All Creatures Great And Small (2021) - General Discussion

[Driad]

Episode 5:  I was waiting to find out that the pony measuring stick was too short, either accidentally or as a practical joke.  Also, why was James carrying it around all day, when he wouldn't need it until midafternoon?

The poor dachshund, we didn't find out why he had a fever.

[luvmylabs]

On 2/2/2021 at 11:12 AM, peacheslatour said:

It's so weird to me that they don't have any dogs. What happened to that golden from the first episode?

Herriot wrote that Seigfried always proclaimed quite loudly that he never understood why people kept dogs as pets, yet he had 5 himself.  And later on Herriot was often accompanied on rounds by a dog of his own.  Some of the descriptions of the household dogs were so charming and funny.  I cannot like this version very much.  I preferred the older series, which followed the books more closely and did a much better job with the character of Seigfried.

[magdalene]

On 2/5/2021 at 8:36 AM, peacheslatour said:

Gasp! I guess every Gothic romance novel I ever read all these years have been lying to me! *clutches pearls*

Smiles.  And so did Charlotte Bronte I guess...

[possibilities]

2 hours ago, Driad said:

The poor dachshund, we didn't find out why he had a fever.

That made me sad, too. If the man loved him so much, why was he totally unconcerned about the fever, and leaving him tied up in a chaotic environment, all alone?

[Haleth]

That was a great episode.  I'm so glad I dumped the Superbowl to watch this instead.  Loved that James finally blew and told everyone he wasn't going to reward cheaters.  I enjoy Tristan more and more each week.  The bet, his analysis of Hugh/Helen... funny stuff.

I thought the dachshund merely had a cold or minor infection, nothing serious but not something to expose the other dogs to.

[magdalene]

My least favorite episode so far.  A lot of the villagers were so annoying throughout which made the episode more uncomfortable than enjoyable for me.  The man who owned the poor little Dachshund was an animal abuser who payed no attention to his fever and who left him tied up in a dangerous place.  And James should have made an effort to diagnose the dogs fever instead of just ignoring it because he was overwhelmed with the demands on his time.  And we never found out why the Dachshund was sick to begin with and if he would be okay. 

Things I liked were Mrs. Hall with her friend, Siegfried going a little googly eyed over the friend, Mrs. Hall being a crack shot and teaching that nasty Carny a lesson.  Did the friend say she was proud of Mrs. Hall for "leaving that brute"? There was a noise in my house when she said that and I wasn't quite sure I heard right.

[JudyObscure]

I thought I recognized the young lad bully as the runaway boy from "Last Tango in Halifax."  Yes, his name is Liam McCheyne.   I thought he was hilarious with his threatening words from four feet high, as well as the Fair Master with his bullhorn and "tempis furgit."

I don't like Dorothy at all.  She reminds me of the star of "Miss Scarlet and the Duke"  all square jawed, toothy, pushy and smug.  It might have dawned on her that even if Mrs. Hall does have an abusive husband somewhere, she still might have fallen for Siegfried herself.

 

 

 

[libgirl2]

9 hours ago, Driad said:

Episode 5:  I was waiting to find out that the pony measuring stick was too short, either accidentally or as a practical joke.  Also, why was James carrying it around all day, when he wouldn't need it until midafternoon?

The poor dachshund, we didn't find out why he had a fever.

I was expecting them to say why he had one too. 

2 hours ago, Haleth said:

That was a great episode.  I'm so glad I dumped the Superbowl to watch this instead.  Loved that James finally blew and told everyone he wasn't going to reward cheaters.  I enjoy Tristan more and more each week.  The bet, his analysis of Hugh/Helen... funny stuff.

I thought the dachshund merely had a cold or minor infection, nothing serious but not something to expose the other dogs to.

I tuned out of the super bowl for this and Miss Scarlet. I'm glad I did! 

2 hours ago, magdalene said:

My least favorite episode so far.  A lot of the villagers were so annoying throughout which made the episode more uncomfortable than enjoyable for me.  The man who owned the poor little Dachshund was an animal abuser who payed no attention to his fever and who left him tied up in a dangerous place.  And James should have made an effort to diagnose the dogs fever instead of just ignoring it because he was overwhelmed with the demands on his time.  And we never found out why the Dachshund was sick to begin with and if he would be okay. 

