All Creatures Great and Small
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All Creatures Great & Small
Plot
Originally adapted as a British made-for-TV movie, the weekly, hour long comedy/drama series All Creatures Great & Small made its first BBC appearance on January 8, 1978. The series was based on the biographical novels of James Herriot, a Yorkshire veterinarian. Taking place in a period ranging from the late 1930s to the mid-1940s, the series focused on the selfsame Dr. Herriot (Christopher Timothy), who, after graduating from medical school, was assigned to a Yorkshire County farming community. Here he joined the thriving veterinary practice of the brothers Farnon (Robert Hardy, Peter Davidson), with the crabby, overbearing Siegfried Farnon (Robert Hardy) thoroughly dominating the young, easygoing Tristan (Peter Davison). It didn't take long for Dr. Herriot to realize that the surrounding countryside was festooned with eccentrics -- both human and animal. By and by, he fell in love with (and ultimately married) Helen Alderson (played first by Carol Drinkwater and then by Lydia Bellingham), daughter of a local farmer who (to put it mildly) wasn't overly fond of doctors. As the series progressed, Herriot "grew" in his job, and the townsfolk grew to respect and even love him. Also, an astonishingly wide variety of animal species, domestic and otherwise, paraded through Herriot's tiny office for his tender ministrations. Beginning with the series' fourth season, James (now a full partner with the Farnons) took upon a young and ambitious assistant, Calum Buchanan (John McGlynn). In the final seasons, James was sometimes helped out by his children Jimmy (Oliver Wilson Paul Lyon) and Rosie (Rebecca Smith, Alison Lewis). Extremely popular throughout its tenure on British television -- it had two separate multi-season runs: the first from 1979 to 1980, the second from 1988 to 1990 -- All Creatures Great & Small was equally well received when it was telecast in the U.S. via PBS. ~ Hal Erickson, RoviCredit
Johnny Pearson - Composer (Music Score), Bill Sellars - Producer, Antony Steven - Teleplay By, Brian Clark - Screenwriter, James Herriot - Book AuthorEpisodes
All Creatures Great & Small: Series 01 (1978)Season one of All Creatures Great & Small begins in late 1936 as newly qualified veterinarian James Herriot (Christopher Timothy) arrives at his first assistant's post at Skeldale House, Darrowby, Yorkshire. Here he meets his boss, the irascible Siegfried Farnon, and Siegfried's long-suffering but fun-loving, food-devouring younger brother Tristan (played by future Doctor Who star Peter Davison), who is kept on as a partner despite having flunked out of college. Though he thinks he is thoroughly prepared for his life's calling, James could never have imagined that his first patient would be a little girl's pet turtle. Not long afterward, however, our hero shows his mettle by curing a very valuable horse. In the third of season one's 13 episodes, James meets Helen Alderson (Carol Drinkwater), the farmer's daughter who will one day become his wife. First, however, James must overcome the resistance of Helen's father, who has an inbred distate for everyone in the medical profession. This he does, and by episode ten James and Helen are on their honeymoon...albeit using their spare time to carry out tuberculin testing! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- All Creatures Great and Small: Horse Sense
- All Creatures Great and Small: Sleeping Partners
- All Creatures Great and Small: Bulldog Breed
- All Creatures Great and Small: Practice Makes Perfect
- All Creatures Great and Small: Breath of Life
- All Creatures Great and Small: Dog Days
- All Creatures Great and Small: It Takes All Kinds
- All Creatures Great and Small: Calf Love
- All Creatures Great and Small: Out of Practice
- All Creatures Great and Small: Nothing Like Experience
- All Creatures Great and Small: Golden Lads and Girls
- All Creatures Great and Small: Advice and Consent
- All Creatures Great and Small: The Last Furlong
