up later with a ring.

A lock of thy jet-black tresses

So I was sick in bed all of yesterday. Like coughy, hacky, snotty, headachey, icky sick. I sort of went in and out of consciousness, trying to write this week’s Rizzoli & Isles Subtext Recap (which is a day late due to sickness, but should be up a little later today at AfterEllen with my apologies). Let me tell you, it went slowly. Also, if I hadn’t had work to finish, what I would have done was drag my drugged-up little body to the couch to watch my complete set of “Anne of Green Gables” DVDs. It seemed like such an Anne day. Alas, duty called. But today, I can at least share a little of what I really wanted to do, the way I really wanted to see it. Anne of Green Gables: Brokeback Mountain Style. Such a queer little girl, that Anne Shirley.

Her queer little ways

Every now and then your childhood sneaks up and reminds you where you came from. In the midst of the mundane task of retrieving the mail yesterday, between the bills, bank statements and other banal reminders of adulthood was a time capsule. My “Anne of Green Gables” DVD set finally arrived, a belated Christmas gift from my mother. I’d forgotten they were coming, a function of falling too quickly back into the frazzled schedule of work and grown-up demands. But there they were, waiting patiently for me to remember. And remember I did.

I own all the books, of course. They sit neatly in a place of honor on my bookshelf, worn from time and hours of reading into the darkness of the night. L.M. Montgomery was my J.K. Rowling. I have almost everything ever bound and stamped with her name – Anne, Emily, Pat, Rilla and an endless assortment of short anthologies of occasionally questionable quality. But those I read on my own. I watched the series on TV with my family. I became obsessed with visiting Prince Edward Island (which I eventually convinced them to do one summer vacation) while watching the series on TV with my family. . I fell in love with Megan Follows (albeit unbeknownst to them, and me at the time) while watching the series on TV with my family.

This series, the one I now held in my hand. I’m not sure what took me so long to buy them. OK, they’re a tad pricey and I’m a tad cheap. Also the complete set didn’t come out until 2008. Someone in a drawer somewhere in my parents’ house gathering dust I have the complete series on VHS, recorded lovely from repeats on PBS. (OK, not “The Continuing Story” because – come on – those weren’t even based on the books). I had to fight the urge to put them on immediately and watch them back-to-back-to-back for an unending loop of spectacular sunsets along red sand beaches. But I didn’t. Work, bills, adulthood stood in the way.

But don’t worry, I will find the time. I must. Anne with an e was my hero growing up, with her smarts and spunk. She was an orphan who survived on the sheer force of her imagination, a dreamer, a thinker, a romantic, a kindred spirit. She was stubborn and prone to getting into scrapes. She was the best bosom friend a little girl could have – for Diana Barry and the rest of us. I look forward to spending time with her again soon. We have so much to catch up on after all these years.

Where you go I will Follows

Research is really a wonderful thing. Some people like to take shortcuts, but I believe in doing things the old-fashioned way. Hence last night I spent untold hours looking up actresses in lesbian guest appearances to prove my Lesbian Rule of Threes, a totally not fake theory I did not just make up after having a cocktail or two last night. Read all about it later on AfterEllen today. Suffice it to say I was scanning old clips to make my case when I stumbled across this one I had tucked away. To be fair, the great and powerful ScribeGrrrl tipped me off to it in the first place. I believe things like this are are why the internet was invented.

Yes, that is Megan Follows playing totally gay on “ER.” Yes, I know, OH MY GOD! Now, unless you were one of those “Little House on the Prairie” girls, everyone knows Megan Follows was Anne Shirley, as in “Anne of Green Gables.” I am now going to allow 15 seconds for the 10-year-old in all of you to freak out and possibly squeal.

This of course led me to more research while led me to the conclusion that I am not the only person who daydreamed about Anne and Diana being Bosom Friends with benefits. Come on, who calls their best friend their “bosom” anything? Gay ladies, that’s who. All that hand holding, all that kissing on the lips, all that professing of love. Think I’m kidding? Research doesn’t lie.

Megan Follows is one of my earliest and my most enduring crushes. That red hair, those freckles, that spunk. Did you know she turned 42 last week? Yeah, I’m not sure how I feel about that either. But I do know that I will always be at least a little in love with Megan, and now so much more that she once played a big old lesbian. Talk about your kindred spirits.

Vacation Vixens

Anne Shirley and Diana Barry totally hooked up.

My Weekend Crush

Growing up, one actress was the most spunky, the most scrappy, the most Shirley -- Anne Shirley, that is. Megan Follows was the perfect Anne of Green Gables. As a young girl, my love for L.M. Montgomery’s books was insatiable. I had the entire Anne (with an e) series, the entire Emily series, both Pat books, countless short stories and assorted random novels. In fact, I still have them all on my bookshelf. I even made my family vacation on Prince Edward Island one summer. So when the Canadian adaptation came out on PBS, I sat rapt as Anne, Marilla, Matthew and Gilbert Blythe (to this day, I have to say his first and last name together) came to rich, vibrant life. There was the red sand of P.E. Island. There was the charming, gabled farmhouse. There was the carpetbag-totting orphan with long, red braids.

As Anne matured in the series, Megan seemed to magically mature from girl to woman before our eyes. I’m pretty sure my affinity for red-heads can be traced back to her. Not to mention freckles. I always hoped Megan would find continued stardom after she was done being that Anne girl. And while she has kept busy acting, particularly in her native Canada, Megan hasn’t had the breakout success stateside that she so deserves. Ironically, part of the problem is probably people like me who have never let her leave Green Gables. But Megan should be heartened by the fact that she will forever be a kindred spirit, a bosom friend, to girls (and grown up girls like me) everywhere. Happy weekend, all.