27 thoughts on “All Creatures Great and Small (2020-) Satisfies

  1. The original series irritated me when I was a kid. :)
    Because I WAS a farmer and too many of the episodes (like Little House on the Prairie) gave what I thought was a “happy gloss” to farming and farm communities.
    And, because he played Tristan, I was totally opposed to Davison becoming the Doctor in classic Who. Because I wouldn’t have trusted Tristan Farnon with a newborn lamb, let alone all time and space….

      1. oh, it’s NOT just me? Thank goodness!
        .
        so the kicker question: why HAVEN’T y’all done Little House on the Prairie?

  2. Yes to the scenery! In the first episode, as they were driving across the dales, I started to cry. First of several cries. Second episode, lost it when Diana Rigg appeared. How will they carry on without her? So, having watched the original (and loved it) and read a couple of the books, I’m all in for this gentle story to soothe my tattered nerve/heart. And the fact that they look right is the cherry on top!

  3. I was feeling cautiously unoptimistic about this reboot!l I love the original. I have also seen Samuel West in soooo many things, I couldn’t quite see him as Siegfried. After episode two, though, I am sold. It is charming; not as gritty as the original, but we could all use a bit of sentimentality in our lives right now. I am giving it a thumbs up!

  4. I’ve never seen the original, but this was just the speed I needed to destress. Very lovely. And the scenery!!! Maybe when I finish this one, I’ll go back and watch the original!

    1. So, that is why we need a remake! All the people who didn’t catch the original.

      I quite enjoyed the old version but it was not the sort of thing I wanted to watch many times. (Saw the beginning last week, realized it was episode two and resolved to catch up on streaming.)

      I, Claudius was one I watched many times. It is a masterpiece. Current production standards call for a new version. I can almost hear “Exterminate” coming in from the next studio. But how could a new cast come up to the standard set by the originals? Before they were famous. I would approach that remake with trepidation…

  5. I have to say that I had been put off watching, due to very fond memories of the original – but your article has really piqued my interest and I will start watching this week. It will be gentle and comforting in these truly horrid times. I also have to say a huge Rest in Peace to the mighty Diana Rigg. I will also miss her terribly. She was truly a legend and we have lost a national treasure. Hugely talented, of true class, and absolutely stunning! To me she will always be Emma Peel (of course) and Moll Flander’s (Alex Kingston’s) Mum – but I will also remember seeing her performing live on stage on a few occasions. Her Agrippina in Britannicus was truly mind blowing!

  6. I too am not a fan of Tristan. I wouldn’t trust him with a sick hamster much less valuable livestock.
    So far the show makes me all warm and cuddly. What I do miss is Siegfried’s love of horses. Robert Hardy knew how to ride and gave me a felling he loved horses. And Samuel West is Timothy West’s and Prunella Scales’ son.
    I loved seeing Dame Diana Rigg as Mrs Pumphrey. She came across as elegant, sexy and rich, besides loving her Tricki.

  7. Samuel West…. sigh

    Totally agree, loved the first one, but sometimes we need a ‘gentle’ series to chill with & this works perfectly.

  8. I adore it. Binged the entire series last weekend on PBS Passport, and am enjoying watching one a week with my family. It’s sweet, innocent, charming, full of feel-good moments, and quite funny. Also, gorgeous to look at and that’s always a plus in my mind. Siegfried is by far my favorite. If he’s looking for a wife, I volunteer as tribute. ;)

  9. This show is exactly what I needed right now. I binged all of the episodes online and am so happy that it has been renewed for a second season. In addition to all of the delightful things everyone else has mentioned, this series has the distinct advantage in that nearly all of the characters—even those who are cranky or emotionally detached—are fundamentally decent people. With so many real humans unable to reach that same threshold, I was delighted to see so much just plain kindness onscreen.

    Thank you for sharing the information about the costumes.

  10. I binged the whole thing already, and I loved most of it, but the zipper on the front of that jacket that Helen wears in several episodes makes me CRY. It is a modern plastic zipper that doesn’t look a BIT 1930s!

    Also, I’m surprised no one has yet mentioned the presence of Matthew Lewis aka Neville Longbottom. They made his character a bit dorky (a shame since he’s so damn hot for real) but he’s really an endearing dork.