The second season of the warm-hearted BBC medical series All Creatures Great & Small finds young veterinarian James Herriot (Christopher Timothy) gradually winning over the confidence of all the animal owners in the tiny Yorkshire farming community of Darrowby. But it is still an uphill climb; the locals are a superstitious lot who don't hold with modern methods, and James' boss Siegfried Farnon (Robert Hardy) can be a holy terror if you catch him in the wrong mood. Making life easier for our hero is the love and support of his new wife Helen (Carol Drinkwater). The season opener finds the practice swamped with work, as cats and dogs literally fall from the sky. In later episodes, Siegfried's capricious brother Tristan (Peter Davison) runs afoul of the law, James takes on the daunting task of "duty vet" at the annual Darrowby Show, a hormone treatment on a local dog yields most unexpected results; the Farnon brothers inveigle the klutzy James into representing Darrowby in the yearly cricket match with Rainby; and Christmas Day proves to be just another workday for our beleaguered vets. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- All Creatures Great and Small: Cats and Dogs
- All Creatures Great and Small: Puppy Love
- All Creatures Great and Small: Ways and Means
- All Creatures Great and Small: Pups, Pigs and Pickles
- All Creatures Great and Small: A Dog's Life
- All Creatures Great and Small: Merry Gentlemen
- All Creatures Great and Small: Attendant Problems
- All Creatures Great and Small: Fair Means and Fowl
- All Creatures Great and Small: The Beauty of the Beast
- All Creatures Great and Small: Judgement Day
- All Creatures Great and Small: Faint Hearts
- All Creatures Great and Small: Tricks of the Trade
- All Creatures Great and Small: Pride of Possession
- All Creatures Great and Small: The Name of the Game
Season three of All Creatures Great & Small begins with one of the series' customary dual crises as young Yorkshire veterinarian James Herriot (Christopher Timothy) and his wife Helen (Carol Drinkwater) try to save a cow from the slaughterhouse, while James' partners Siegfried and Tristan Farnon (Robert Hardy, Peter Davison) minister to a flock of ailing grouse. In later episodes, Tristan makes a mess of things filling in for his brother's housekeeper, Mrs. Hall (Mary Hignett); a young juvenile delinquent has an epiphany when his dog comes down with distemper; a goat eats the Herriots' checkbook, leaving them with nary an extra shilling for their wedding anniversary celebration; and an epidemic of foot and mouth disease is made doubly problematic when Britain and Germany go to war. The season ends as James and Siegfried leave their Darrowby practices to enlist in the RAF. All Creatures Great and Small ends at this point as well -- at least for the next eight years. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- All Creatures Great and Small: Plenty to Grouse About
- All Creatures Great and Small: Home and Away
- All Creatures Great and Small: Alarms and Excursions
- All Creatures Great and Small: Matters of Life and Death
- All Creatures Great and Small: Will to Live
- All Creatures Great and Small: Big Steps and Little 'Uns
- All Creatures Great and Small: Charity Begins at Home
- All Creatures Great and Small: Every Dog Has his Day
- All Creatures Great and Small: Hair of the Dog
- All Creatures Great and Small: If Wishes Were Horses
- All Creatures Great and Small: Pig in the Middle
- All Creatures Great and Small: Be Prepared
- All Creatures Great and Small: A Dying Breed
- All Creatures Great and Small: Brink of Disaster
Having ended its initial BBC run in 1980, the weekly, hour-long medical drama All Creatures Great & Small, based on the autobiographical novels by Yorkshire veterinarian James Herriot, was brought back by popular demand in 1988. Returning for this new batch of episodes is Christopher Timothy as Herriot, and Robert Hardy and Peter Davison as his medical partners, Siegfried and Tristan Farnon. However, Lynda Bellingham has replaced Carol Drinkwater in the role of James' wife Helen. Also new to the cast is John McGlynn as James' young accordion-playing assistant Calum Buchanan. The original series ended with season three, as James and Siegfried joined the RAF to fight in World War II. The fourth season takes place several years later, with the fact that the previously footloose and fancy-free Tristan has been appointed Fertility Advisor for the Minister of Agriculture ample proof that everyone has matured considreably since we saw them last. Otherwise, it's business as usual, with James and his colleagues tending to an exhausting variety of sheep, cows, dogs, cats, and even fleas. Meanwhile, rival veterinarian Granville Bennett (James Grout), who owns a thriving animal hospital, is doing everything in his power to woo the talented James away from the Farnon brothers. James does not, however, make his final decision until the season's last episode, "For Richer, For Poorer." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- All Creatures Great and Small: One of Nature's Little Miracles
