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ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL The Specials and Series 5

BBC DVD / Region 4 / Released April 2008

Featuring Christopher Timothy, Robert Hardy, Peter Davison, Carol Drinkwater, Lynda Bellingham, John McGlynn

Without question All Creatures Great and Small is one of the most loved TV series of all time and this month BBC DVD have two releases for us to enjoy. The 1930's set stories of vet JAmes Herriott in the gorgeous Yorkshire Dales have long struck a chord with not just TV viewers but also readers (Herriott was a real life vet who wrote about his experiences in a number of hugely popular books). When Herriot, played by Christopher Timothy in a star making role, qualifies as a vet he joins the North Riding, Darrowby practice of brother Siegfried and Tristan Farnon and is quite literally up to his armpit in it.

Over the course of three series James fell in love with and married Helen Alderson (the rather lovely Carol Drinkwater) and saw the coming of world war II. With the end of the third season in 1980 James went off to fight in the war and it looked like the series had come to a natural close, however two Christmas specials (released this month as The Specials) aired in 1983 and 1985 and managed to keep us up to date with happenings at the practice. In the first James is back after 6 years away and naturally is finding it difficult to re-adjust to his surroundings whilst in the second there is a difference of opinion between James and Siegfried as Siegfried is looking to move the practice forward whilst James is happy with the way things are. It's great to have these two feature length stories on DVD as whenever the show does get a re-run they are seldom included and in fact this was our first ever chance to catch up with them.

Utterly charming of course and its clear the cast are happy to be back even if it is only briefly. Extras include a short on location vintage featurette and a look at who's who in the cast.

That was it until 1988 when the series came back for another three years, there were some changes though, Carol Drinkwater had bowed out and was replaced by Lynda Bellingham and Peter Davison was unwilling to commit to another long run and didn't appear in every episode. To keep the dynamic of the three vets, John McGlynn was introduced as newly qualified Scottish vet Calum (which served to bring the show nicely full circle).

Series 5 is also released this month (12 episodes spread across four discs) and the action has now moved to the early 1950's and although Britain is changing in leaps and bounds not much has changed in the Dales, even Tristan, who had been working at the Ministry of Agriculture, is back in the fold. Extras are a cast who's who.

From its idyllic opening theme music and title sequence to its gorgeous view of as simpler, slower world All Creatures is surely comfort food for the soul.

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