Avonlea (1990–1996): Season 3, Episode 3 - Another Point of View - full transcript
Hetty is especially tough on the students in preparation for the history bee against Markdale School in two weeks. Hetty in general has always intimidated most of the students, who now complain to their parents, who in turn complain to Janet. Janet feels that only one person can deal with Hetty: Alec. When the parents elect Alec to the School Board, his first act is to speak openly to Hetty about her teaching methods. Hetty, feeling unwanted, promptly quits. Alec and the School Board did not want Hetty to quit (especially after thirty dreadful replacement teacher interviews), nor did Hetty really want to give up her job. But before things can go back to the way they were, Alistair Dimple waltzes into Avonlea, applying for the job. He dazzles the School Board, who hires him. The School Board is however unaware that he is not a professor as he professes, but a failed Shakespearean stage actor. Dingle ends up treating history class as one big all-participating stage play. The students are having a good time but nonetheless are learning with a new found curiosity. Dingle even eventually wins Hetty over. But when Alec finds out Dingle's real pedigree, he has to decide what to do with the information regardless of Dingle's positive effect on the children.
I know them all! Go ahead, try me.
You should, Felix. We've been over them
a million times.
- Father will kill me if I fail!
- I know all the answers.
Aren't you special, Cecily!
Honestly! All you have you do is
memorise the book.
Easy for you to say, Felicity. You're
her favourite.
She doesn't pick on you.
I can say them all in my sleep.
- Kings and Queens, it's not so hard.
- Miss King is what's hard!
Sure hope she doesn't call on me.
No. Edward Ray, sit down.
You were well advised to read the lesson
before coming to class.
I expect better, children. Indeed, I do.
Need I remind you that the finals for
the competition are in two weeks time!
And the honour of Avonlea rests on your
shoulders!
Now... Cecily!
Who lost England to the Danes?
Too long! Sit!
Sally Potts!
The answer, please.
The English King who lost the country
was... um...
Sit!
Alphie Bugle!
Sit!
Felix King!
Up, up, up, up, up!
Perhaps, you'll name for us the King of
England,
who lost his country to the Danes?
Aethelred.
It was a man...
Aethelred.
Eth? Ethel?
Aethelred.
with a girls name! Ethel!
Felix King! Really, your mind is...
very like your desk!
Yeah, a square made of wood!
Boys! That's enough! Edward Rae!
There's certainly nothing to laugh
about, Edward Rae,
as you will note from the results of
these history examinations.
"D"?!
And neither do the rest of you, for that
matter.
Felix King.
"D" minus?!
Felicity.
- Elvira?
- Hmm.
What do you think of this one?
Oh, my!
That's quite daring, don't you think,
Janet?
Mm-hmm.
You don't have to tell me! She is
absolutely outrageous!
I'd like to tell her what for!
Always thinks she knows more than the
rest of us.
- Now, whatever is the matter?
- Hetty King!
She's driving my poor Alphie to
dyspepsia!
My Sally has taken to her bed with a hot
water bottle!
- Something's got to be done!
- You won't budge Hetty.
I know of only person who could do that.
Alec.
- Your hair looks lovely, mother.
- Do you think so, dear?
Hmm. It's lovely.
Now...
how was school today, children?
Well?
I'm not going back!
Cecily, dear!
It's not my fault! Aunt Hetty makes me
nervous!
Felix!
What is gotten into them?
Felix got a D minus on his history exam,
and Cecily didn't do much better.
Ah!
I, however, received an "A".
I don't know what they're all
complaining about.
Alec?
Alec? Are you awake?
Janet, it's late. I'm tired.
Whatever it is, I'm sorry.
Everybody is upset about Hetty.
She's pushing the children too far, she
actually frightens them.
That is ridiculous!
Huh! I got an earful in the General
Store today.
Half the parents in town are upset and
angry
and they can't all be wrong.
The children aren't the problem,
- it's your sister.
- Isn't it always?!
We should do something.
Right now, Janet, I am going to get some
sleep.
Now, the first order of business is to
elect a new member to the school board.
Are there any nominations?
Or indeed volunteers for this
challenging position?
I'll say it's a challenge!
Well, there must be someone.
Mrs Potts! Yes, you make an excellent
candidate!
I... No, no... Uh...
Well... I fully appreciate how
challenging this position is...
We've all thought about it, it was to
discuss recently...
Get on with it! I nominate Alec King!
- I second the nomination!
- Yes! Alec King!
Well!
Apparently it's unanimous, Alec.
Congratulations!
We all know that you'll hold up your
end, Alec King.
I think you'll have no option but to
accept, that's what.
I don't know what to say.
Thank you, I'll do my best.
Um... there is... there is one matter I
would like to discuss...
Alec, there are rules to abide by, you
know. Agenda...
Forget the rules! I want to hear what
Alec has to say!
Well, thank you.
Well, Hetty, I, um...
I believe that you are an exceptional
teacher,
with many years experience
and you've done an exceptional job,
but...
sometimes I...I think that you...
except too much from the students.
And just which students do you have
mind?
- As if I couldn't guess!
- That's not the point.
You think children are all the same, and
they all learn the same. It's not so.
They're not all peas in a pod!
You...You could help them more. You
could try new approaches!
Modern methods! That what I say.
My... teaching methods are...
based firmly on the classical principles
of education.
Oh, clearly you've not the slightest
idea of that which you speak!
I knew it was a mistake to try to talk
to you.
If the three R's are good enough for the
rest of the country,
dare say, they'll have to suffice for
Avonlea!
The three R's?
There is more to education than
recitation, repetition and repression!
- Yes! Exactly!
- Yeah! You tell her!
You tell her she has three months to
improve her performance,
like she told my Jane!
We want an open discussion!
More say in our children's education!
We have rights! They're our children!
Order!
Well, Hetty King,
I think everyone's made their position
crystal clear.
Oh, yes! Quite clear! Thank you, Rachel.
Well, if...
I have lost the support of the school
board, as it appears, then...
I can no longer teach in Avonlea!
I hereby tender my resignation!
- This is an awful situation!
- I never dreamed she'd quit.
Your own sister! How could you?!
Oh! You are the one who said we had to
do something!
Well, I never meant for you to take her
job away!
I only meant for you too make her see
reason!
It was her decision entirely! A
professional disagreement!
Who's going to teach school?
Anyone would be better than Aunt Hetty.
Felix!
Now, don't worry, Janet.
I've organised a search.
I'm placing an advertisement in a
Charlottetown newspaper.
Oh!
Well, I did teach at Kingston for
fifteen... years...
Um... Mrs Lynde? Could you sit up
straight?
Mr Gillis, stop playing with that
pencil.
And... Mr King!
Pay attention.
Oh, I'm sorry, Miss Grindstaff.
And now, as I was saying, I did teach at
Kingston for fifteen... years and...
You want to check my credentials.
Could you please tell us something of
your teaching experience.
Yes.
I... um...
Well...
Experience? Yes!
I...
Yes!
Yes.
Where did you study at?
Excuse me. You meant to ask "where did I
study?"
That's what I did ask.
No. You said "where did you study at?"
One cannot end a sentence with a
preposition.
No reckoning made, but sent to my
account...
Thus was I, sleeping,
by a brother's hand.
Of life, of crown, of queen, at once
dispatch'd.
O, horrible!
Horrible!
Most hooooorrible!
You're telling me?!
Alas! They killed me!
Get off the stage! Boo!
That's the third tomato this week,
Dimple.
You're fired.
You don't mean that, Harry.
Look!
I'll do it differently.
It'll be a brand new performance.
Never before seen or heard!
It can stay that way.
Alistair, I'm sorry. They don't like
Shakespeare.
And they don't like you.
If you ever doin' a nice Gilbert and
Sullivan, let me know.
And, Alistair, if I were you, I'd find
another line of work.
"In the pivotal role of the ghost of
Hamlet's father,
Mr Alistair Dimple could be upstaged by
dust."
- What other choice do we have?
- How about number eight?
Huh! The one who took three minutes to
tell us his name?
I hate to say it, but we'll have to ask
Miss King to return.
If you hadn't started this ruckus, we
wouldn't be in this mess now!
Listen, Alec, I've got a business to
run.
I can't spend all day on my backside!
You created this problem and you solve
it!
We'll have to advertise in Halifax.
I can't sit through another day of
teacher interviews.
I think we're gonna have to ask Hetty
King to reconsider.
Huh!
We'll have to go down on our knees and
beg her,
before she agrees to comes back.
Be sure to rub it in well, now, Sara.
Yes, Aunt Hetty.
Then leave them be for just three
minutes, you know.
I know.
Hello!
Aunt Olivia?!
My! Hello, Sara.
- Well!
- My, my, Olivia!
What brings you all the way over here?
Sent by Alec, I suppose, are you?
Alec? Of course not!
I just brought over some pickles and
chutney I've put up.
Would you hold that, Sara?
Well that's...
very kind of you, I'm sure.
Thank you.
- Hetty...
- We really are very busy, Olivia.
Sara, back to work.
Oh, it's astonishing the way a house
will fall apart,
if you don't pay the...the strictest
attention.
- Hetty, I know you're upset...
- Upset?!
Me?! Whatever about
Hetty, if you wanna teach,
you just go over and tell the
schoolboard, right now!
It is of no consequence to me, Olivia.
If the consensus is to let me go,
then I shall... put my freedom to good
advantage.
You may be sure!
Oh, great many things I wish to do with
my life.
Plans, you know.
Alright, Hetty. Have it your way.
- Goodbye, Sara.
- Goodbye, Aunt Olivia.
Sara.
Thirty candidates and not a single
possibility. I can't believe it!
What a disaster!!
If you don't mind my asking,
why are you so fretful in these
enchanting surroundings?
Teachers. Teachers. Can't trust them.
Ha! It's a sad thing, friend, when trust
is lacking in modern life.
But it is always darkest before the
dawn!
And this may yet turn out to be your
lucky day.
Alistair Dimple, at your service.
Professor of the Instructional Arts.
Master of Elucidation.
- And furthermore...
- Ah, ah, hold that thought, Professor.
Come with me.
Allow me.
Professor Dimple, why did you apply for
this position?
From the moment I first set eyes upon
your lovely little gem of Avonlea
I knew that today would be Providential.
I can unravel the tangle you momentarily
find yourselves in
and, rebuild the faith that the
pedagogues have so cruelly ripped from
Avonlea.
Hire him!
- Well, shouldn't we ask for...
- My credentials, Mr King?
I shall write to Canterbury College of
the Instructional Arts in England
and have them forward my certificates
and references today.
Sara!
Now, you've done it!
Good morning!
I am Professor Dimple.
And who might you be, boy?
Uh... Felix. Felix King, sir.
Felix,
I will need your help this morning.
Tell me. What did you study with Miss
King, at this time of day?
Uh... History, sir.
Then we shall do that now.
And could you share with us exactly what
you were studying?
Oh, no!
Don't you know what you were studying,
Felix?
Uh... It was the Kings and Queens of
Britain, sir.
The Ethel's, but...
I can't tell you them.
I can't remember them. No matter how
hard I try.
Must have happened about a thousand
years ago.
And they were all the same.
I can, Professor Dimple.
Felicity King.
And I am fully prepared to represent
Avonlea in the History Bee.
The first commonly accepted King of
England was Alfred...
I'm sure you know them all, Felicity,
but a list of dead people is of no
benefit and little importance to anyone
who is not in the direct line of
succession.
To understand history you must
understand the people who lived it.
Think of each King or Queen as if
they were here in the room, talking to
us.
Discover how each of them is unique,
just like anyone else you meet.
I think he is... strange.
Sounds a whole lot better than Aunt
Hetty, to me.
Got to give him a proper chance,
Felicity.
I think Professor Dimple will prove most
interesting.
Why hasn't the bell rang yet?
Maybe he likes recess.
Twenty minutes is quite long enough.
Leave it to Felicity to wreck a good
time.
Et tu, Brutus?
He's alive!
The last words of Julius Caesar,
first Roman Emperor to visit the British
Isles.
He was stabbed by his friends, while
walking to work one day.
And who, Gus Pike, did he find in
Britain?
- People?
- Absolutely correct.
But not just any people. Druids painted
blue.
Blue?!
They were blue?!
Blue and bloody.
And worshiping trees and practising
human sacrifice!
Gus Pike!
You shall be our conquering Roman
Emperor, Julius!
Would you select your Praetorian guards?
You, you, you, you, you and you!
And who would like to be the oak
worshiping druids,
gathered at Stonehenge, to sacrifice
their next victim?
Master Felix King!
And your victim, Felix?
Don't even think it, Felix!
He said the British Royals were of
little importance.
And then he stabbed himself!
What?! He did what?!
Well, he was only acting. But it looked
very real.
He scared the younger children to tears!
And that was before the human sacrifice!
Human sacrifice?! Oh, good lord,
Felicity!
Hard to believe that... even your father
permits such a man to teach school!
Well, no one seems to notice this
bizarre behaviour.
- Except for myself.
- Oh!
Someone really ought to keep an eye on
Professor Dimple, Aunt Hetty.
Who knows what he'll do next?
Thank you, Felicity.
Someone shall. Come on.
Alright, Britons!
Out of your tents and ready yourselves!
Vikings! Row!
And row!
And row!
How do you think Aethelred felt
when the Vikings sacked Canterbury
Cathedral?
A thousand years ago the Vikings were
the best shipbuilders
and sailors in the world.
All Europe trembled before their fierce
and rapacious attacks.
Now Vikings! Prepare to attack!
Felix!
You're Erik Erikson!
Gys!
Leif, the Lucky!
Edward!
You'll be Eric, the Red!
Rupert Gillis!
Aethelred, the Unready!
First King of England!
Perhaps you want to nap under that tree?
Shouldn't I prepare my troops for
battle, sir?
Of course not! Why do you think you are
called 'The Unready'?
Felicity!
You'll be Erika, the Viking Queen!
I refuse to put that disgusting thing on
my head!
Alright!
Who'll be the Viking Queen then?
I will.
Erika,
Queen of the fiercest warriors that ever
lived.
- Now, Vikings...
- Attack! Show no mercy!
Take the wedge first!
Now ship her.
Carry on!
