All Creatures Great & Small

I'll make it unanimous (so far). When All Creatures first aired in the States, I had already enjoyed the books immensely and doubted that a television production could do author James Herriot's work justice.(A pen name, I believe his real name is Alfred White.) I was delighted to be wrong in that assumption, brilliantly adapted and endearingly performed. It quickly became and remains to this day one of my favorite programs. I particularly recommend the earlier seasons for a number of reasons, not the least of which is Carol Drinkwater as Helen Herriot. I only wish that like Holly the computer on Red Dwarf, who had Lister wipe his memory banks of the collected works of Agatha Christie so that he would have something interesting to read. That I could experience All Creatures Great and Small again, for the first time.

The life and times of Yorkshire Dales veterinary practise in the years leading up to WWII. Based on the million selling James Herriot autobiographies.

James Herriot (real name Alfred White) came to Yorkshire as a young vet looking for his first job and despite being of Scottish origins made the place his own. They have even turned his old surgery (in Thirsk) in to a museum and it well worth a visit. Look it up on the internet if you are visiting the area.

There are very few books well enough written that within a few pages you are dragged inside and falling in love with the characters. I was around when they still were being written and when a new one came out you could be sure I'd be first in line at the bookshop. I'd even set the alarm clock an hour early so I could find more time for them.

(I doubt I'll ever be as excited as that over a book again!)

The fact that the main man carried on long after becoming a millionaire author showed that he was a man of dedication and integrity. Today there is a shortage of farm vets in that part of the world. The life is no easier now than it was then.

The series got together a dream cast and the male leads are fabulous and very true to the pages of the book - while the women try and make the best of their tea making, love-interest and showing-people-in roles.

Many of the pets on the show were treated for free in exchange for them being used on the show. It doesn't get any more "method" than having your hand up the backside of a cow for real! In one episode a foreign female vet seems poised to get involved in the practise -- but she only seems to upset the happy home and soon leaves. Also to be noted is that pages of the book involved bad people and youngsters who turned to crime. Even a suicide. You won't find them here. Nevertheless some of the farmers are less than pleasant people -- with the vets prepared to take them on as clients despite their character and (in real life) propensity for not paying their bills.

The central problem with this series is that sometimes you feel you are born in the wrong age. Oh for the time when country cottages were within the budget of a working man and everyone had time to stop and chat over tea.

Yes, it is a bit misty eyed and cute (although not all the animals are), but there are plenty of morals and lessons-in-life too.

Set in the ruggedly beautiful Yorkshire Dales during the years leading up to WW2, All Creatures Great & Small follows the adventures of a veterinary practice supporting the local farming community in 1930s Northern England. This wonderful adaptation of the books by James Herriot has timeless appeal for the whole family. I've watched the series in its entirety three or four times since it was made and it still remains fresh and very enjoyable. In addition to an abundance of charm and humor, the quality that makes this TV series so exceptional is believability. After watching a few episodes, the viewer becomes convinced that James Herriot, Sigfried Farnon, and his brother Tristan Farnon are really qualified vets...just watch one or two of the many scenes involving surgery or calfing and you will see my point. Real proceedures, which the actors actually perform, are conducted under the expert guidance of qualified vets on the set, including the author James Herriot himself. The many and varied supporting actors are also convincing as real people involved in real situations. The leading cast led by Christopher Timothy as James Herriot, Robert Hardy as Siegfried Farnon, Peter Davidson as his brother Tristan, and Carol Drinkwater as James' wife Helen, are all fabulous. The powerful presence of Robert Hardy as Siegfried is particularly compelling, and its easy to see why he's considered by many to be the finest actor in Britain. When compared to other programs of its genre and indeed other TV series in general, this adaptation of the classic All Creatures Great & Small is simply outstanding. Eleven out of ten.

This film (and indeed series) is set in 1930's Britain, not the 1940's as stated elsewhere in this site, as Britain was involved in that fracas called the Second World War from 1939 and both Farnon and Herriot joined up with the Royal Air Force.... The books did carry on for the post war period but the film is firmly in the 30's! The attention to detail - even down to the advertisements by the roadside, is extraordinary, whilst the realisation of pre-war Britain, with its optimism, rugged individuality and, determination in sometimes very difficult circumstances is heartwarming. As a small piece of trivia, Christopher Timothy, who plays James Herriot has a limp in the later series, as he (for real) broke his leg during the filming of series two. Hardy, who played S. Farnon, is now even better known for his role as the Minister For Magic, in the Harry Potter films!

All Creatures Great and Small, is one of those rare, timeless and charming BBC Productions that never seems to age and which can still be enjoyed all these years after its production finished. I think the key for this is the belief that the producers, writers and directors installed into the series to make it real. The charm comes from the fact that it is set a long time ago, in a more gentle and picturesque time when life was easy as could be imagined, before the ravages of World War II left its scars upon the nation. This is a brighter, happier time.The Vetenary work place is of no particular interest to me, but I think that because of the setting of the 1930's it makes everything seem all the more like a fantasy. The other major reason for its success is that it has an absolute solid gold cast in the trio of principles leads. Christopher Timothy as lead Vet James Herriot is basically a good person who loves his job, but who is kind and tries his best with people to be of good nature. He is excellently portrayed by the under-rated Timothy. Second to the success of the series is Robert Hardy as Sigfried Farnon. Hardy is one of the finest television presences, and as the senior Farnon delivers his lines with alot of believable conviction and commands the screen, his character is of the old guard, an even older time when people were strict and strong. You never once doubt that Hardy is a Vet. Completing the trio is the ever suffering Tristan Farnon, perhaps the series most beloved character. Tristan provides the light relief for the series, and is constantly on the bitter end of Sigfrieds wrath. Again the character is excellently played by The Fifth Doctor Who Peter Davison, who exudes public school boyish charms here.He dithers and bumbles his way throughout the series, while at the core being an essential and perhaps strong character, he means well but never quite gets it. Davison is one of Britains finest character actors, again under-rated but looking now as if he will hit the big time after the success of At Home With the Braithwaites. All Creatures Great and Small also has the benefit of some of the finest writers and directors having worked on the show, such as Terence Dudley and Peter Moffet, as well as the multi talanted and consistant head writer Johnny Byrne. It is beautiful to look at from its period setting to the Yorkshire scenery. Defenitley on of the BBC's finest series, and one that shouldn't be overlooked. A fantastic production.