Things I liked were Mrs. Hall with her friend, Siegfried going a little googly eyed over the friend, Mrs. Hall being a crack shot and teaching that nasty Carny a lesson.  Did the friend say she was proud of Mrs. Hall for "leaving that brute"? There was a noise in my house when she said that and I wasn't quite sure I heard right.

I enjoyed the episode. And yes, she did say "leaving that brute". 

[Blergh]

Magdalene,

Dorothy did indeed say to Mrs. Hall that 'leaving that brute' was the best thing she had done.  This adds another interesting dimension to Mrs. Hall's earlier life insasmuch it's hard to imagine that in that time and place she would have not been snubbed  if not derided by at least  some of the locals for being a 'grass widow'  were the true reason the Hall union ended came to light (and more than one divorced or separated woman would move to an entirely new community and let others believe she was a bona fide widow). Of course, it also makes one wonder why she appears to prefer being called 'Mrs. Hall' if her onetime husband was abusive -unless she simply considers that she's made 'Hall' her OWN name and  prefers to have what would have been considered the added 'respectability' via the marital status title of Mrs.

Loved having Mrs. Hall  fix that carnie's rifle (and fix him) after he meanly cheated Helen's Kid Sis (and no doubt countless other fairgoers). Yeah, nice touch for her to reveal her Annie Oakley side and that she had been a' Wren'( Women's Royal Naval Service- formed in 1917). Although this  would have made it a somewhat tight fit re the her son Edward being on his own (and having totally flown the coop) by 1938 with her having to have met then married the unlamented Mr. Hall no earlier than 1918 and Edward being born no later than 1920 if he would have been able to have gone out on his own without her calling the authorities to track him down as a juvenile run away (though he wouldn't have been a legal adult until he was 21 which would have been impossible by that timeframe). Great that Mrs. Hall has those warm bonds with Dorothy as well as Helen's Kid Sis even if James and Helen aren't together.

 Speaking of James, I was relieved that he managed to avoid Tristan's boozy siren song and only took a few sips while the fair was in sesseion despite the increasingly stressful time he was having. But good for him for telling all those blatant cheaters off instead of letting them intimidate him (and I'd like to think he actually got some of their respect for that- if only that worked more in the Real World). I think that kid and his father who were mad he wouldn't let their dog pass seemed on the verge of beating James up. Yeah, why did the dachshund have a fever and why was his owner so insistent on him competing even after James spelled it out numerous times (and how likely that he may have had it spread to other animals before the accidental crushing- due to the owner's neglect). Yes, the owner was sad the dog got crushed but all his declarations of how much he loved the dog didn't erase his deliberately ignoring the fever just to have him compete. Good for James to call out that bull's lameness even though the Aldersons were somewhat pinning better fortunes by selling him as a breeder (but infuriating that Hugh as well as the cowherd tried to cover it up).  Helen rightly told Hugh off and it seemed  the bond was done  when. ..Hugh pulled out the l-word. Although she didn't publicly storm off and/or slap him, I'm not sure that alone will guilt her into keeping him around as he may hope. Next episode should at least give some idea of how things fare of him and Helen (and if James will be able to do more than vaguely flirt with her).

Interesting that Siegfried was revealed to be a widower (and Tristan even said his late sister-in-law's name: Evelyn) while up to this point it had been implied that he had been a bachelor. FWIW, in the books (and original series)Siegfried started out as a bachelor but the RL model Donald Sinclair had been widowed  early after his first wife died young but his second marriage would last 53 years before her death two weeks before his suicide. A bit surprising that he wouldn't have been more openly pursued by the eager single women of Darrowby who might have wanted to console him- and become the new mistress of Skeldale House. It looks as though he may be willing to open up to Dorothy by the end of this season (next episode- yikes!).

I have to say that I actually like THIS James better than the Original James (sorry Mr. Timothy) but, though Mr. West does a very good job, he can't hold a candle to the late Robert Hardy's Original Siegfried.