  11. Maybe I’m just hopelessly biased but this cast seems… Blander. Of course, to be fair, nobody could chew scenery like Robert Hardy. Or whine better than Peter Davidson 😉
    But the animals are gorgeous!

  12. I’m totally loving it. I had neither seen nor heard of the original series until a few months ago when the re-boot was mentioned on this blog. Coming to it with fresh eyes and an open heart, I was sold after the very first episode. I’m being disciplined by not binging the whole series on PBS Passport, and instead watching it week by week. As a cat lover, I hope to see more cats in the series, but I’m not holding out too much hope for that since it the practice is so farm-centric.

    Notes on the cast: I think everyone is great in their roles. Like many of you, I miss Diana Rigg, and am enjoying her bittersweet performance in this role. If there hasn’t yet been a Man Candy Monday dedicated to Samuel West, then I’m casting my vote for one right now. Personally, I think he’s gotten more attractive as he’s matured. The actress who’s standing next to West whose outfit had maroon touches too was just pictured in the recent Phoebe post in her outfit as Mildady de Winter in the recent Musketeers re-boot. The woman who plays the housekeeper distracts me in every episode because she looks like a doppelganger for one of the main characters in Home Fires. Whenever I see the maid, I think, “Oh, they really wanted the lady from Home Fires and so they made this actress look almost exactly the same.”

    Once again, it’s totally awesome. I plan to read the book after I finish watching the TV show. And I may watch the original show too.

    1. Undoubtedly my problem is I remember the original to well to get into the new version. Its m, not the production.

  13. I love love love this show! And so glad to have a Scottish Herriot. I’ll always love Christopher Timothy but young Nicholas Ralph is a good James, more the better for his lovely Glaswegian accent. And he’s easy on the eyes too ;)

    1. Agreed on the accents! I love Nicholas Ralph’s burr, and the accents in general: the extremely correct Received Pronunciation spoken by almost all the main characters is part of why I always had trouble getting into the older series (I know there was more pressure in the 1930s to downplay regional speech, but come on: why would a Darrowby farm girl like Helen have no trace of a Yorkshire accent?).

  14. I’ve loved the books since I was young but never saw the earlier series. I saw the trailer for this one and as initially super excited–but the “vibe” of the trailer really put me off. It seemed so cartoony and almost a parody of the series? Has anyone who has read the books give me an idea of how they compare and if they enjoyed the new show?

  15. My family and I LOVE the show, but there’s one thing we all are curious about concerning the costuming (which is fantastic)…Helen’s green/yellow hooded drawstring zippered jacket. Does anyone else feel like it’s completely modern looking? Anyone have any thoughts on this?

  16. After seeing your posts on Facebook, so glad I finally came to check out and spend some time reading your reviews on your website. Love it, Ladies! Anyway, I have been an Anglophile and historical fiction and film fan for as long as I can remember. I loved the original All Creatures Great and Small tv series and read the books when they first came out because my first love/crush actor Simon Ward played James in the original tv movie (a Hallmark Hall of Fame production here in the states) back in the 70s.That first movie production (even with Simon as James and Anthony Hopkins as Siegried!) just doesn’t compare to the tv series. Anyway, I love the books and both the old and new tv series. And I was a little shocked to find how much I like the new version since I’m usually such a stickler for being true to the source material. (One can certainly make an argument for the original series being more faithful to the books). That said, I’m sold on both old and new. The original was comfort viewing for my daughter and I during the past pandemic year (I borrowed the DVDs from our local library). Finally I have to point out what I thought was a huge oversight in costuming accuracy and wonder if anyone else has noticed this details . . . I know in the books and remember this in the original series – all the vets put on buff colored lab type coats whether they were in the surgery or out on farm calls and they changed into their RUBBER BOOTS when they got out of the car before they went tramping around in the mud on the farms! It was a nice comic touch in the very first episode when James gets both his good shoes and suit muddy on his first farm visit with Siegfried. But no one looked nearly as messy on any farm visits after that. Really?! And note: my daughter just reminded me that even Dr Pol – the present day vet here in the US who has the tv show – and all the vets in his practice wear rubber boots on their farm calls.

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