All Creatures Great And Small (2021) - General Discussion

[magdalene]

Anna Madeley about her character, Mrs.Hall

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/specialfeatures/all-creatures-great-and-small-anna-madeley-interview/

I think she's gorgeous and very smart.  There are also nice interviews with the other cast.

[cinsays]

19 hours ago, AZChristian said:

For those who really like to see what vets do on a daily basis, check out Dr. Pol's show.  He does not use prostheses for animal backsides that he's reaching into.

yeah, it amazes me when he puts his sometimes bare arm up the animal's backside to pull out a calf and then kind of washes it off in a bucket of water. 

[sugarbaker design]

4 minutes ago, cinsays said:

yeah, it amazes me when he puts his sometimes bare arm up the animal's backside to pull out a calf and then kind of washes it off in a bucket of water. 

Backside?

Are cows having calves differently now?

[AZChristian]

4 minutes ago, sugarbaker design said:

Backside?

Are cows having calves differently now?

I don't think so.  Like in people, the birth canal is adjacent to the anus.  Here's a picture of a guy reaching up into a cow's vagina to artificially inseminate the cow.  I'd describe where he is as the cow's backside.

[sugarbaker design]

1 minute ago, AZChristian said:

I'd describe where he is as the cow's backside.

Point noted!

 

[Blergh]

On 2/24/2021 at 10:51 AM, sugarbaker design said:

I have a feeling Tristan may have adopted a more working-class way of speaking when he was at school.

 

Which would make sense for the characters - as would the possibility that Siegfried may have acquired the upper-class accent via his own schooling long before since the Farnons had been raised in Yorkshire but IRL that's how Messrs. West and Woodhouse speak although the latter DID do an upper-class accent in the Durrells of Corfu . I imagine he was relieved that this show's PTB told him he could use his regular speaking voice for Tristan. 

Edited February 25, 2021 by Blergh

[Wonkabar5]

I may have missed it, but what about Mrs. Pumphrey?   Are they going to recast? The new AllCreatures is already behind Old in terms of timelines and amount of episodes aired.  13 vs. 7. 

There should be more Mrs. P and Tricki Woo to come, iirc. 

Edited because I cannot use spoiler function with this device. Sorry.

Edited February 25, 2021 by Wonkabar5

[peacheslatour]

1 hour ago, Wonkabar5 said:

I may have missed it, but what about Mrs. Pumphrey?   Are they going to recast? The new AllCreatures is already behind Old in terms of timelines and amount of episodes aired.  13 vs. 7. 

There should be more Mrs. P and Tricki Woo to come, iirc. 

Edited because I cannot use spoiler function with this device. Sorry.

You just type out what you want to say, highlight it and click on the thing that kind of looks like an eye with a line through it.

[Leeds]

On 2/22/2021 at 4:24 AM, dargosmydaddy said:

 

PBS is notoriously incapable of listing things in non-thirty minute intervals. The episode ran a few minutes over the hour, and therefore necessitated a whole extra half hour slot. Which is really annoying for viewers who were expecting more!

Almost as annoying as Comcast starting a programme a few minutes before the hour it's scheduled for.

[SteveR405]

On 2/22/2021 at 12:53 PM, Driad said:

James stopping the car at the crossroads to make a decision: how deeply symbolic or something. I half expected to hear Robert Johnson playing guitar. (Right time, wrong place.)

I kepi hearing Simon and Garfunkel's "Mrs Robinson".

[Leeds]

On 2/21/2021 at 7:44 PM, lucindabelle said:

 

thw whole time I was looking at the old couple and wondering if this was retro casting like Bridgetton. So glad it wasn’t. I get so confused about what I’m “really” looking at.

 

 

 

I googled "retro casting" since I've never heard the term before.  My tip, don't google it.

[JudyObscure]

Naturally I had to Google it to get the joke, so I'm just going to spoil everyone else -- it's some sort of huge porn video thing.  So really don't, just laugh at Leed's joke.

What does it mean to the rest of us?  I'm guessing it's putting actors of one race or gender in roles that were usually played by another race or gender? Like having Tyler Perry play Jane Eyre?

[peacheslatour]

58 minutes ago, JudyObscure said:

Naturally I had to Google it to get the joke, so I'm just going to spoil everyone else -- it's some sort of huge porn video thing.  So really don't, just laugh at Leed's joke.

What does it mean to the rest of us?  I'm guessing it's putting actors of one race or gender in roles that were usually played by another race or gender? Like having Tyler Perry play Jane Eyre?

It was bad enough when he played Alex Cross.

[TVForever]

6 hours ago, Wonkabar5 said:

I may have missed it, but what about Mrs. Pumphrey?   Are they going to recast? The new AllCreatures is already behind Old in terms of timelines and amount of episodes aired.  13 vs. 7. 

There should be more Mrs. P and Tricki Woo to come, iirc. 

Edited because I cannot use spoiler function with this device. Sorry.

There are so many stories from the books and original series that they can tell, that the series could go on just fine without Mrs P and Tricki Woo. Maybe the vets could mention visiting her sometimes, or she could be a person on the phone calling about Tricki Woo's latest "emergency".

Mrs P wasn't so central to the narrative that she would be missed, and frankly, recasting such an iconic actress (Diana Rigg) would be tricky anyway.

[Megan]

On 2/23/2021 at 1:51 PM, limecoke said:

The dog in the new version is a sweetie but Siegfried was known for the 5 dogs that lived at Skeldale and literally went everywhere with him. We needed more dogs!

 

I 'd bet the dog thing is probably a production casualty of animal actors kinda being a pain in the ass to deal with and there are a lot of rules (and for good reason) for animals on sets.