 

Edited February 9, 2021 by Blergh

[AZChristian]

52 minutes ago, Blergh said:

Of course, it also makes one wonder why she appears to prefer being called 'Mrs. Hall' if her onetime husband was abusive -unless she simply considers that she's made 'Hall' her OWN name and  prefers to have what would have been considered the added 'respectability' via the marital status title of Mrs.

"Mrs." was a courtesy title for housekeepers and cooks in that time.  For example, neither "Mrs." Patmore nor "Mrs." Hughes on Downton Abbey were married (until "Mrs." Hughes became Mrs. Carson later in the series).

[Doublemint]

Great comments everyone!   I'm adding my two cents.    I was put off that the fair was in the village.   This seemed so strange, not to have it in a field with all those animals.  The dachshund in the book had distemper and could have infected all the other dogs.  There was no broken leg and no owner saying the dog was his life etc.   That didn't make sense. 

Thanks @blergh for the info that real life "Siegfried" was a widower.  In the books he was portrayed as batchelor with scads of "ladyfriends".   I didn't like the flirting scene with Dorothy either.   She seems soooo different from Mrs. Hall, I can't imagine them being best friends.

They made James out to be honest to a fault here.   In the book, the little boy who won the pet contest was the son of the local Lord (but James didn't know that).   The men in the beer tent were saying it was fixed, etc.   This was funny and should have happened here too.

I didn't like this episode much, so strange with Skeldale house being "open" and "events" happening there.    Of course, if the fair were in a field, only James would be there, so we would only have him for the entire episode.   The books don't lend themselves to one hour episodes, there should have been twice as many 1/2 hour episodes in my opinion.

[libgirl2]

17 minutes ago, AZChristian said:

"Mrs." was a courtesy title for housekeepers and cooks in that time.  For example, neither "Mrs." Patmore nor "Mrs." Hughes on Downton Abbey were married (until "Mrs." Hughes became Mrs. Carson later in the series).

On the old Upstairs, Downstairs, the cook was Mrs. Bridges. Her character was not and had not been married. 

[Wonkabar5]

Been keeping up with the comments here.  Husband and I were able to catch the last 10-15 minutes of episode. A big...eh so far.   I realize we have arrived into this series “in media res,” but Annie Oakley young Mrs. Hall (with no previous background to us) was a bit jarring, and Helen’s “I am Woman, hear me Roar!” Speech was a bit “oh, of course,” (rolls eyes) to me...but there it is.

I promise to give the series a proper watch in *full context *when it becomes available.   

Hubs and I just were not over the moon excited about it.

[supposebly]

I just finished season 3 of the original series. Mrs Hall mentions her dead husband when Mr Carter proposes to her. So, she is a widow in this series.  I don't know about the books.

[peacheslatour]

Quote

 I was put off that the fair was in the village.   This seemed so strange, not to have it in a field with all those animals.  The dachshund in the book had distemper and could have infected all the other dogs.  There was no broken leg and no owner saying the dog was his life etc.   That didn't make sense. 

YES! They walk out the front door and the fair is just...there? No.

Quote

"Mrs." was a courtesy title for housekeepers and cooks in that time.  For example, neither "Mrs." Patmore nor "Mrs." Hughes on Downton Abbey were married (until "Mrs." Hughes became Mrs. Carson later in the series).

Kinda makes you wonder about Mrs. Danvers doesn't it?

[AZChristian]

23 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

Kinda makes you wonder about Mrs. Danvers doesn't it?

No . . . I NEVER assumed that Mrs. Danvers would have or could have been married!!!!  LOL.

[sugarbaker design]

Just now, AZChristian said:

No . . . I NEVER assumed that Mrs. Danvers would have or could have been married!!!!  LOL.

Same here!

[magdalene]

Maybe Mrs. Hall's maiden name was "Hall" and she used it after she left her husband and "Mrs" for respectability?

[magdalene]

1 hour ago, Doublemint said:

The dachshund in the book had distemper

If we ever see the dog again I hope that was changed from the books.

[AZChristian]

7 minutes ago, magdalene said:

Maybe Mrs. Hall's maiden name was "Hall" and she used it after she left her husband and "Mrs" for respectability?

I thought about that, but didn't the envelope addressed to her son show his last name as "Hall"?

