6/12/08

All you Anglophiles out there....

I have been meaning to give you the highest possible recommendation for the classic British BBC TV show All Creatures Great and Small for ages. We have been working our way through all seven series thanks to the wonderful Netflix and are now on series three and still adoring it. The Hubster is sure that this show appeared on PBS at some point, but it is without doubt one of the BBC's finest shows and if you are an Anglophile you'll love it.

It is based on the very famous autobiographical novels of the country vet, James Herriot. He moved from Glasgow to the Yorkshire Dales after qualifying as a vet in the 1930's and his books recount the wonderful tales of his work and personal life. The show actually charts from his first day, through winning over the cynical farmers, his courtship of Helen, kids and family life, his very eccentric boss and 'his' playboy younger brother, World War II and it's effects on their lives.

There are some wonderful characters developed over the years, by some great actors and the animals more than do their bit too. It is full of laugh out loud moments, heartwrenching tales and many heartwarming endings. It shows a way of life that sadly no longer exists and reminds you of the true values we should all still be striving for today.

When it first aired in the UK in the late 70's/early 80's, the books were an instantaneous hit and even spawned a Hollywood movie as a result; just compulsory viewing in most homes. But be sure and get the TV show not the movie, as being made over many years the plots are far more developed and you really bond with the characters.

Needless to say the scenic views of the Yorkshire Dales are breathtaking in every episode and it gives you a real feel for British country life as it was back then. It is very much family viewing, in fact my whole family used to sit down with crumpets and tea every Saturday night to watch it. The humour is in every episode and is at times side splitting, the Hubster loves this show as much as I do and we will one day invest in the boxed set.

The only thing he is not so crazy about though is the iconic theme tune, as I just have to whistle along and even the cats leave the room when I start to whistle ;-)

All I can say is if you've never seen it, then get onto Netflix and get it in your queue from the very first episode, as the stories do follow on. I think it says alot about it's popularity, that even now 20-30 yrs later, sometimes the discs have a 'short wait' listed next to them!

I have got to know many of you pretty well from your comments and own blogs, and I think just about all of you would love it. In particular I would bet good money on Willow, Daryl, Lynne, Sherri, AFF, Kay, Karla & Brad, Pam, Mary, Vickie, Stacey, Karen, Tammy, Rhea, Teresa, Linda, Snippety, Dee and Wendy all becoming 'James Herriot' addicts!

8 comments:

Tess Kincaid said...

Love, love, love this series!!!

Thanks for posting on it, Sarah! :)

Mary (Bookfan) said...

Yes, I remember watching it on PBS years ago. Wonderful!

Pam said...

i loved this series. yes it was on pbs years ago. plus i think the scottish lady who worked in the office turns up later in Calendar Girls. Janet, was that her name in the series?

Rhea said...

I'm an anglophile for sure. It sounds like a neat series. My grandparents are vets, and I love the idea of being a country vet to big animals. I'll have to check this out. Thanks for the recommendation!

Sherri said...

Sarah-I absolutely love this series!! You listed me as one of the people who would probably love it and I do (you know me so well in such a short period of time!!).

Janet said...

One of my all-time favorites, too. I just told John the other day that I STILL want to go to "James Harriott country" one of these days.

Janet

Linda Jennings said...

I am an Anglophile and admit it!! We just returned from 3 weeks of travel in England, Scotland and bit of Wales. I have hundreds of photos to sort though and many tea experiences write about. Congratulations on the new full-time job. Thanks for the reminder about this series.

Lisanne624 said...

I also love it! I read the books first and just adore them. A few years ago I had the pleasure of taking the train to Thirsk, and I visited the James Herriott Museum. It was so much more than I had expected -- the room (as they were when the characters lived there), a veterinary instruments museum, an Alf Wight museum, a recreation of the TV set, etc. Wonderful! I never get tired of Darrowby!