Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

Back in the 1970’s, the BBC created a wonderful series, All Creatures Great and Small, about the life and times of Yorkshire, England veterinarian James Herriot, based on his books. The series was televised for the most part in the U.S. on PBS stations, and for those of us who discovered these wonderful stories there are fond memories. Fortunately, they have been released on DVD, allowing us to relive old memories and bring the tales to a new generation.

James Herriot (portrayed by Christopher Timothy) is a young veterinarian working in the practice of Siegfried Farnon (portrayed by Robert Hardy) and his brother Tristan (portrayed by Peter Davison) who seems to have some difficulty passing the veterinary exams.

At the start of the third season, James' wife Helen (portrayed by Carol Drinkwater) gets an outside job as a secretary. It throws James, as well as Siegfried. As the series goes on through the season, the practice goes into more and more disorder for a period of time before recovering. Tristan's social life continues to be a source of consternation for his brother.

The impending war is affecting all of them. It's nice to see something like this dealt with, rather than it seeming like Herriot's world is apart from the larger world around it. Siegfried becomes quite morose about it by the fifth episode. He remembers the last war, and watching his neighbors go off to fight saddens him. The undercurrent of the forthcoming war recurs throughout the season as well. At the end of the season, James and Siegfried are preparing to go off to war and turn the practice over to Tristan.

There are other moments that help make this season more serious and less like the light-hearted seasons prior to this. In one episode, a town regular commits suicide after James tells him his pet needs to be put down, bringing to light a depression he hid well where he thought his pet was his only friend. This theme continues into a subsequent episode as well.

There’s the usual smattering of characters about town. Trickie Woo, the pampered pup from previous seasons, is mostly absent this time around, but there are plenty of other critters with eccentric owners to take her place. There's the elderly widow who chews the vets down on the bill for her cat, then tries to put off paying it entirely. There’s a dog who has a terrible problem with flatulence that seems to occur at the most inopportune moments. There’s an interesting afternoon at the dog races for James as well.

Through it all, the series stays true to what has worked up until now. The characters are familiar with each other and get along well. Helen and James’ relationship it the steadying anchor to the other two men, as well as Mrs. Hall’s running of the house. That the series ended here with all that those of us who viewed it changing was appropriate. It was resurrected a few years down the road with several of the actors gone or replaced, but it was never the same as it was these first three seasons. There was something about the cast that worked together so well as well as the setting and time period being perfect.

The picture is good, but it has not been digitally restored. It's not as sharp and crisp as other television shows from the time period released on DVD. However, the grainy picture works well for this show in giving it a soft setting.

The real plus for me in this third season of All Creatures Great and Small was the addition of special features. In particular, I enjoyed the commentaries from Robert Hardy, Peter Davison, and Carol Drinkwater. These were quite good. They talk about the real people behind the characters and what happened in their lives and their descendents. I was impressed that the actors made such a connection with the actual people their characters were based on. It's quite interesting and I'm glad this was included with this set.

I enjoyed watching this with my thirteen year old daughter who enjoys animals quite a bit. It is definitely family-friendly, although this third season might have more mature themes to it what with the impending war and two episodes bringing up the topic of depression. All of the shots of the animals and their work are tastefully done, although there are many laughs and some cringes at shots of James naked from the waist up with his hand up a cow’s or horse’s butt.

The third season marks an end to the best years of All Creatures Great and Small. I highly recommend it to all people and families for an enjoyable night together. There aren’t any shootouts or great family dramas, but it’s nice to have a show that’s just fun from time to time.


Disc One:

Plenty To Grouse About
Charity Begins At Home
Every Dog His Day
Hair Of The Dog

Disc Two:

If Wishes Were Horses
Pig In The Middle (Commentary with Robert Hardy, Carol Drinkwater, and Director Michael Hayes)
Be Prepared (Commentary with Robert Hardy, Peter Davison, and Director Christopher Barry)

Disc Three:

A Dying Breed
Brink of Disaster
Home and Away
Alarms and Excursions

Disc Four:

Matters of Life and Death
Will To Live (Commentary with Robert Hardy, Peter Davison, and Director Christopher Barry)
Big Steps and Little 'Uns

Special Features:

The World of James Herriott BBC Special



My All Creatures Great and Small series reviews:

Series One ~ Series Two ~ Series Three ~ The Specials ~ Series Four ~ Series Five ~ Series Six



© 2008 Patti Aliventi

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD