All Creatures Great and Small (TV serial)

infobox television
show_name = All Creatures Great and Small


caption =
format = Comedy/Drama
runtime = 50 mins
creator = Bill Sellars
writer = James Herriot
producer = Bill Sellars
director = Peter Grimwade
starring = Christopher Timothy
Robert Hardy
Peter Davison
Carol Drinkwater
Margaretta Scott
Lynda Bellingham
Mary Hignett
country = flagicon|United Kingdom United Kingdom
network = BBC1
first_aired = 1978
last_aired = 1990
num_episodes = 91
list_episodes = List of All Creatures Great and Small episodes|

"All Creatures Great and Small" is a popular television series, based on the books of the British veterian Alf Wight, who wrote under the pseudonym James Herriot.

Background

In 1978, 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."

Cast

The leading role was taken by actor Christopher Timothy, after Simon Ward, John Alderton and Richard Beckinsale all turned it down. Siegfried Farnon was played by Robert Hardy. Tristan was played by Peter Davison (who became a household name as a result, and went on to take many other starring roles, notably as the fifth incarnation of the Doctor in "Doctor Who" and as Margery Allingham's detective Albert Campion in two series of "Campion"). Helen was played by Carol Drinkwater in the first three series and two specials. Mary Hignett played the housekeeper Mrs. Hall, and Margaretta Scott appeared as the recurring aristocratic dog-owner Mrs Pumphrey.

With the amount of time available to it, the series quickly became much more of an ensemble show, developing all the characters considerably. In particular, the role of Tristan was significantly increased, partly because Christopher Timothy suffered an automobile accident part-way through the first series and so was restricted to studio shooting (in at least one episode, he can be seen having visible difficulty walking about the surgery), requiring that scenes involving location filming be rewritten and given to Davison.

History

The programme ran for three series, but broke off in 1980 at the stage where the characters were drawn into the Second World War. Two specials were subsequently made in 1983 and 1985, and then in 1988 the programme was revived, and ran for four more series carrying on the story after the war. In the revived series, Lynda Bellingham took over the role of Helen, and Judy Wilson 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 vet with a liking for badgers in the form of John McGlynn playing Calum Buchanan (based upon Herriot's real-life assistant Brian Nettleton), a former classmate of Tristan's. The Herriot children, who had been introduced in the two specials, now became recurring characters, with Jimmy played by Oliver Wilson and Rosie by Rebecca Smith.

Locations

The programme was filmed around Yorkshire, with some scenes shot at Bolton Castle and in the village of Askrigg, which doubled for the fictional Darrowby. Indoor scenes were shot at the BBC's Pebble Mill studios in Birmingham. Apart from the two specials, 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 vet surgery is now located at the Richmondshire Museum in Richmond, North Yorkshire and is open to the public.

Theme

The theme tune "Piano Parchment" and incidental music was by Johnny Pearson.

DVD

Six series have been released on Region 2 and 4 PAL DVDs; in Region 1 NTSC, all seven series and the two intermediate Christmas specials are available.

Relation to Alf Wight's life

Whereas the first 3 series were mostly taken directly from the real-life incidents in Alf Wight's veterinary practice in Thirsk as fictionalized in his books, new writers were brought in for Series 4-7 and only a few of those stories came from the writings of James Herriot.

Cast

*James Herriot — Christopher Timothy
*Siegfried Farnon — Robert Hardy
*Tristan Farnon — Peter Davison (series 1-5, 7)
*Helen Herriot — Carol Drinkwater (series 1-3 & specials) & 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 Alton — Jean Heywood (series 7)
*Mrs Pumphrey — Margaretta Scott
*Jimmy Herriot — Oliver Wilson (1985 special - series 5) & Paul Lyon (series 7)
*Rosie Herriot — Rebecca Smith (1985 special - series 5) & Alison Lewis (series 7)

TV episodes

References

#

[http://www.worldofjamesherriot.org/ Official James Herriot Website]
#imdb title | id=0075472 | title=All Creatures Great and Small (TV series 1978-1990)
#cite book
last = Timothy
first = Christopher
authorlink = Christopher Timothy
title = Vet Behind The Ears
publisher = Pan Books
date = 7 December 1979
location = London
url = http://www.amazon.co.uk/Vet-Behind-Ears-James-Herriot/dp/0330260758/
doi =
id =
isbn = 978 0 330 26075 8

External links

*cite web
title = All Creatures Great and Small TV series title sequence
work = Cult TV
publisher = BBC
url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/classic/titles/allcreatures.shtml
format = RealAudio
* [http://www.tv.com/all-creatures-great-and-small/show/8351/summary.html?q=&tag=search_results;title;1 TV.com entry for television series]
*imdb title|id=0075472|title=All Creatures Great and Small