- All Creatures Great and Small: For Richer, For Poorer
- All Creatures Great and Small: Barks and Bites
- All Creatures Great and Small: The Bull With the Bowler Hat
- All Creatures Great and Small: The Pig Man Cometh
- All Creatures Great and Small: Hail Caesar'
- All Creatures Great and Small: Only One Woof
- All Creatures Great and Small: Ace, King, Queen, Jack
- All Creatures Great and Small: ...The Healing Touch
- All Creatures Great and Small: City Slicker
Having brought the series' storyline all the way up to the '50s, season five of All Creatures Great & Small begins as Yorkshire veterinarian James Herriot (Christopher Timothy) dons skis to make his usual rounds during an extremely heavy snowfall. Meanwhile, Tristan Farnon (Peter Davison), younger brother of James' partner Siegfried Farnon (Robert Hardy), resigns from the Ministry of Agriculture in hopes of joining Siegfried's practice again; and the medical expertise of James' young assistant Calum (John McGlynn) continues to grow apace, with a brief period of tuberculin testing in Ireland. Calum also endeavors to woo and win the lovely Dierdre McEwan (Andrea Gibb), though a number of available females in the area would rather he dally with them. Many of James' familiar clients are still around and about, notably wealthy dog fancier Mrs. Pumphrey (Margaretta Scott), who invites James to be guest of honor at a birthday party for her pampered Pekinese Tricky Woo. As for James' wife and sometimes assistant Helen (Lynda Bellingham), she spends much of the season laid up with a painful back injury. Finally, rival veterinarian Granville Bennett (James Grout) continues to flaunt the success of his animal hospital to the struggling James, with sometimes amusing results. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- All Creatures Great and Small: Against the Odds
- All Creatures Great and Small: Female of the Species
- All Creatures Great and Small: The Jackpot
- All Creatures Great and Small: Two of a Kind
- All Creatures Great and Small: Place of Honor
- All Creatures Great and Small: Choose a Bright Morning
- All Creatures Great and Small: The Playing Field
- All Creatures Great and Small: When Dreams Come True
- All Creatures Great and Small: A New Chapter
- All Creatures Great and Small: A Present From Dublin
- All Creatures Great and Small: The Salt of the Earth
- All Creatures Great and Small: Cheques and Balances
Yorkshire veterinarian James Herriot (Christopher Timothy) nears his second decade ministering to the animals of Darrowby as All Creatures Great & Small enters its sixth season. Motivating several of this year's plotlines is the on-again, off-again romance between James' young assistant Calum (John McGlynn) and his fiancée Deirdre (Andrea Gibb). This, of course, does not mean that the enduring marriage between James and his wife Helen (Lynda Bellingham) is ignored by the scriptwriters. Although we have now reached the '50s, James' crusty senior partner Siegfried Farnon (Robert Hardy) continues to have difficulty convincing the locals to abandon their traditional medical beliefs in favor of lab-tested modern methods. Siegfried also exhibits his rarely exposed human side when he attempts to heal old emotional wounds amongst those countrymen and countrywomen who can't seem to get along. And, of course, some other things never change -- notably wealthy Mrs. Pumphrey (Margaretta Scott), who clearly continues to regard dogs as nobler animals than any other...including humans. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- All Creatures Great and Small: Here and There
- All Creatures Great and Small: In Whom We Trust
- All Creatures Great and Small: The Rough and the Smooth
- All Creatures Great and Small: The Best Time
- All Creatures Great and Small: The Course of True Love
- All Creatures Great and Small: The Call of the Wild