[sas616]

On 2/6/2021 at 4:57 PM, Doublemint said:

on the down side, the new series is sort of, well, dull.  It doesn't have the energy of the original.  Part of that can be put down to the absence of Robert Hardy who was this whirlwind of energy in the original.  There's little humor and lightheartedness in the new series, and I miss that. 

Funny how we see things differently.   I never saw the original and decided to check it out.   Watched a couple episodes and just gave up because I found it kind of "dull."  Prefer the current version because it seems to have more "energy."  Maybe if I stuck with the original longer, I would think differently, but I was bored.     Agree about Tristan's character...wish they'd tone him down a bit; maybe that will happen as the series progresses.  

[Blergh]

Mrs. Bridges of Upstairs Downstairs was described by Lady Marjorie as 'a Bristol widow' and one time she talked about missing her late husband she called 'Bridges' so, yes, she WAS  indeed married at one time.

Mrs. Danvers of Rebecca? I think it could have gone either way with her possibly getting wed but soon separated or widowed yet having no feelings for any husband close to how she viewed the title character OR just having the Mrs. as a courtesy due to her household status.

As for Mrs. Hall?  I think had she been the non-marital mother of an Edmund Hall who was using the 'Mrs.' as a courtesy to deflect noseys, I think Dorothy would have mentioned it  in a 'you've come a long way ' deal when congratulating her on 'leaving that brute' (Edmund's presumed male DNA Donor) so I think it's likely she WAS married to a Mr. Hall but whether it ended in an absolute divorce ( extreme cruelty and adultery were legal grounds in Great Britain by 1938) or a mere separation is unclear (and perhaps the unlamented Mr. Hall had since actually died since Mrs. Hall doesn't appear to have any worries about him possibly popping up to cause trouble).

Edited February 8, 2021 by Blergh

[sugarbaker design]

20 minutes ago, magdalene said:

Maybe Mrs. Hall's maiden name was "Hall" and she used it after she left her husband and "Mrs" for respectability?

Her son's name is Edmund Hall, so I think Mrs. Hall is her married name.

2 minutes ago, Blergh said:

Mrs. Danvers of Rebecca?

I've always thought of Mrs. D as the poster child for closeted lesbianism.  The closet destroys.

[Blergh]

10 hours ago, sugarbaker design said:

Her son's name is Edmund Hall, so I think Mrs. Hall is her married name.

I've always thought of Mrs. D as the poster child for closeted lesbianism.  The closet destroys.

It wouldn't have been the first time a lesbian or homosexual would have had a 'marriage in name only' to deflect the noseys so that alone doesn't convince me that it was impossible for Mrs. Danvers to have not actually been legally married to a man earlier in her life that she couldn't have cared less for.

 Thankfully, Manderley was in Cornwall which is almost on the opposite end of England from Yorkshire so it's a virtual certainty that no Farnon, Herriot or Hall will ever have to cross paths with her even though that classic novel as well as this series are set in 1938.

Edited February 9, 2021 by Blergh
corrected Cornish manor name having previously thought it was named for that city in Myanmar

[sugarbaker design]

2 minutes ago, Blergh said:

It wouldn't have been the first time a lesbian or homosexual would have had a 'marriage in name only' to deflect the noseys so that alone doesn't convince me that it was impossible for Mrs. Danvers to have not actually been legally married to a man earlier in her life that she couldn't have cared less for.

It sure wouldn't be!

2 minutes ago, Blergh said:

Mandalay was in Cornwall

I know you meant to type Manderley.

[AZChristian]

24 minutes ago, sugarbaker design said:

I know you meant to type Manderley.

What a coincidence!  Last night I dreamt I went there again.

(My favorite book from my high school years . . . and still near the top of the list.)

[peacheslatour]

Just now, AZChristian said:

What a coincidence!  Last night I dreamt I went there again.

(My favorite book from my high school years . . . and still near the top of the list.)

I used to read it every year around this time. Hmmm...

[SandyToes]

On 2/6/2021 at 3:27 PM, Possum said:

It's a small point, but it is jarring hearing so many being called by their first names.  For instance, Mrs. Hall calling Siegfried by his first name rather than Mr. Farnon just feels off.  It's a modern thing and takes me out of the time period when the stories took place.  

