Il nostro zoo

Lee Ingleby plays George Mottershead, a wounded ex First World War soldier left with post traumatic stress. He has a loving family and loves animals.

Helped by money from his parents he purchases a manor in the early 1930s and turns it to Chester Zoo but has to deal with some opposition from prominent locals and officialdom.

Of course despite the hardship George endures, we realise that he will eventually triumph as Chester Zoo is still going strong and this is inspired by true events. However as with the feature film 'We bought a Zoo' the series is more about the journey, triumphing over adversity and being together as a family. The series also has the feel good factor of exotic animals being introduced to the grim north of the 1930s and allowing the makers to have dimly lit interiors and some two dimensional villains who think George is having a delusional flight of fancy.

George might be an idealist and you do find yourself rooting for him there is something rather derivative about Our Zoo. Maybe it wants to channel the success of Call the Midwife but got nowhere near reaching the levels of All Creatures Great and Small and not helped by its grim colours and gloomy mood. A drama about a zoo should had been bright and colourful.

The show never quite took off in the ratings and ended up being cancelled after one series by the BBC.

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.

I have no idea why they wouldn't continue with such a wonderful series as this. I was obsessed with every episode and it led me to look into it and being American I'd never heard of this.

I can't believe more stories like this aren't told instead of a 17th movie of Spider-Man or whatever. But this was something fascinating and true and heartwarming a legendary cast of actors.

You know it's not too late to bring it back...

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.

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?