- All Creatures Great and Small: The Nelson Touch
- All Creatures Great and Small: Blood and Water
- All Creatures Great and Small: Where Sheep May Safely Graze
- All Creatures Great and Small: The New World
- All Creatures Great and Small: Mending Fences
- All Creatures Great and Small: Big Fish, Little Fish
All Creatures Great & Small launches its seventh and final season, 12 years after the first episode aired on BBC. Within the context of the storyline, it has been some 17 years since veterinarian James Herriot (Christopher Timothy), then a callow med school graduate, first set foot in Skeldale House, headquarters of irascible Yorkshire vet Siegfried Farnon (Robert Hardy). Formerly Farnon's assistant, James is now his full partner, demonstrating an even firmer grasp on his profession than Siegfried's more experienced younger brother Tristan (Peter Davison), who after all these years is as much a cut-up and screw-up as ever. As James tackles medical issues involving local sheep, dogs, cats, cows and birds, his wife Helen (Lynda Bellingham) holds down the fort in their humble home, assisted by their steadily growing children, Jimmy (Paul Lyon) and Rosie (Alison Lewis). Sometime in mid season, feisty Rosie announces her ambition to be a vet just like her dad -- and while Helen is supportive of this dream, James is not, believing that his job is not suitable for a proper young lady (he's wrong, of course). The series ends on a quiet, unspectacular note, as Tristan bollixes up another diagnosis, and James and Siegfried go above and beyond the call of duty to lend a neighbor whom they hardly know a helping hand. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- All Creatures Great and Small: The Prodigal Returns
- All Creatures Great and Small: Old Dogs, New Tricks
- All Creatures Great and Small: Hampered
- All Creatures Great and Small: Promises to Keep
- All Creatures Great and Small: Knowin' How to Do It
- All Creatures Great and Small: If Music Be the Food of Love
- All Creatures Great and Small: A Friend for Life
- All Creatures Great and Small: Spring Fever
- All Creatures Great and Small: Out With the New
- All Creatures Great and Small: Food for Thought
- All Creatures Great and Small: A Cat in Hull's Chance
- All Creatures Great and Small: A Grand Memory for Forgetting
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
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All Creatures Great and Small (TV series)
| All Creatures Great and Small | |
|---|---|
| Format | Comedy-drama |
| Created by | Bill Sellars |
| Written by | James Herriot |
| Directed by | Peter Grimwade |
| Starring | Christopher Timothy Robert Hardy Peter Davison John McGlynn Carol Drinkwater Margaretta Scott Lynda Bellingham Mary Hignett |
| Country of origin | UK |
| No. of episodes | 90 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Bill Sellars |
| Running time | 50 mins |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | BBC One |
| Original run | 8 January 1978 – 24 December 1990 |
All Creatures Great and Small is a British television series, based on the books of the British veterinary surgeon Alf Wight, who wrote under the pseudonym James Herriot.
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Contents
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Background
In 1977, the BBC tasked producer Bill Sellars with the creation of a television series from Herriot's first two novels, If Only They Could Talk and It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet, using the title of the 1975 film adaptation All Creatures Great and Small. Filming began in the autumn of 1977.
Cast
Main article: All Creatures Great and Small (TV series) characters
The leading role was taken by actor Christopher Timothy, after Simon Ward (who had played the part in the 1975 film), John Alderton (who had replaced Ward in the sequel, It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet) and Richard Beckinsale all turned it down. Siegfried Farnon was played by Robert Hardy. Tristan was played by Peter Davison. Helen was played by Carol Drinkwater in the first three series and two specials, then by Lynda Bellingham in the final four series. Mary Hignett played housekeeper Mrs Hall in the first three series, and Margaretta Scott appeared as the recurring aristocratic dog-owner Mrs Pumphrey.
