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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