Come on, you Britons!
Praetorians, defend yourselves!
What?!
My best saucepan! What happened to it?
Felix! What happened to you?!
Oh!
History! It's wonderful!
History did this to you and my pot?!
I'm a little confused, Felix King. And
more than a little angry.
Are you alright?
Oh, it's just a little scratch. Honest!
Girls!
You're both filthy!
Professor Dimple recreated the Viking
attack on the Britons
in the 9th century.
I was Erik Eriksson.
After conquering Britain, I discovered
America!
I was captured!
Professor Dimple is a rude... unmannered
brute
with no consideration for the finer
feelings in life.
And the Vikings were just plain dirty!
Rachel! Rachel Lynde!
I have never seeing anything like it!
Oh, Rachel!
They were having a pitched battle...
there! Behind the schoolhouse!
Children beating each other senseless!
Really! I'm sure it was just a game,
Hetty King.
Defies every principle ever learned in
teacher's college.
You don't know everything there is to
know under the sun, Hetty King.
And you made an issue out of this, when
you resigned!
Why couldn't you listen to Alec?
Why, I am amazed!
I... I'd thought you of all people,
Rachel Lynde,
would've had the children's best welfare
at heart!
But I see there's not a soul in this
town with an
ounce of common sense, so umm...
good day to you!
Olivia.
Still got a bee in her bonnet about the
new school teacher.
- Oh! Have you seen Professor Dimple?
- In the General Store.
Thank you.
Chalk.
Paints, paper.
Bandages.
Are you redecorating the schoolhouse,
Professor Dimple?
No, no, no, no, no, no!
Professor Dimple?
Olivia Dale, with the Avonlea Chronicle.
A member of the press. Charmed, Ma'am.
What may I do for you?
Oh, well, I was hoping I could secure an
interview with you, for the paper.
An interview... Well, I'm hardly a
celebrity, Mrs Dale.
On the contrary, Professor! The whole
town's abuzz about you.
They want every little detail, that's
what.
We'll try to arrange a convenient time,
Mrs Dale.
Oh, well actually, I was thinking
tomorrow, right after school.
Ah, school! So challenging... So...
rewarding!
Lessons to prepare, you know.
Allow me, Professor.
I adhere to a very nouveau programme. A
pastiche of the most modern methods.
My class was a cream of a generation.
A woman such as yourself, Mrs Lynde,
can appreciate the subtle humanness
nuances of such a legacy.
Yes! Absolutely!
Why, I'm a human myself, Professor.
"Was this the face that launched a
thousand ships,"
"and burnt the topest towers of Ilium?"
Helen of Troy, the most beautiful woman
in the world.
Over whom the Trojan war was fought and
raged on for ten years!
"And look!"
"The Greeks have sent us this gift of
peace!"
Felicity, that's your cue.
I refuse to be a raving lunatic, even in
pretence!!
You're not a lunatic, Felicity. You're
the Prophetess Cassandra.
"Look not a gift horse in the mouth."
Let go of me!
- Got you!
- Catch her, Felix!
This is ridiculous!
Don't spoil things, Felicity!
Yeah, you're suppose to start shrieking!
I will not shriek!
Oh, horrible, horrible! Most horrible!
- Mr Dimple.
- Mr King.
Well, I...I hear some very fine things
about you, sir, from my children.
Oh, thank you.
Wonderful family you have, Mr King. Very
bright, curious.
Yes, well, they've really changed since
your arrival.
I understand your methods are quite
different to those of my sister's.
Ah, yes, Miss King, of course!
And how is Miss King? I had hoped we
might chat.
Well, I... wouldn't know. She's not
really speaking to me.
- Because of me, sir?
- I suppose. But it's...
it's really the whole situation. She's
taught for almost thirty years.
My, my! That's very impressive!
But overwhelming. She deserves a
sabbatical.
- A what?
- A time off.
Imagine giving off yourself, day in, day
out for thirty years.
All those minds enlightened over all
those years.
I've never really thought of it like
that.
She deserves time to reflect, to collect
her energies.
To apply her knowledge in other ways.
But we'll have to coax it out of her,
won't we?
Coax isn't exactly the right word, when
it comes to Hetty.
Oh! Your credentials!
Professor Dimple?
Door is locked!
Where's Felix?
I thought he was with you.
No school?
Don't push, Edward!
Gus, do you see anything?
Hello? Professor Dimple?
- What's all this?
- It's a tomb!
Egypt?
Welcome to the tomb of the great
Pharaoh!
Touch me and you'll live to regret it,
Felix!
To understand history you must
understand...
And thrusting the venomous snakes to her
breast,
Cleopatra cried for them to drink deep,
of the royal blood of Egypt.
And died, mourning her lost love,
the roman, Marc Anthony.
That's so romantic!
And so, passed the time of the great
Pharaohs,
their lives surrounded in a mystery of
their monuments.
So much for antiquities!
Onward to history!
Mr Bugle!
Our Henry the Eighth.
And...
our beautiful Queens of England!
Catherine of Aragon.
Anne Boleyn.
Jane Seymour.
Anne of Cleves.
Catherine Howard.
Catherine Parr.
Divorced.
Beheaded.
Died.
Divorced.
Beheaded. And...
Lived.
- Good day, Sara.
- Professor Dimple!
Miss King!
Mr Dimple.
I've been meaning to come by and ask if
we might have a chat.
You're here now. So I take it you've got
something on your mind.
The classroom is a daunting place, Miss
King.
All those bright expectant faces turned
up, waiting for... illumination.
I find it a great adventure into the
imagination.
Do you?
Education requires facts, Mr Dimple,
not fiction.
Ah! But... the elucidation of those
facts, Miss King?
Teaching is a profession the requires
the educator to be... original,
to present facts and figures
in a palatable, even interesting manner.
It takes its toll.
Oh-ho! Yes. It most certainly does that.
Miss King,
let me be perfectly honest.
I know how you feel.
Let me assure you that this position is
of paramount importance.
It is the very sustenance of my life.
I'll do my very best, not to let the
children down.
I find, however, that the good parents
never realise the effort.
No, they don't.
The good parents, as you call them,
continually take me... take us for
granted, do they not?
There should be a period of rejuvenation
for educators.
Say, every few years.
Time to gather new energies, make...
other contributions.
How...How do you mean "other
contributions"?
I can see a great work in you, Miss
King.
Ooh!
A great work, you say?
The history of the island, perhaps?
A history of the families of the island.
Of the important families of the island.
Well, that's true.
The King family does have a... notable
tradition in these parts.
Surely you would want future
generations,
future King generations to view with a
pride, their place
in the founding and building of this
province.
It's a thought, Professor.
A good thought.
Thank you.
By the by,
I do wish you every success in your new
position at the Avonlea school,
one I enjoyed for many years, you know.
Thank you, Miss King.
- Good day.
- Good day.
- Sara.
- Bye, Mr Dimple.
"Michael! Michael!"
"How long is the ceiling going to take?"
Pope Julius commissioned Michelangelo to
paint The Sistine Chapel.
At the same time, Francis the First was
on the throne,
in France and collecting art and
artists.
He offered a home to Leonardo Da Vinci,
who packed up all his little sketches
and paintings,
like the 'Mona Lisa',
and moved to a lovely little chateau in
the Loire Valley.
A little more blue in that sky, Felix.
And who was on the throne in England?
Sara Stanley.
Henry VIII. Collected wives.
Quite right, Sara.
Quite right.
Alec!
- Oh, Alec!
- Olivia, what is it?
- What's the matter?
- Read this!
Look, second last page.
Read this.
- "Upstaged by dust."
- What are we gonna do?
I better have a talk with Mr Dimple.
Well...
now let's keep this between ourselves,
Olivia.
Whatever you do, don't tell Hetty.
Oh, no.
Edward Rae, who was the first King of
England?
Alfred the Great. He ate cakes in the
woods.
Clemmie Rae, who won the battle of
Agincourt?
Henry V. He gave up his best friend,
Falstaff, to become King.
Sally Potts,
what Houses fought the 'War of the
Roses'?
The Lancaster's in red, York in whites.
Alphie Bugle, who inherited the throne
from Elizabeth?
James VI of Scotland became James I of
England.
He had the Bible translated to English.
Felix King, who lost England to the
Danes?
Aethelred The Unready. He took a nap.
You are perfection itself.
I cannot possibly decide who among you
should represent the school.
You're all a fount of wisdom.
So, we shall draw names for the honour.
Professor! Professor Dimple! I must have
a word with you!
Excuse me, excuse me.
It's about the Canterbury College of the
Instructional Arts.
I must prepare my opening remarks,
excuse me.
- Umm...
- Alec King!
The children look positively...
intelligent.
We have to talk about the Professor.
I've just received word that he's no
ordinary teacher.
There's not an ordinary bone in the
man's body.
No, no. You don't understand. You see...
I understand that Professor Dimple has
crammed more into Rupert's head
than I would've thought possible.
- True.
- And, we are going to trounce Markdale.
Count on it!
Alec!
- A word with you.
- Hetty, I'm sorry.
I should never have let things go so
far. You were right.
Oh, no! I was wrong!
How foolish of me to allow a school to
occupy my every thought when there's
so much else to life, don't you think?
No. I should've listened to you about
Professor Dimple.
Oh, Professor Dimple is...is...is
an excellent man.
Discerning, subtle, perceptive.
What? No, no. That's ridiculous.
- The man is nothing but a...
- How like you, Alec King!
Might've expected such a response from
you, untrained as you are in education.
Incapable really of making a... proper
evaluation.
Look how you judged me. Not that I hold
a grudge.
But, if you say one word against
Professor Dimple I shall...
make every day of your life... a misery!
You can count on it.
- Alec. Alec, is anything wrong?
- Well, yeah, it is Mr Dimple.
- Oh, what is it? Is he alright?
- Well...
Father?
Father, where is he? We're supposed to
start soon!
Well...
he must be backstage. You better go.
- We'll talk about it later.
- Darling, how...
Good parents, friends and relations!
There is nothing more important than
history.
It marks the ebb and flow of time and
our places in that... infinite spectrum.
Tonight in the Avonlea town-hall
a point of history will be made.
The opposing teams match wit and wisdom
for the honour of their mates and
schools.
And so,
to the contest
and to the victors, their moment in
time.
For each correct answer... 10 points.
Teams have the opportunity to answer
incorrect responses
and earn an additional 5 points.
First question to Avonlea School.
Who was the first Roman Emperor to visit
the British Isles?
Oh, no! I knew he'd never remember!
Your answer, please.
Oh! I remember!
He travelled to Rome with a man painted
all blue!
- Julius Caesar!
- Correct!
Markdale!
In what year and at what place did the
War of the Roses end?
Um...
1528.
- At a field.
- Incorrect.
Avonlea?
1485.
Bosworth Field, because Richard lost his
horse.
Correct!
Alec! Look at your son! He's a changed
boy!
Avonlea.
What English Monarch went on the
Crusades?
Richard C?ur de Lion.
He made Robin Hood a knight.
Correct!
Markdale. Who opposed Henry II
and was killed on the steps of
Canterbury Cathedral?
- Thomas Becket.
- Correct!
Avonlea...
Excuse me, dear.
I'll be back before long.
What charter ended the barons' revolt of
1215?
The Magna Carta. The didn't like paying
all them taxes.
- Correct!
- Bravo!
Mr King! Lovely night for a bit of air.
After the tension of a performance, I
like to get out for a bit. It's calming.
- With your suitcase, Professor?
- Research. It's very valuable.
I received your credentials.
You have bamboozled the schoolboard,
the town; the province; the children and
their parents and myself.
From one point of view, that's true.
Yet,
have I done any harm?
I thought about that, and I have to
conclude that no harm has been done.
If anything, you've done the opposite.
All the children might have a few more
scratches on the outside,
but on the inside, they have a new
curiosity to learn.
I don't know how, but you managed to
inspire.
Why, my sister has become your
staunchest defender.
Inspiration and imagination.
First principles of dramatics.
So, why did you do it?
Lack of funds, between engagements.
Well, I'm afraid we can no longer employ
you here.
What are you going to do?
I'll think of something. What about you?
Ah! I have discovered, Mr King, that all
the world is a stage.
All the men and women merely players.
They have their exits and entrances.
And one man at a time plays many parts.
Good luck, Mr Dimple.
And, for what it's worth,
I think the theatrical reviewer of this
newspaper has much maligned you.
Thank you, Mr King.
Thank you, indeed.
"Onward, Christian soldiers!"
"Marching as to war."
Well...
unfortunately Professor Dimple has been
suddenly recalled to Canterbury
to, uh..., fill the shoes of the
recently deceased principal.
He sends his deepest apologies.
- Oh, that's awful!
- What do we do now?
Fortunately we have an outstanding
teacher right here,
in our own Hetty King.
I appreciate your new found confidence
in me, Alec, but...
Professor Dimple has asked me to...
return with him to the Canterbury
College of the Instructional Arts.
We discussed writing a book together,
you see, about the...
unique situation facing students and
teachers. Then...
understand what a challenge that will be
for two such...
educators as Alistair and myself.
Oh, I do understand. Perfectly, Hetty.
But, I beg you, consider the town, our
children.
Canterbury can... survive without you,
but...
Avonlea can't.
For the children, yes.
Of course you're right, Alec.
Mustn't be selfish. Can't... turn my
back on Avonlea, can I?
Well, then...
Professor Dimple simply will have to do
without me.
We are ever in your debt.
Come on!
- Come on!
- This is so wonderful!
Olivia! Don't doddle, come on now!
What smells so delicious in here?
Felix, what's the matter?
I think I feel sick.
Could be the plague!
He doesn't want to go to school.
Come on, Felix.
Personally, I can't wait to resume my
proper education.
- Please may I be excused, mother?
- Yes, you may.
You may all be excused.
The return of Hetty the Terrible!
Felix! Don't talk that way about your
Aunt!
Hurry up! You'll all be late.
They look like they're going to an
execution.
That's the way I always felt.
Ah, Class! Attention, please!
Today we begin our study of the
exploration of the New World.
Now, then...
Felix King.
What can you tell us about the voyage of
Columbus?
C...Columbus?
