Our Zoo

Think4Yourself thinks... (6 stars). This was a delightful and inspiring story that was hurt by inconsistent writing that made the characters act in strange ways just to create drama and conflict. If they would have stuck to the main story this deserving show could have earned more than one season. It filled a niche that is under-represented on TV, a light, friendly story that revolves around science and nature and ambition. The cast was entertaining and Lee Ingleby did a fine job as the lead.

The charm of 'Our Zoo' is that it is based on the incredible true story of a man called George Mottershead, who with his family in the 1930s had a vision to build a zoo without bars. This zoo is Chester Zoo and today has been named by trip adviser as No 1 in the UK and is the most visited tourist attraction in the UK outside London. Also pleasing to know is Chester Zoo has also evolved with the times and today is now heavily involved in conservation work.

George despite having no formal higher education was a pioneer in keeping animals in enclosures without bars. He wasn't very wealthy but was determined to create a zoo where animals would be happier and well cared for. Incredibly resourceful as well as being quite a risk taker, he was also very fortunate to have the support of his family, who had strengths which complemented his own and were willing to work hard to make the zoo a success. In 1930, it was the time of the depression and George was able to purchase 'Oakfield' a manor house at a bargain price at auction, along with stables,a conservatory, lodge and a 7 acres of grounds. The story is based on the struggle George and his family had to open the zoo due to local opposition, including that of the local reverend. George found to his surprise the local gentry taking an interest and providing support as many of them already kept themselves exotic pets. This is an inspiring story with all the elements needed in a drama to keep the viewer entertained. The acting is superb in it and the sets and costumes take you back to the wonderful era of the 1930s.

OUR ZOO tells the story of George Mottershead (Lee Ingleby) and his family, who founded Chester Zoo in the early Thirties in the face of considerable pressure from the local people of Upton as well as the Ministry of Health. The story is a familiar one common to British movies (remember PASSPORT TO PIMLICO (1949), or THE TITFIELD THUNDERBOLT (1953)) of the underdog triumphing against apparently impossible odds.

Directed by Andy de Emmony, Robert McKillop, and Saul Metzstein, this six-part drama series emphasizes the importance of family values as a way of resisting bureaucracies. Despite occasional differences of opinion - especially in the last episode, as George prepares to fight the court case - George, his wife Lizzie (Liz White), and their two children (Honor Kneafsey, Amelia Clarkson) stay together through thick and thin, even if they have to endure several difficult times in the process. The move from their cramped little shop to the newly- purchased stately home and gardens (the location for the zoo) is a traumatic one, especially for Muriel (who wants to continue her relationship with Christopher (Perry Glasspool). They experience continual problems of making financial ends meet, and subsequently have to endure the villagers' almost unanimous opposition to the project. The fact that they emerge triumphant in the end offers a comment on today's society; despite the preoccupation with individualism (a by-product of capitalist values), community loyalty often provides the surest means of achieving one's ends.

George's parents (Anne Reid, Peter Wight) clearly understand the importance of this dictum, as they act unselfishly in their son's interests, rather than continuing their humdrum lives as co-owners of a greengrocer's shop. Both actors offer portrayals of stable, level-headed personalities, the kind of people that keep George's feet on the ground as he tries to fulfill his dream.

Stylistically speaking, OUR ZOO is shot in a series of dimly-lit interior sequences, reflecting the realities of life during the Thirties. The program's location-work is particularly convincing, especially in the opening episode, where the Mottishead's life in a cramped back-to-back terraced development proves constricting, both physically and mentally. Sometimes Matt Charman and Adam Kemp's script incorporates some linguistic anachronisms that wouldn't have been uttered by people living in early Thirties Britain, but its emphasis on so-called "old-fashioned" values such as the strength of the family is both touching and heart-warming. OUR ZOO is definitely a series worth spending time with.

Should be obvious that the story offers great opportunity for a remarkable & special series. Unfortunately, it seems that the writing is too much by committee or that different writers took on different pieces and then it was thrown together in a less cohesive whole.

Also, almost every woman character, with rare & specific outlier status, is a negative. The mother is a dreadful selfish impediment who actively works to undermine the project - as if trying to sink the project will make her life better than she thinks it is. The teenage brat is another example of shallow selfishness. There is no one in the list of characters who rallies the family, who seems capable of translating George's vision into an identity that could have, in fact, been a powerful source of common ground. Instead, the writing and directing posits simple opposites against each other in little episodes time & time again. The story, as such, thus doesn't really move forward with discernable development. Through at least half the series, there is very little movement away from the oppressive frustration and almost endless occurrences of evil graft & backstabbing in the 'community' and, to too large an extent, the family.

Viewers would like to root for someone, here, particularly in this story, but the writers, directors & producers seem intent on extending the bleakest tone possible.

Also, the brother-in-law is so stereotypical and SO on character with the actor playing the complete cowardly idiot, it's just a perfect example of how the series suffers from stupidly simplistic writing, acting and directing.

OMG, a bear gets out of an enclosure through a chain link gate, then a heavy wooden barred gate, a closed barn gate and then out the OPEN main property gate! So, let's understand: this bit of contrivance is the bridge of tension between two episodes. And, the stupidity of leaving the gate open occurs at the end of the family's most triumphant day to date. This kind of sloppy writing is unnecessary, unless fundamental writing talent is lacking. So,.....

Why did they take such a great opportunity, such a largely greatly talented cast, and produce this sad, bleak and ultimately manipulative series?

This is a good bbc drama although it is a dramatised version of the true story. I wanted to challenge the point another reviewer who says we cannot justify zoos in the modern world. That is an idiotic statement and one that is what is wrong with the world at the moment. Zoos are more important than they ever have been. They are key in conservation and education. They are breeding animals that are in danger of going extinct and educating people all over the world in why animals need to survive rather than killing them directly or indirectly. It's a shame the internet has allowed ignorant people a voice.