Maybe this is because they grew up with her? Is that the situation here?  Kind of hard to tell, as she seems to be about the same age as Siegfried, but if they were children, they will likely always be children to her.  Maybe.

[Daff]

I too did not appreciate James having to tote the measuring stick around well before and after the actual measurement hour, especially with everything taking place on Skeldale’s front step!  Appreciated even less the ridiculous slapstick surrounding the stick. Now, if it had been Tristan....

Was a bit delighted with West’s jocularity while demonstrating the instruments. I don’t think it would have played in the original series. 
I guess I like this version well enough. I do think the writers take liberties with the social sensibilities of the time period, but I’m having no difficulty watching the current episode and then watching a few of the originals. They definitely mellowed out and became more repetitive starting with season 4. 

[Possum]

14 hours ago, magdalene said:

But if I remember right she wasn't considered good enough to eat the meals that she cooked with the brothers in the old version.

Are you saying that everyone employed as a cook/housekeeper should sit down with their employer to eat?  Should Mrs. Pumphrey's staff have sat down with her to eat every meal too?

16 minutes ago, SandyToes said:

Maybe this is because they grew up with her? Is that the situation here?  Kind of hard to tell, as she seems to be about the same age as Siegfried, but if they were children, they will likely always be children to her.  Maybe.

In the original series, Mrs. Hall was an older lady.  They changed the character in the new series to make her a contemporary of Siegfried.

[Shanna Marie]

Siegfried being a relatively recent widower might explain the familiarity and Mrs. Hall eating with them. If she was housekeeper while his wife was alive, she likely didn't sit at the table with them, but then after the wife was gone he might not have wanted to eat alone because it would make the silence even worse, and it would have seemed a bit silly for her to serve him while he sat alone at the table and then go off to eat in the kitchen alone. I can imagine him gruffly (and maybe even a little rudely) telling her to just sit down at the table and eat rather than going back to the kitchen after she put his dinner on the table, and then it became a habit.

[Possum]

1 hour ago, sas616 said:

Funny how we see things differently.   I never saw the original and decided to check it out.   Watched a couple episodes and just gave up because I found it kind of "dull."  Prefer the current version because it seems to have more "energy."  Maybe if I stuck with the original longer, I would think differently, but I was bored.     Agree about Tristan's character...wish they'd tone him down a bit; maybe that will happen as the series progresses.  

You're right, it is funny how we see things differently.  It is good that they have different series to appeal to different tastes.  Right now I'm trying to talk myself into finally seeing the episode from last night, but the lack of "energy" in the new show doesn't put it at the top of my viewing list.

[peacheslatour]

Quote

Are you saying that everyone employed as a cook/housekeeper should sit down with their employer to eat?  Should Mrs. Pumphrey's staff have sat down with her to eat every meal too?

Skeldale is hardly a great manor like Downton.

[supposebly]

I think it just would have been odd if Mrs Hall would sit down to eat with them. That doesn't mean she wasn't respected.

She was respected and treated as a friend of the family but she was also an employee of the Farnons. Mrs Hall from the original series would scoff at the notion. I don't know how she was described in the books but if she was in any way similar to the 1978 series Mrs Hall, she would not find it "her place" if Siegfried had suggested it. A phrase she uses a lot in the series. At her age, that probably would not seem proper.

A younger Mrs Hall might not have found it so odd.

[tennisgurl]

Its really interesting reading about the differences between this show, the previous one, and the books, as I have never read the books (but they're definitely on my To Read List!) and only saw one or two episodes of the show years ago, so I am just watching this show as itself. I cant really compare it to anything, but I am still enjoying this show a lot. Less of the beautiful countryside this week, which made me rather sad, but still an enjoyable episode. Poor James, stuck dealing with every ridiculous person in the tristate area, the persnickety guy running the fair, his colleagues gambling on his failure, and having to carry a comically large stick around all day. At least he apparently won the respect of the locals by yelling at all the sore losers in the pub, did the right thing by telling the truth about the bull possibly being lame, and managed to avoid the siren cry of booze and do his job well. 