Come, come now, Felix. We are waiting.
Um...
Um... he...
he traveled...
he... he traveled on a ship...
Ooh! Really, Felix King!
Will you never learn?!
I suppose not.
I...I suppose the only way you will
learn
is to play the part of Christopher
Columbus.
Mmmm?
When we re-enact the voyage.
Is that it?
Yes, Ma'am!
Well, then,
Columbus, as I hope many of you already
know,
was the first explorer to settle in the
New World after the...
Vikings!
Gus Pike. You'll be King Ferdinand II.
And Felicity, you'll be Queen Isabella
of Castile.
You should, Felix. We've been over them
a million times.
- Father will kill me if I fail!
- I know all the answers.
Aren't you special, Cecily!
Honestly! All you have you do is
memorise the book.
Easy for you to say, Felicity. You're
her favourite.
She doesn't pick on you.
I can say them all in my sleep.
- Kings and Queens, it's not so hard.
- Miss King is what's hard!
Sure hope she doesn't call on me.
No. Edward Ray, sit down.
You were well advised to read the lesson
before coming to class.
I expect better, children. Indeed, I do.
Need I remind you that the finals for
the competition are in two weeks time!
And the honour of Avonlea rests on your
shoulders!
Now... Cecily!
Who lost England to the Danes?
Too long! Sit!
Sally Potts!
The answer, please.
The English King who lost the country
was... um...
Sit!
Alphie Bugle!
Sit!
Felix King!
Up, up, up, up, up!
Perhaps, you'll name for us the King of
England,
who lost his country to the Danes?
Aethelred.
It was a man...
Aethelred.
Eth? Ethel?
Aethelred.
with a girls name! Ethel!
Felix King! Really, your mind is...
very like your desk!
Yeah, a square made of wood!
Boys! That's enough! Edward Rae!
There's certainly nothing to laugh
about, Edward Rae,
as you will note from the results of
these history examinations.
"D"?!
And neither do the rest of you, for that
matter.
Felix King.
"D" minus?!
Felicity.
- Elvira?
- Hmm.
What do you think of this one?
Oh, my!
That's quite daring, don't you think,
Janet?
Mm-hmm.
You don't have to tell me! She is
absolutely outrageous!
I'd like to tell her what for!
Always thinks she knows more than the
rest of us.
- Now, whatever is the matter?
- Hetty King!
She's driving my poor Alphie to
dyspepsia!
My Sally has taken to her bed with a hot
water bottle!
- Something's got to be done!
- You won't budge Hetty.
I know of only person who could do that.
Alec.
- Your hair looks lovely, mother.
- Do you think so, dear?
Hmm. It's lovely.
Now...
how was school today, children?
Well?
I'm not going back!
Cecily, dear!
It's not my fault! Aunt Hetty makes me
nervous!
Felix!
What is gotten into them?
Felix got a D minus on his history exam,
and Cecily didn't do much better.
Ah!
I, however, received an "A".
I don't know what they're all
complaining about.
Alec?
Alec? Are you awake?
Janet, it's late. I'm tired.
Whatever it is, I'm sorry.
Everybody is upset about Hetty.
She's pushing the children too far, she
actually frightens them.
That is ridiculous!
Huh! I got an earful in the General
Store today.
Half the parents in town are upset and
angry
and they can't all be wrong.
The children aren't the problem,
- it's your sister.
- Isn't it always?!
We should do something.
Right now, Janet, I am going to get some
sleep.
Now, the first order of business is to
elect a new member to the school board.
Are there any nominations?
Or indeed volunteers for this
challenging position?
I'll say it's a challenge!
Well, there must be someone.
Mrs Potts! Yes, you make an excellent
candidate!
I... No, no... Uh...
Well... I fully appreciate how
challenging this position is...
We've all thought about it, it was to
discuss recently...
Get on with it! I nominate Alec King!
- I second the nomination!
- Yes! Alec King!
Well!
Apparently it's unanimous, Alec.
Congratulations!
We all know that you'll hold up your
end, Alec King.
I think you'll have no option but to
accept, that's what.
I don't know what to say.
Thank you, I'll do my best.
Um... there is... there is one matter I
would like to discuss...
Alec, there are rules to abide by, you
know. Agenda...
Forget the rules! I want to hear what
Alec has to say!
Well, thank you.
Well, Hetty, I, um...
I believe that you are an exceptional
teacher,
with many years experience
and you've done an exceptional job,
but...
sometimes I...I think that you...
except too much from the students.
And just which students do you have
mind?
- As if I couldn't guess!
- That's not the point.
You think children are all the same, and
they all learn the same. It's not so.
They're not all peas in a pod!
You...You could help them more. You
could try new approaches!
Modern methods! That what I say.
My... teaching methods are...
based firmly on the classical principles
of education.
Oh, clearly you've not the slightest
idea of that which you speak!
I knew it was a mistake to try to talk
to you.
If the three R's are good enough for the
rest of the country,
dare say, they'll have to suffice for
Avonlea!
The three R's?
There is more to education than
recitation, repetition and repression!
- Yes! Exactly!
- Yeah! You tell her!
You tell her she has three months to
improve her performance,
like she told my Jane!
We want an open discussion!
More say in our children's education!
We have rights! They're our children!
Order!
Well, Hetty King,
I think everyone's made their position
crystal clear.
Oh, yes! Quite clear! Thank you, Rachel.
Well, if...
I have lost the support of the school
board, as it appears, then...
I can no longer teach in Avonlea!
I hereby tender my resignation!
- This is an awful situation!
- I never dreamed she'd quit.
Your own sister! How could you?!
Oh! You are the one who said we had to
do something!
Well, I never meant for you to take her
job away!
I only meant for you too make her see
reason!
It was her decision entirely! A
professional disagreement!
Who's going to teach school?
Anyone would be better than Aunt Hetty.
Felix!
Now, don't worry, Janet.
I've organised a search.
I'm placing an advertisement in a
Charlottetown newspaper.
Oh!
Well, I did teach at Kingston for
fifteen... years...
Um... Mrs Lynde? Could you sit up
straight?
Mr Gillis, stop playing with that
pencil.
And... Mr King!
Pay attention.
Oh, I'm sorry, Miss Grindstaff.
And now, as I was saying, I did teach at
Kingston for fifteen... years and...
You want to check my credentials.
Could you please tell us something of
your teaching experience.
Yes.
I... um...
Well...
Experience? Yes!
I...
Yes!
Yes.
Where did you study at?
Excuse me. You meant to ask "where did I
study?"
That's what I did ask.
No. You said "where did you study at?"
One cannot end a sentence with a
preposition.
No reckoning made, but sent to my
account...
Thus was I, sleeping,
by a brother's hand.
Of life, of crown, of queen, at once
dispatch'd.
O, horrible!
Horrible!
Most hooooorrible!
You're telling me?!
Alas! They killed me!
Get off the stage! Boo!
That's the third tomato this week,
Dimple.
You're fired.
You don't mean that, Harry.
Look!
I'll do it differently.
It'll be a brand new performance.
Never before seen or heard!
It can stay that way.
Alistair, I'm sorry. They don't like
Shakespeare.
And they don't like you.
If you ever doin' a nice Gilbert and
Sullivan, let me know.
