Amazon.com video review:
The BBC television series based on the books of British country
veterinarian James Herriot has had numerous loyal fans since it was first
produced in the 1970s, and it's easy to see why. The show endearingly combines
humor and warmth with authentic veterinary medicine. (It's clear that the animal
births we witness here are absolutely real.) Set during World War II in the
verdant Yorkshire countryside, the series features indelible characters.
Dedicated young Herriot (Christopher Timothy) and his lovely bride, Helen (Carol
Drinkwater) live and work with eccentric master veterinarian Siegfried Farnum
(Robert Hardy) and his inept kid brother, Tristan (Peter Davison).
It's a life
of ceaseless toil and on-the-job training for all. Says Herriot, "When a G.P.
has a case that needs surgery, he pops 'em off to the hospital. We have to do it
all ourselves."
The stories of the folk who bring the Herriots and Farnums
their ailing animals are so wacky that they must be true. There's dotty Mrs.
Bond and her menagerie of stray felines, including the attack cat, Boris, who
she swears was a gladiator in a previous life. The vets relish the excitement of
lambing season, but dread the inevitable midnight call from drunken,
caterwauling sheep farmer Harold Ingledew. Each episode juggles several comical,
dramatic, and suspensefully interwoven plots, all of which dovetail in a
gratifying conclusion. A positive treat for animal lovers, All Creatures
Great and Small will also entertain and move devotees of the human
condition. --Laura Mirsky
