The Atwood Stories was a Canadian television drama series, which aired on W in 2003.[1] A short-run dramatic anthology series produced by Shaftesbury Films, the series dramatized six short stories by Margaret Atwood.[2] It was one of the first original Canadian drama series ever commissioned by the network.[3]
| The Atwood Stories | |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | Canada |
| No. of episodes | 6 |
| Production | |
| Running time | approx. 0:30 (per episode) |
| Original release | |
| Network | W |
| Release | February 20 – March 27, 2003 |
The series was a Gemini Award nominee for Best Drama Series at the 18th Gemini Awards.[4]
The following year, Shaftesbury produced The Shields Stories, a similar series which dramatized six short stories by another Canadian writer, Carol Shields.[5]
Episodes
edit| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Polarities" | Lori Spring | Lori Spring | February 20, 2003 | 1-01 |
|
A young American in his early 30s (David Sutcliffe) takes a teaching job at a Canadian university, and enters a relationship with a female graduate student (Michèle-Barbara Pelletier). | |||||
| 2 | "Betty" | Marni Banack | Lori Spring | February 27, 2003 | 1-02 |
|
Eight-year-old Alice (Megan Diamond) and her older sister (Samantha Kreger) observe the marital breakdown of their neighbours Betty (Sharon Bajer) and Fred (Jonathan Scarfe). | |||||
| 3 | "The Man from Mars" | Lynne Stopkewich | Lynne Stopkewich, Doug Taylor | March 6, 2003 | 1-03 |
|
A lonely, overweight young girl, Christine (Emily Hampshire) finds a new sense of herself when she meets an Asian exchange student (Jovanni Sy). Also stars Sonja Smits as Christine's mother. | |||||
| 4 | "Death by Landscape" | Stacey Stewart Curtis | Jason Sherman | March 13, 2003 | 1-04 |
|
A landscape painting causes sixty-five-year-old Lois (Roberta Maxwell) to reminisce about the mysterious disappearance of her childhood friend Lucy (Courtney-Jane White) while they are together at a summer camp. | |||||
| 5 | "Isis in Darkness" | Norma Bailey | David Young | March 20, 2003 | 1-05 |
|
Aspiring writer Richard (Christian Campbell) is entranced by Selena (Brigitte Bako), an exotic and mysterious young poet he meets in a bohemian Yorkville café. | |||||
| 6 | "The Sunrise" | Francine Zuckerman | Francine Zuckerman, Chris Philpott | March 27, 2003 | 1-06 |
|
A reclusive painter (Rebecca Jenkins) finds her life transformed when she meets a young man (Tygh Runyan) who threatens to upset her tidy, ordered life. | |||||
References
edit- ^ "Atwood at large". The Globe and Mail, February 15, 2003.
- ^ "W Network to air anthology of Margaret Atwood stories". North Bay Nugget, February 19, 2003.
- ^ "Dramatized Atwood stories a big splash for W Network". Ottawa Citizen, February 20, 2003.
- ^ "Dark horses and front-runners in competition for 2003 Geminis". Guelph Mercury, October 17, 2003.
- ^ "Shields and Atwood on TV? What took so long?". The Globe and Mail, March 9, 2004.