And, Alistair, if I were you, I'd find
another line of work.
"In the pivotal role of the ghost of
Hamlet's father,
Mr Alistair Dimple could be upstaged by
dust."
- What other choice do we have?
- How about number eight?
Huh! The one who took three minutes to
tell us his name?
I hate to say it, but we'll have to ask
Miss King to return.
If you hadn't started this ruckus, we
wouldn't be in this mess now!
Listen, Alec, I've got a business to
run.
I can't spend all day on my backside!
You created this problem and you solve
it!
We'll have to advertise in Halifax.
I can't sit through another day of
teacher interviews.
I think we're gonna have to ask Hetty
King to reconsider.
Huh!
We'll have to go down on our knees and
beg her,
before she agrees to comes back.
Be sure to rub it in well, now, Sara.
Yes, Aunt Hetty.
Then leave them be for just three
minutes, you know.
I know.
Hello!
Aunt Olivia?!
My! Hello, Sara.
- Well!
- My, my, Olivia!
What brings you all the way over here?
Sent by Alec, I suppose, are you?
Alec? Of course not!
I just brought over some pickles and
chutney I've put up.
Would you hold that, Sara?
Well that's...
very kind of you, I'm sure.
Thank you.
- Hetty...
- We really are very busy, Olivia.
Sara, back to work.
Oh, it's astonishing the way a house
will fall apart,
if you don't pay the...the strictest
attention.
- Hetty, I know you're upset...
- Upset?!
Me?! Whatever about
Hetty, if you wanna teach,
you just go over and tell the
schoolboard, right now!
It is of no consequence to me, Olivia.
If the consensus is to let me go,
then I shall... put my freedom to good
advantage.
You may be sure!
Oh, great many things I wish to do with
my life.
Plans, you know.
Alright, Hetty. Have it your way.
- Goodbye, Sara.
- Goodbye, Aunt Olivia.
Sara.
Thirty candidates and not a single
possibility. I can't believe it!
What a disaster!!
If you don't mind my asking,
why are you so fretful in these
enchanting surroundings?
Teachers. Teachers. Can't trust them.
Ha! It's a sad thing, friend, when trust
is lacking in modern life.
But it is always darkest before the
dawn!
And this may yet turn out to be your
lucky day.
Alistair Dimple, at your service.
Professor of the Instructional Arts.
Master of Elucidation.
- And furthermore...
- Ah, ah, hold that thought, Professor.
Come with me.
Allow me.
Professor Dimple, why did you apply for
this position?
From the moment I first set eyes upon
your lovely little gem of Avonlea
I knew that today would be Providential.
I can unravel the tangle you momentarily
find yourselves in
and, rebuild the faith that the
pedagogues have so cruelly ripped from
Avonlea.
Hire him!
- Well, shouldn't we ask for...
- My credentials, Mr King?
I shall write to Canterbury College of
the Instructional Arts in England
and have them forward my certificates
and references today.
Sara!
Now, you've done it!
Good morning!
I am Professor Dimple.
And who might you be, boy?
Uh... Felix. Felix King, sir.
Felix,
I will need your help this morning.
Tell me. What did you study with Miss
King, at this time of day?
Uh... History, sir.
Then we shall do that now.
And could you share with us exactly what
you were studying?
Oh, no!
Don't you know what you were studying,
Felix?
Uh... It was the Kings and Queens of
Britain, sir.
The Ethel's, but...
I can't tell you them.
I can't remember them. No matter how
hard I try.
Must have happened about a thousand
years ago.
And they were all the same.
I can, Professor Dimple.
Felicity King.
And I am fully prepared to represent
Avonlea in the History Bee.
The first commonly accepted King of
England was Alfred...
I'm sure you know them all, Felicity,
but a list of dead people is of no
benefit and little importance to anyone
who is not in the direct line of
succession.
To understand history you must
understand the people who lived it.
Think of each King or Queen as if
they were here in the room, talking to
us.
Discover how each of them is unique,
just like anyone else you meet.
I think he is... strange.
Sounds a whole lot better than Aunt
Hetty, to me.
Got to give him a proper chance,
Felicity.
I think Professor Dimple will prove most
interesting.
Why hasn't the bell rang yet?
Maybe he likes recess.
Twenty minutes is quite long enough.
Leave it to Felicity to wreck a good
time.
Et tu, Brutus?
He's alive!
The last words of Julius Caesar,
first Roman Emperor to visit the British
Isles.
He was stabbed by his friends, while
walking to work one day.
And who, Gus Pike, did he find in
Britain?
- People?
- Absolutely correct.
But not just any people. Druids painted
blue.
Blue?!
They were blue?!
Blue and bloody.
And worshiping trees and practising
human sacrifice!
Gus Pike!
You shall be our conquering Roman
Emperor, Julius!
Would you select your Praetorian guards?
You, you, you, you, you and you!
And who would like to be the oak
worshiping druids,
gathered at Stonehenge, to sacrifice
their next victim?
Master Felix King!
And your victim, Felix?
Don't even think it, Felix!
He said the British Royals were of
little importance.
And then he stabbed himself!
What?! He did what?!
Well, he was only acting. But it looked
very real.
He scared the younger children to tears!
And that was before the human sacrifice!
Human sacrifice?! Oh, good lord,
Felicity!
Hard to believe that... even your father
permits such a man to teach school!
Well, no one seems to notice this
bizarre behaviour.
- Except for myself.
- Oh!
Someone really ought to keep an eye on
Professor Dimple, Aunt Hetty.
Who knows what he'll do next?
Thank you, Felicity.
Someone shall. Come on.
Alright, Britons!
Out of your tents and ready yourselves!
Vikings! Row!
And row!
And row!
How do you think Aethelred felt
when the Vikings sacked Canterbury
Cathedral?
A thousand years ago the Vikings were
the best shipbuilders
and sailors in the world.
All Europe trembled before their fierce
and rapacious attacks.
Now Vikings! Prepare to attack!
Felix!
You're Erik Erikson!
Gys!
Leif, the Lucky!
Edward!
You'll be Eric, the Red!
Rupert Gillis!
Aethelred, the Unready!
First King of England!
Perhaps you want to nap under that tree?
Shouldn't I prepare my troops for
battle, sir?
Of course not! Why do you think you are
called 'The Unready'?
Felicity!
You'll be Erika, the Viking Queen!
I refuse to put that disgusting thing on
my head!
Alright!
Who'll be the Viking Queen then?
I will.
Erika,
Queen of the fiercest warriors that ever
lived.
- Now, Vikings...
- Attack! Show no mercy!
Take the wedge first!
Now ship her.
Carry on!
Come on, you Britons!
Praetorians, defend yourselves!
What?!
My best saucepan! What happened to it?
Felix! What happened to you?!
Oh!
History! It's wonderful!
History did this to you and my pot?!
I'm a little confused, Felix King. And
more than a little angry.
Are you alright?
Oh, it's just a little scratch. Honest!
Girls!
You're both filthy!
Professor Dimple recreated the Viking
attack on the Britons
in the 9th century.
I was Erik Eriksson.
After conquering Britain, I discovered
America!
I was captured!
