Doctor Finlay

This production is one of the finest I've ever seen: whether it be live theater, television or cinema. The stories are dramatic and gritty. The show doesn't give in to touchy-feely good endings. The actors play their characters marvelously. The story takes place in a small Scottish town after WWII. Various, believable and sometimes intense personal dramas take place in this series--which has an authentic beginning and ending. NO room for sequels here. I watched it once and then two days later stayed up all night watching it again. It has some humor but this isn't another All Creatures Great And Small (which in its way is an excellent series). I highly recommend this five-star, 10 point series.

Well adapted from Cronin's novella. Screenplays were wonderful, and the range of topics impressive (especially for the time). Loved the cast. Rintoul was steady, Crosbie, too, and Turner added depth. Bannen was marvelous. I miss his contributions (ala Waking Ned Devine). He left us too soon. I enjoyed just about every episode. Well done!

This is an excellent series. The actors are well cast and do a great job. The scripts are well written, although the episode endings are occasionally unfinished or hard to understand. The one problem I have with the series is that David Rintoul sometimes plays Doctor Finlay as stiffly as he played Mr. Darcy. He really needs to loosen up a bit. I have a question. Does anyone out there know where I can get a copy of the last episode in season four called "Doctor Finlay Snowbound"? I think it may have been broadcast at a later date that year as a special. It's not included in "Doctor Finlay Days Of Grace" which is the last series available for purchase.

To add to the previous comment, only the original Dr Findlay's Casebook was made by the BBC.

The remake Dr Findlay was not - it was made by Scottish Television.

The new version is now available in the USA on DVD.

Unfortunately the original does not seem to be available anywhere.

The original by A J Cronin was of course just a short story and the TV versions are really new works using the characters from this story.

The 1990's version of Dr.Finlay was filmed in my home town of Auchtermuchty. A great number of residents were cast as extras which was a great opportunity (not to mention £58 a day for not doing very much!!!). The cast members were delightful, especially the very charming and humble David Rintoul. The crew were equally fantastic and great to see again in the village over the 4 years the series was filmed. However not all the scenes were filmed in Auchtermuchty (Arden House for instance was elsewhere). As a teen on location it inspired me to take an interest and go on to study Television production at college.