Siegfried being a widower, and possibly a pretty recent one, explains a lot about him to me. Like, I can see him and Mrs. Hall eating together every day after his wife died, just because eating alone just sounds ridiculously sad. I don't really see her eating with the rest of the house to be all that strange, its not like this is some Downton Abbey fancy manor house with a staff that can field a football team, its just one little house with one small veterinary practice and three people (previously only one) and one staff member. Maybe it was uncommon at the time, but I don't think it would be completely bizarre. The scene between Siegfried and Tristan talking about his deceased wife was really good, Tristan can be a rather irresponsible lad sort, but he really does have a good heart and he does care a lot about the people and animals around him. 

Mrs. Hall being a crack shot was a really fun bit. What did they think she did in the Wrens? Embroidery? 

So the fair was literally just outside their house? Not out in the country or something? Yeah, that seems kind of...weird. 

Edited February 8, 2021 by tennisgurl

[peacheslatour]

Quote

So the fair was literally just outside their house? Not out in the country or something? Yeah, that seems kind of...weird. 

Not in the books.

[SteveR405]

On 1/11/2021 at 11:11 AM, Rose Quartz said:

I liked it, except they made Sigfried too obnoxious for my taste.

According to a biography on James Wight (aka Herriot), the real-life Siegfried Farnon (Donald Sinclair) was somewhat obnoxious and threatened to sue James for his depiction of him. I believe that eventually Wight/Herriot offered some of his royalties from the books as a piece offering. I don’t know or can’t recall whether Herriot rewrote his depiction of Siegfried. I do know that Herriot had to rewrite his first novel several time before it was published.

[SteveR405]

On 2/3/2021 at 11:14 AM, Shanna Marie said:

I figure that since this is a small English town, the vicar is probably poisoning someone and a little old lady is solving the case, but it's all happening in the background and we don't notice because we're focused on the animals.

This is an over generalization of small English towns. In only half the cases is it the vicar poisoning someone and a little old lady solving the cases. In the other half of towns, it is the little old lady poisoning someone and the vicar solving the cases.

Edited February 8, 2021 by SteveR405
typo

[magdalene]

2 hours ago, Possum said:

Are you saying that everyone employed as a cook/housekeeper should sit down with their employer to eat?  Should Mrs. Pumphrey's staff have sat down with her to eat every meal too?

This isn't Pumphrey manor or Downton Abbey, or Manderley.  The Farnon brothers are comfortable middle class, not upper class twits,  living in what - 1938? Almost WW2 in any case. Mrs. Hall seems pretty middle class herself to me -  and obviously the rather posh Dorothy deems her "good enough" to be friends with.

[peacheslatour]

23 minutes ago, SteveR405 said:

This is an over generalization of small English towns. In only half the cases is it the vicar poisoning someone and a little old lady solving the cases. In the other half of towns, it is the little old lady poisoning someone and the vicar solving the cases.

LMFAO. This is too perfect!

Edited February 8, 2021 by peacheslatour

[JudyObscure]

34 minutes ago, magdalene said:

This isn't Pumphrey manor or Downton Abbey, or Manderley.  The Farnon brothers are comfortable middle class, not upper class twits,  living in what - 1938? Almost WW2 in any case. Mrs. Hall seems pretty middle class herself to me -  and obviously the rather posh Dorothy deems her "good enough" to be friends with.

I think it was pretty standard, even in some very simple houses, for servants to eat separately and I don't think it was intended to make anyone feel disrespected or "less than," it was just part of the division of labor.  It was a matter of comfort on both sides, families could talk about personal issues at the dinner table and the servants could relax in the kitchen. Come to think of it, none of my (bank) bosses ever ate meals with me.  Just from a practical point of view, the cook probably wouldn't want to both sit down with the family and serve the meal,  she would be working and eating at the same time.  Certain meals that I cook for my family, pancakes and eggs for instance, I prefer to get them all fed and then feed myself last.  As it is, there is a lot of jumping up and down for Mrs. Hall, "Do we have any more gravy?"     

  I find Mrs. Hall much more refined than Dorothy who seems more like Tristan's barmaid to me.

[QQQQ]

With the mention of Siegfried being a widower, I'm wondering how old he's supposed to be and if they're going to incorporate his 2nd marriage into the show. He would have been remarried by his early 30s. Something's not adding up with the new version's timeline.