Professor Dimple is a rude... unmannered
brute
with no consideration for the finer
feelings in life.
And the Vikings were just plain dirty!
Rachel! Rachel Lynde!
I have never seeing anything like it!
Oh, Rachel!
They were having a pitched battle...
there! Behind the schoolhouse!
Children beating each other senseless!
Really! I'm sure it was just a game,
Hetty King.
Defies every principle ever learned in
teacher's college.
You don't know everything there is to
know under the sun, Hetty King.
And you made an issue out of this, when
you resigned!
Why couldn't you listen to Alec?
Why, I am amazed!
I... I'd thought you of all people,
Rachel Lynde,
would've had the children's best welfare
at heart!
But I see there's not a soul in this
town with an
ounce of common sense, so umm...
good day to you!
Olivia.
Still got a bee in her bonnet about the
new school teacher.
- Oh! Have you seen Professor Dimple?
- In the General Store.
Thank you.
Chalk.
Paints, paper.
Bandages.
Are you redecorating the schoolhouse,
Professor Dimple?
No, no, no, no, no, no!
Professor Dimple?
Olivia Dale, with the Avonlea Chronicle.
A member of the press. Charmed, Ma'am.
What may I do for you?
Oh, well, I was hoping I could secure an
interview with you, for the paper.
An interview... Well, I'm hardly a
celebrity, Mrs Dale.
On the contrary, Professor! The whole
town's abuzz about you.
They want every little detail, that's
what.
We'll try to arrange a convenient time,
Mrs Dale.
Oh, well actually, I was thinking
tomorrow, right after school.
Ah, school! So challenging... So...
rewarding!
Lessons to prepare, you know.
Allow me, Professor.
I adhere to a very nouveau programme. A
pastiche of the most modern methods.
My class was a cream of a generation.
A woman such as yourself, Mrs Lynde,
can appreciate the subtle humanness
nuances of such a legacy.
Yes! Absolutely!
Why, I'm a human myself, Professor.
"Was this the face that launched a
thousand ships,"
"and burnt the topest towers of Ilium?"
Helen of Troy, the most beautiful woman
in the world.
Over whom the Trojan war was fought and
raged on for ten years!
"And look!"
"The Greeks have sent us this gift of
peace!"
Felicity, that's your cue.
I refuse to be a raving lunatic, even in
pretence!!
You're not a lunatic, Felicity. You're
the Prophetess Cassandra.
"Look not a gift horse in the mouth."
Let go of me!
- Got you!
- Catch her, Felix!
This is ridiculous!
Don't spoil things, Felicity!
Yeah, you're suppose to start shrieking!
I will not shriek!
Oh, horrible, horrible! Most horrible!
- Mr Dimple.
- Mr King.
Well, I...I hear some very fine things
about you, sir, from my children.
Oh, thank you.
Wonderful family you have, Mr King. Very
bright, curious.
Yes, well, they've really changed since
your arrival.
I understand your methods are quite
different to those of my sister's.
Ah, yes, Miss King, of course!
And how is Miss King? I had hoped we
might chat.
Well, I... wouldn't know. She's not
really speaking to me.
- Because of me, sir?
- I suppose. But it's...
it's really the whole situation. She's
taught for almost thirty years.
My, my! That's very impressive!
But overwhelming. She deserves a
sabbatical.
- A what?
- A time off.
Imagine giving off yourself, day in, day
out for thirty years.
All those minds enlightened over all
those years.
I've never really thought of it like
that.
She deserves time to reflect, to collect
her energies.
To apply her knowledge in other ways.
But we'll have to coax it out of her,
won't we?
Coax isn't exactly the right word, when
it comes to Hetty.
Oh! Your credentials!
Professor Dimple?
Door is locked!
Where's Felix?
I thought he was with you.
No school?
Don't push, Edward!
Gus, do you see anything?
Hello? Professor Dimple?
- What's all this?
- It's a tomb!
Egypt?
Welcome to the tomb of the great
Pharaoh!
Touch me and you'll live to regret it,
Felix!
To understand history you must
understand...
And thrusting the venomous snakes to her
breast,
Cleopatra cried for them to drink deep,
of the royal blood of Egypt.
And died, mourning her lost love,
the roman, Marc Anthony.
That's so romantic!
And so, passed the time of the great
Pharaohs,
their lives surrounded in a mystery of
their monuments.
So much for antiquities!
Onward to history!
Mr Bugle!
Our Henry the Eighth.
And...
our beautiful Queens of England!
Catherine of Aragon.
Anne Boleyn.
Jane Seymour.
Anne of Cleves.
Catherine Howard.
Catherine Parr.
Divorced.
Beheaded.
Died.
Divorced.
Beheaded. And...
Lived.
- Good day, Sara.
- Professor Dimple!
Miss King!
Mr Dimple.
I've been meaning to come by and ask if
we might have a chat.
You're here now. So I take it you've got
something on your mind.
The classroom is a daunting place, Miss
King.
All those bright expectant faces turned
up, waiting for... illumination.
I find it a great adventure into the
imagination.
Do you?
Education requires facts, Mr Dimple,
not fiction.
Ah! But... the elucidation of those
facts, Miss King?
Teaching is a profession the requires
the educator to be... original,
to present facts and figures
in a palatable, even interesting manner.
It takes its toll.
Oh-ho! Yes. It most certainly does that.
Miss King,
let me be perfectly honest.
I know how you feel.
Let me assure you that this position is
of paramount importance.
It is the very sustenance of my life.
I'll do my very best, not to let the
children down.
I find, however, that the good parents
never realise the effort.
No, they don't.
The good parents, as you call them,
continually take me... take us for
granted, do they not?
There should be a period of rejuvenation
for educators.
Say, every few years.
Time to gather new energies, make...
other contributions.
How...How do you mean "other
contributions"?
I can see a great work in you, Miss
King.
Ooh!
A great work, you say?
The history of the island, perhaps?
A history of the families of the island.
Of the important families of the island.
Well, that's true.
The King family does have a... notable
tradition in these parts.
Surely you would want future
generations,
future King generations to view with a
pride, their place
in the founding and building of this
province.
It's a thought, Professor.
A good thought.
Thank you.
By the by,
I do wish you every success in your new
position at the Avonlea school,
one I enjoyed for many years, you know.
Thank you, Miss King.
- Good day.
- Good day.
- Sara.
- Bye, Mr Dimple.
"Michael! Michael!"
"How long is the ceiling going to take?"
Pope Julius commissioned Michelangelo to
paint The Sistine Chapel.
At the same time, Francis the First was
on the throne,
in France and collecting art and
artists.
He offered a home to Leonardo Da Vinci,
who packed up all his little sketches
and paintings,
like the 'Mona Lisa',
and moved to a lovely little chateau in
the Loire Valley.
A little more blue in that sky, Felix.
And who was on the throne in England?
Sara Stanley.
Henry VIII. Collected wives.
Quite right, Sara.
Quite right.
Alec!
- Oh, Alec!
- Olivia, what is it?
- What's the matter?
- Read this!
Look, second last page.
Read this.
- "Upstaged by dust."
- What are we gonna do?
I better have a talk with Mr Dimple.
Well...
now let's keep this between ourselves,
Olivia.
