"All Creatures Great And Small" (BBC2)

[Eric The Viking]

My wife didn't have a TV in the house as a child, so there are a number of my own 'childhood staples' that we now watch together when they come up. Examples being Star Trek and M.A.S.H., but there are many others.

Some don't stand the test of time too well, but we stumbled across the first two episodes of Herriot last night. What a treat. Great cast: Christopher Timothy, Robert Hardy & Peter Davison starring, and gentle but clever humour with more than a little pathos too.

If you didn't catch the series at the time, or, like me you, find the current crop of favoured comedians mostly trite and vacuous, this is definitely a recommend.

On a technical note, the digitization from 2" quad originals hasn't been done very well - I have seen a lot worse, but the sound is a good 12 to 18 dB low*, which is a bit of a stretch for our telly, and there was a lot of neg damage on the film inserts, which was a surprise, although that might be down to TK or the lab 44 years ago. If they cared enough and have kept the bits, a re-transfer of the original showprints would transform how the film inserts look, too. Would be well worth it. Shame the last BBC engineers turned off the lights around 20 years ago...

E.

*but it was really nice to hear natural sounding dialogue from a boom (or two) on set, rather than those ubiquitous Trams. And see some jolly nice camerawork, too.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I had to speak to a vet I don't usually deal with and the music when put on hold was the theme to that. I wonder how many people now would recognise it.

 

[Garno]

The books are based on actual events, although not too sure how accurate.

I would like to think the T.V programs were the same but I really do not know, we can but dream.

 

[Blackswanwood]

It is a bit of classic feel good tv. Filmed in a very pretty village - Askrigg in the Yorkshire Dales. Well worth a visit once we can go out and about properly again. The pub they used which I think was called the Drovers in the story but (think) is called the Kings Head in real life still makes something of it all these years on and is a great pub.

The actual veterinary practice which the books are based on was in Thirsk which is nothing like Askrigg!

 

[MikeG.]

Wonderful series which we loved at the time, but boy does the acting look hammy now! They're actually really nice little books, too, so if anyone wants the gentle humour but without the hammy acting, rifle around a second hand bookshop and see if you can find a copy.