When Amanda first brought home season 1 of All Creatures Great and Small via Netflix, I thought I was going to kill her. A show about country people and animals, set in Yorkshire, England in the 1940's? You've got to be kidding! Reluctantly, I sat on the couch with my arms folded in disgust, while on screen Dr. Herriot was first introduced to his new veterinary practice in the Darrowby, Yorkshire.
Then I fell in love with the show.
Amanda always loved the program, as she has fond memories of reading the books and watching the Maine Public Television specials with her parents on Sunday nights--after her bed time. But I was a tougher sell. The program is semi-autobiographical, chronicling the story of Dr. James Herriot, a young Scotsman fresh out of vet school, who goes to work for a practice headed by Dr. Siegfried Farnon. (played by the legendary Robert Hardy, who is by far my favorite actor--he is fantastic) By episode two, Herriot has surpassed all expectations, and is offered a partnership in the practice. And the adventure begins there.
I love the show for the same reasons I love "A Prairie Home Companion"--it gently mixes outrageous humorous scenarios (and not just British ones) with completely heartwarming and sentimental storylines. I will admit that even I have become teary eyed during some moments (Amanda gets teary eyes over everything, so she doesn't count). The program follows Herriot, played by Christopher Timothy, enmesh himself in a life in which he is not accustomed--coming from "urban" Edinburgh of the late 1930's, he finds himself dealing with ultra rural, uneducated folks who don't have phones, auto's baths, and the like--not to add what they lack in social skill or an understandable vocabulary. But they do have cows-- plenty of them-- and Herriot is constantly jamming his hand up their hindparts, birthing a breached calf. To add to this stress, Herriot finds that life as a "country vet" means that sleep is more a rare luxury than a nightly habit, as he is awakened at all the hours of the night to go on calls for cows with mastitis, pigs with goiters, and sheep with . ..well . . .sheep problems.
The program switches between two scenes--one being "field shots," where James, Siegfried, or Sigfried's brother Tristan (a lazy, party-obsessed playboy) are out in the beautiful country of the "dales" on calls. Surprisingly for the 1980's when most of these were filmed, the footage is actually quite graphic; you see James with his hand up a cow's anus . . .you watch lambs being actually born. The "country people" add to the dark humor in this. The second scene is the "house scene," where the three vets, accompanied by James' wife Helen, and the ever stern housekeeper Mrs. Hall, reflect on the day, usually in front of a roaring fire, playing chess, drinking tea or whiskey. Surprisingly, these moments aren't "haughty Britishers" saying "oooohhhhh . . . . . .deeeeeyah" repeatedly while their pinky finger extends from their tea mug. Conversely, the conversations and moments they share are, like I mentioned before, very heartwarming and funny.
In the Goldsmith house, "All Creatures" has become more than just a show . . . .Amanda and I look forward to each episode as a "date" we keep together. I even have a special dance I do to the theme song. I can't believe I just wrote that. I swear, my clothes stay on. We absolutely love it for its simple purity. It is SO well written, something that, as and English teacher, I am cognizant of. Even though I just ended a sentence with a preposition. We love it particularly during the winter when we stoke the fire, put on tea, and sit in front of the television indulging in a well spent hour. The show ran on PBS from the late 70's to mid 80's, and then went on hiatus. Then, in the early 90's, they reunited for a few more seasons. There are seven seasons, total, of the program, and we are sad to think that we are through season four, and only have three to go--especially for me, the guy who checks ebaumsworld.com just as regularly as he puts on deodorant. But no matter . . .we look forward to watching them all again when we introduce the show to our kids . . . .and the Favry children as well.
2 comments:
my children will not watch that show, they will only watch HATS
Not sure if you knew this, but the construction project I just finished before quitting my job was a new studio/headquarters for pbs boston, WGBH. Part of the project was building a vault (not for burial) for storing all their show's media, whether tapes or digital. I bet that show is in there. I kinda want to go get a hold of it now.
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