Whatever you do, don't tell Hetty.
Oh, no.
Edward Rae, who was the first King of
England?
Alfred the Great. He ate cakes in the
woods.
Clemmie Rae, who won the battle of
Agincourt?
Henry V. He gave up his best friend,
Falstaff, to become King.
Sally Potts,
what Houses fought the 'War of the
Roses'?
The Lancaster's in red, York in whites.
Alphie Bugle, who inherited the throne
from Elizabeth?
James VI of Scotland became James I of
England.
He had the Bible translated to English.
Felix King, who lost England to the
Danes?
Aethelred The Unready. He took a nap.
You are perfection itself.
I cannot possibly decide who among you
should represent the school.
You're all a fount of wisdom.
So, we shall draw names for the honour.
Professor! Professor Dimple! I must have
a word with you!
Excuse me, excuse me.
It's about the Canterbury College of the
Instructional Arts.
I must prepare my opening remarks,
excuse me.
- Umm...
- Alec King!
The children look positively...
intelligent.
We have to talk about the Professor.
I've just received word that he's no
ordinary teacher.
There's not an ordinary bone in the
man's body.
No, no. You don't understand. You see...
I understand that Professor Dimple has
crammed more into Rupert's head
than I would've thought possible.
- True.
- And, we are going to trounce Markdale.
Count on it!
Alec!
- A word with you.
- Hetty, I'm sorry.
I should never have let things go so
far. You were right.
Oh, no! I was wrong!
How foolish of me to allow a school to
occupy my every thought when there's
so much else to life, don't you think?
No. I should've listened to you about
Professor Dimple.
Oh, Professor Dimple is...is...is
an excellent man.
Discerning, subtle, perceptive.
What? No, no. That's ridiculous.
- The man is nothing but a...
- How like you, Alec King!
Might've expected such a response from
you, untrained as you are in education.
Incapable really of making a... proper
evaluation.
Look how you judged me. Not that I hold
a grudge.
But, if you say one word against
Professor Dimple I shall...
make every day of your life... a misery!
You can count on it.
- Alec. Alec, is anything wrong?
- Well, yeah, it is Mr Dimple.
- Oh, what is it? Is he alright?
- Well...
Father?
Father, where is he? We're supposed to
start soon!
Well...
he must be backstage. You better go.
- We'll talk about it later.
- Darling, how...
Good parents, friends and relations!
There is nothing more important than
history.
It marks the ebb and flow of time and
our places in that... infinite spectrum.
Tonight in the Avonlea town-hall
a point of history will be made.
The opposing teams match wit and wisdom
for the honour of their mates and
schools.
And so,
to the contest
and to the victors, their moment in
time.
For each correct answer... 10 points.
Teams have the opportunity to answer
incorrect responses
and earn an additional 5 points.
First question to Avonlea School.
Who was the first Roman Emperor to visit
the British Isles?
Oh, no! I knew he'd never remember!
Your answer, please.
Oh! I remember!
He travelled to Rome with a man painted
all blue!
- Julius Caesar!
- Correct!
Markdale!
In what year and at what place did the
War of the Roses end?
Um...
1528.
- At a field.
- Incorrect.
Avonlea?
1485.
Bosworth Field, because Richard lost his
horse.
Correct!
Alec! Look at your son! He's a changed
boy!
Avonlea.
What English Monarch went on the
Crusades?
Richard C?ur de Lion.
He made Robin Hood a knight.
Correct!
Markdale. Who opposed Henry II
and was killed on the steps of
Canterbury Cathedral?
- Thomas Becket.
- Correct!
Avonlea...
Excuse me, dear.
I'll be back before long.
What charter ended the barons' revolt of
1215?
The Magna Carta. The didn't like paying
all them taxes.
- Correct!
- Bravo!
Mr King! Lovely night for a bit of air.
After the tension of a performance, I
like to get out for a bit. It's calming.
- With your suitcase, Professor?
- Research. It's very valuable.
I received your credentials.
You have bamboozled the schoolboard,
the town; the province; the children and
their parents and myself.
From one point of view, that's true.
Yet,
have I done any harm?
I thought about that, and I have to
conclude that no harm has been done.
If anything, you've done the opposite.
All the children might have a few more
scratches on the outside,
but on the inside, they have a new
curiosity to learn.
I don't know how, but you managed to
inspire.
Why, my sister has become your
staunchest defender.
Inspiration and imagination.
First principles of dramatics.
So, why did you do it?
Lack of funds, between engagements.
Well, I'm afraid we can no longer employ
you here.
What are you going to do?
I'll think of something. What about you?
Ah! I have discovered, Mr King, that all
the world is a stage.
All the men and women merely players.
They have their exits and entrances.
And one man at a time plays many parts.
Good luck, Mr Dimple.
And, for what it's worth,
I think the theatrical reviewer of this
newspaper has much maligned you.
Thank you, Mr King.
Thank you, indeed.
"Onward, Christian soldiers!"
"Marching as to war."
Well...
unfortunately Professor Dimple has been
suddenly recalled to Canterbury
to, uh..., fill the shoes of the
recently deceased principal.
He sends his deepest apologies.
- Oh, that's awful!
- What do we do now?
Fortunately we have an outstanding
teacher right here,
in our own Hetty King.
I appreciate your new found confidence
in me, Alec, but...
Professor Dimple has asked me to...
return with him to the Canterbury
College of the Instructional Arts.
We discussed writing a book together,
you see, about the...
unique situation facing students and
teachers. Then...
understand what a challenge that will be
for two such...
educators as Alistair and myself.
Oh, I do understand. Perfectly, Hetty.
But, I beg you, consider the town, our
children.
Canterbury can... survive without you,
but...
Avonlea can't.
For the children, yes.
Of course you're right, Alec.
Mustn't be selfish. Can't... turn my
back on Avonlea, can I?
Well, then...
Professor Dimple simply will have to do
without me.
We are ever in your debt.
Come on!
- Come on!
- This is so wonderful!
Olivia! Don't doddle, come on now!
What smells so delicious in here?
Felix, what's the matter?
I think I feel sick.
Could be the plague!
He doesn't want to go to school.
Come on, Felix.
Personally, I can't wait to resume my
proper education.
- Please may I be excused, mother?
- Yes, you may.
You may all be excused.
The return of Hetty the Terrible!
Felix! Don't talk that way about your
Aunt!
Hurry up! You'll all be late.
They look like they're going to an
execution.
That's the way I always felt.
Ah, Class! Attention, please!
Today we begin our study of the
exploration of the New World.
Now, then...
Felix King.
What can you tell us about the voyage of
Columbus?
C...Columbus?
Come, come now, Felix. We are waiting.
Um...
Um... he...
he traveled...
he... he traveled on a ship...
Ooh! Really, Felix King!
Will you never learn?!
I suppose not.
I...I suppose the only way you will
learn
is to play the part of Christopher
Columbus.
Mmmm?
When we re-enact the voyage.
Is that it?
Yes, Ma'am!
Well, then,
Columbus, as I hope many of you already
know,
was the first explorer to settle in the
New World after the...
Vikings!
Gus Pike. You'll be King Ferdinand II.
And Felicity, you'll be Queen Isabella
of Castile.