With the amount of screen time to fill, the series quickly became much more of an ensemble show, developing all the characters considerably. In particular, the role of Tristan was significantly increased. This was partly because Christopher Timothy was injured in a car accident part-way through the first series and was, as a result, restricted to studio scenes, which required that all the scenes involving location filming be rewritten and given to Davison.
- James Herriot — Christopher Timothy
- Siegfried Farnon — Robert Hardy
- Tristan Farnon — Peter Davison
- Helen Herriot — Carol Drinkwater (series 1-3 and specials) and Lynda Bellingham (series 4-7)
- Calum Buchanan — John McGlynn (series 4-6)
- Mrs Edna Hall — Mary Hignett (series 1-3)
- Mrs Greenlaw — Judy Wilson (series 4-5)
- Mrs Pumphrey — Margaretta Scott (recurring)
- Mrs Alton — Jean Heywood (series 7)
- Hodgekin — Teddy Turner (recurring)
- Jimmy Herriot — Harry Brayne (1983 special) and Oliver Wilson (1985 special - series 5) and Paul Lyon (series 7)
- Rosie Herriot — Rebecca Smith (1985 special - series 5) and Alison Lewis (series 7)
- Deidre McEwan — Andrea Gibb (series 4-6)
- Ezra Biggins — John Sharp (recurring)
- Jeff Mallock — Fred Feast and Frank Birch (recurring)
- Granville Bennett — James Grout (recurring)
- Mr Hartley — Peter Martin (recurring)
- Grimsdale — Brian Pringle
History
The Herriot "novels" are written in a very episodic manner, with each chapter generally containing a short story within the ongoing narrative of Herriot's life. This format made the creation of a television series a natural adaptation.
The programme initially ran for three series, with each episode adapting one or two of the Herriot stories – usually a story thread centered around James, and a second centered around Siegfried or Tristan. The continuity of the show followed the general arc of the books: James' arrival at Darrowby in the mid-1930s, his growing experience as a vet, his humorous attempts at romance with Helen, and their eventual marriage. The programme ended in 1980 at the stage where the characters were drawn into the Second World War. This completed the adaptation of all the novels which Alf Wight had written up to that point. Two 90-minute Christmas Specials were subsequently made, in 1983 and 1985, set after the war.
Eight years later, in 1988, the programme was revived, after the BBC was able to persuade Alf Wight to allow new scripts to be written around the existing characters, but not directly based on the Herriot books. The revived series was one of the first co-productions of the BBC (a practice that has since become commonplace), made in partnership with A&E and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
The revival ran for four more series, taking the characters into the early 1950s. Lynda Bellingham took over the role of Helen (following Carol Drinkwater's decision not to continue in the part, as a result of the ending of a real-life romance with Christopher Timothy), and Judy Wilson briefly played a new housekeeper, Mrs Greenlaw, as Mary Hignett had died shortly after the end of the third series. The Darrowby practice added a young Scottish vet, Calum Buchanan (John McGlynn), based upon Herriot's real-life assistant Brian Nettleton. Buchanan was a former classmate of Tristan's, and had a particular fondness for wildlife. The Herriot children, who had been introduced in the two specials, became recurring characters, with Jimmy played by Oliver Wilson and Rosie by Rebecca Smith.
The revived series gradually became more based around the development of the central characters — particularly after the introduction of Calum and Deidre, with their romance and subsequent marriage — and it mainly centred upon the activities inside Skeldale House at Darrowby, rather than being a series about a veterinary practice. For the final series, all of the new characters were dropped (including Calum, Deidre, Mrs Greenlaw and the Herriot children), and the series returned to its 1970s roots, focusing once more on the animals. The final broadcast was another Christmas Special, in 1990.