[Bunnyette]

I find the old Tristan crafty but charming this Tristan seems slimy & sly.   The depiction of the village fair isn’t quite true as they usually took place in a field complete with bars, food & tents for the best pet contest...that could have been portrayed easily, James, running around, Tristan in the bar, Mrs Hall serving food then competing in rifle contests, finally Siegfried lurking around trying trip up James.

Edited February 9, 2021 by Bunnyette

[Blergh]

3 hours ago, QQQQ said:

With the mention of Siegfried being a widower, I'm wondering how old he's supposed to be and if they're going to incorporate his 2nd marriage into the show. He would have been remarried by his early 30s. Something's not adding up with the new version's timeline.

Not to mention since Evelyn (which BTW was the actual given name of the 1st Mrs. Donald Sinclair)  was said to have died four years earlier, how long had they been married previous to her demise- and how old was Siegfried at the time of their marriage?  Also, I wonder if the issue of why they had no offspring will be addressed. Back then, unless there was a great physical distance between a married couple and/or one or both members were known to be too old/ have a physical malady preventing fertility, pregnancies and babies were considered a virtual matter of course for newlyweds.  

Of course, RL Siegfried had been married to the tragic Evelyn  (who died at age 24  from bovine brucellosis after drinking contaminated milk) for five years but DID have two children by his second wife named . ..Audrey . Yes, she had the same given name as this series'  Mrs. Hall. 

[magdalene]

2 hours ago, Blergh said:

Yes, she had the same given name as this series'  Mrs. Hall. 

I may be crazy but I am starting to wonder whether this means anything.  They cast a very attractive and younger actress to play Mrs. Hall  and give her character  the same first name as real life Siegfried's second wife?

I guess somebody will educate me and tell me that widowed professional men never married their housekeepers/cooks.

Edited February 9, 2021 by magdalene

[AZChristian]

I love that you folks have put together these clues!  Can't wait to see what happens.

[Blergh]

9 hours ago, magdalene said:

I may be crazy but I am starting to wonder whether this means anything.  They cast a very attractive and younger actress to play Mrs. Hall  and give her character  the same first name as real life Siegfried's second wife?

I guess somebody will educate me and tell me that widowed professional men never married their housekeepers/cooks.

It happened but usually the men were notably older than their onetime housekeepers/cooks- but Siegfried appears to be the same age as Mrs. Hall here . At this point,  it seems that others are trying to nudge him in Dorothy's direction  but maybe we'll see signs of something about to happen  between these Skeldale House residents in this season's finale next week. 

Edited February 9, 2021 by Blergh

[JudyObscure]

9 hours ago, magdalene said:

I may be crazy but I am starting to wonder whether this means anything.  They cast a very attractive and younger actress to play Mrs. Hall  and give her character  the same first name as real life Siegfried's second wife?

I guess somebody will educate me and tell me that widowed professional men never married their housekeepers/cooks.

LOL If they didn't English Lit would have been a very short course. Of course, that's mainly  aristocrats marrying governesses and companions. It's also always men marrying down, when women try it they're big ol' sluts like Lady Chatterley.  Most of my "education" about the period comes from novels and that's probably about as accurate as if  someone was trying to learn about the 1980's by reading Danielle Steele and Barbara Taylor Bradford, you know, when we all dressed in designer clothes, owned our own fabulous boutiques, and had to beat off all the  handsome, wealthy, powerful men.

[tennisgurl]

23 minutes ago, JudyObscure said:

LOL If they didn't English Lit would have been a very short course. Of course, that's mainly  aristocrats marrying governesses and companions.

I just assume that, based on classic English literature, the majority of marriages back in the day started off by the wife originally being the sweet but spunky governess with a tragic past who is brought in after the tragic death or "death" of the first wife who will win over the frozen heart of the wealthy but mysterious man of the house. 

Edited February 9, 2021 by tennisgurl

[dargosmydaddy]

I could definitely see Siegfried/ Mrs. Hall as end game, but I think it will be a slow burn. The series seems popular and will likely last awhile (at any rate, we at least get a second season), so I doubt anything will really happen between them this season.