In 2007, an unfilmed script by the show's script editor Johnny Byrne was recovered and presented to the BBC as a possible Christmas reunion episode, but the BBC did not commission it. Peter Davison joked, "Maybe they just thought we were too decrepit, I don't know!"[1]
Over 18-20 December 2011, the BBC screened a three-episode prequel, Young James Herriot, about Herriot's time at University, with Iain de Caestecker in the title role. Co-stars included Amy Manson and Tony Curran.[2]
Locations
The programme was filmed in North Yorkshire, with some scenes shot at Bolton Castle and in the village of Askrigg, which doubled for the fictional Darrowby. Parts of the beginning title sequence — in particular, the car passing through the ford — were shot on an unnamed road between Feetham in Swaledale and Langthwaite in Arkengarthdale. Indoor scenes were shot at the BBC's Pebble Mill studios in Birmingham.
The Kings Arms Hotel, which became the Drover's Arms during filming, features photographs on its interior walls of the cast drinking at the establishment during downtime.
For the first three series, up until the two Christmas specials of 1983 and 1985, most interior scenes were recorded on video and edited together with filmed exterior shots, as was common practice in British television at the time.
The original set of the interior of the Skeldale House surgery is now located at the Richmondshire Museum in Richmond, North Yorkshire, and is open to the public. Other extensive parts, including the living room and the dispensary (see picture, right) are on display at the James Herriot Museum in Thirsk, which is also open to the public.
Theme
The theme tune "Piano Parchment", and the incidental music used in the show, was written by Johnny Pearson.
TV episodes
Main article: List of All Creatures Great and Small episodes
Ninety episodes (including the three Christmas Specials) were broadcast over seven series. Each episode is fifty minutes in length.
DVD releases
All seven series and two Christmas Specials have been released on DVD in Region 1 and Region 2.
| DVD Title | No. of Disks | Year | No. of Ep. | DVD release | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region 1 | Region 2 | ||||||
| Series 1 | 4 | 1978 | 13 | 14 May 2002 | N/A | ||
| Series 1, Volume 1 | 3 | 1978 | 6 | N/A | 7 April 2003 | ||
| Series 1, Volume 2 | 3 | 1978 | 7 | N/A | 5 May 2003 | ||
| Series 2 | 4 | 1978 | 14 | 15 October 2002 | N/A | ||
| Series 2, Volume 1 | 3 | 1978 | 7 | N/A | 7 July 2003 | ||
| Series 2, Volume 2 | 3 | 1978 | 7 | N/A | 15 September 2003 | ||
| Series 3 | 4 | 1979 - 1980 | 14 | 16 September 2003 | 23 October 2006 | ||
| Series 4 | 3 | 1988 | 10 | 14 September 2004 | 26 December 2006 | ||
| Series 5 | 4 | 1988 | 12 | 19 July 2005 | 3 March 2008 | ||
| Series 6 | 4 | 1989 | 12 | 25 July 2006 | 18 August 2008 | ||
| Series 7 | 4 | 1990 | 13 | 14 August 2007 | 26 December 2008 | ||
| Christmas Specials | 2 | 1983 and 1985 | 2 | 16 September 2003 | 20 October 2008 | ||
| Complete Collection | 33 | 1978 - 1990 | 90 | 15 January 2008 | 9 November 2009 | ||
References
- Specific
- ^ Rawson-Jones, Ben (9 January 2009). "Davison: 'BBC rejected 'All Creatures' return", Digital Spy. Retrieved on 10 January 2009.
- ^ The Sun (London). http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/soaps/3672994/Former-Corrie-star-Iain-de-Caestecker-to-play-young-James-Herriot-in-BBC-drama.html.
- General
- Official James Herriot Website
- All Creatures Great and Small (TV series 1978-1990) at the Internet Movie Database
- Timothy, Christopher (7 December 1979). Vet Behind the Ears. London: Pan Books. ISBN [[Special:BookSources/978-0-330-26075-8|978-0-330-26075-8]]. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Vet-Behind-Ears-James-Herriot/dp/0330260758/.
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