Edited February 26, 2021 by Megan

[magdalene]

Did  I hallucinate Tricky Woo eventually living with the Farnons anyways, or did that actually happen in the old show?

The last thing I had read a while ago was they had not decided whether to recast Mrs.Pumphrey. Since they are planning to start filming soon I would think they know by now whether or not.

They could have Mrs.Pumphrey go to a grand mansion in the sky and leave the Farnons Tricky in her will.

[Blergh]

On a trivial note: the late Robert Hardy and Samuel West DID appear in A Feast at Midnight (1995) and shared at least one key scene together! 

However, it's interesting to note that Mr. West's father Timothy played the title character as  chronologically mature adult for the bulk of the Edward VII (1975) British miniseries while the late Mr. Hardy played his character's ill-fated father  Albert, the Prince Consort but that character died before the senior Mr. West's first onscreen appearance. 

 

Still, I wonder if Mr. West has ever reflected succeeding to his 'quasi- grandfather's most iconic role. 

Edited February 27, 2021 by Blergh

[JudyObscure]

This thread has so many opportunities to play 'five degrees of separation!'

Since the experts on the original Creatures say that Robert Hardy had five dogs, I'm remembering when Robert Hardy makes his first appearance in Emma Thompson's "Sense and Sensibility."   They've  just arrived at the house he is lending them and as he opens his carriage door a whole bunch of dogs spill out in front of him and run up the hill. A little in joke  perhaps?

[John Potts]

On 2/24/2021 at 5:30 PM, John Potts said:

Unless there was some urgent medical reason or you were about to head off to war, you could always wait a couple of weeks.

 

On 2/24/2021 at 11:57 PM, Leeds said:

Like a bun in the oven that was about to be burnt? 

I was thinking of "I've just been diagnosed with cancer and might drop dead any day", but "It would be really helpful if we could schedule the wedding within the next nine months" would be another reason.

Edited February 28, 2021 by John Potts

[DanaK]

I’m halfway through Episode 5 and I’m enjoying the series quite a bit. I’m very surprised that a show about vets treating animals manages to be so clean in not actually showing icky stuff (so far), even with their arms up in animal holes. I don’t think I watched the original series on PBS when it was on in the 70s; I don’t recall if I read any of the books, though I may have

[John Potts]

Finally caught up with the Christmas Special and I am in agreement that there was no way that Helen would have spent the night before her wedding sharing a room with another man. Had they got stuck at the farm, I'm sure she'd have shared the bed with the farmer's wife while the men slept in the lounge(?) - the farmer was already asleep in his chair anyway and it would allow James to keep an eye on the dog. Nor would Helen stay sitting in the pews - the vicar would probably invite her to stay in the vestry until everyone had left.

But that aside, I did like how Tristan dealt with the kid with the donkey (even if I immediately went "Don't let him eat the mistletoe!", though donkeys can digest stuff humans can't, or at least shouldn't). And I found Siegfried oddly charming with Dorothy.

Incidentally, I also saw a bit more of the original series and Siegfried explains to James that his parents were big Wagner fans, which is why they gave their sons such unusual names. I wonder if they didn't include the line in the new series because they wouldn't expect a modern audience to recognise opera titles?

[sugarbaker design]

57 minutes ago, John Potts said:

I wonder if they didn't include the line in the new series because they wouldn't expect a modern audience to recognise opera titles?

Or maybe they thought the line wasn't necessary because the writers knew most of their viewers would get the Wagner reference?  I just don't see the writers of such a lovely, charming show having such a dim view of their audience.

[magdalene]

I am assuming that the audience who watches a drama like "All Creatures" is probably at least vaguely familiar with opera.  Even if it's just because they may also watch Endeavour.

Many people also don't have access to actual live opera performances,  if they had any interest to begin with.

[Daff]

At one point during the original program, Mrs. Pumphrey addresses the issue of who would care for Tricky should anything happen to her. She calls James out for a visit and asks him to allow her to name him as Tricky’s “godparent” for just this reason. James embarrassingly agrees to ensure Tricky will get the best of care should anything happen along those lines. He wasn’t too worried, as he concluded to himself that given her feeding habits, Tricky probably wouldn’t survive her. 
It’s true, finding an appropriate replacement for either actress will be difficult and yes, they could easily avoid the issue with periodic dialogue references (and perhaps occasional, mysterious arrivals of coveted “Fortnum’s hampers”). Think of all the mature British actresses who could carry off the warm, yet humorously eccentric personality. 

[Blergh]

1 hour ago, Daff said:

At one point during the original program, Mrs. Pumphrey addresses the issue of who would care for Tricky should anything happen to her. She calls James out for a visit and asks him to allow her to name him as Tricky’s “godparent” for just this reason. James embarrassingly agrees to ensure Tricky will get the best of care should anything happen along those lines. He wasn’t too worried, as he concluded to himself that given her feeding habits, Tricky probably wouldn’t survive her. 
It’s true, finding an appropriate replacement for either actress will be difficult and yes, they could easily avoid the issue with periodic dialogue references (and perhaps occasional, mysterious arrivals of coveted “Fortnum’s hampers”). Think of all the mature British actresses who could carry off the warm, yet humorously eccentric personality. 

 

Well, it should be noted that Mr. Wight said in his books that while Tricki lived far beyond what the vets considered to be his life-expectancy ('flop bottoming to the end'), he did NOT outlive the RL counterpart for Mrs. Pumphrey who did live long enough to read the books and 'get' her character. She evidently knew exactly how much fun she'd had   being eccentric with her dog and cheerfully enjoyed reading the fictional adaptations. 

 Yes, there's no shortage of mature British actresses who could have played Mrs. Pumphrey but the problem is that the late Dame Diana was such a legend and made the most of what proved to be her final role, that IMO it henceforth would seem not only 'too tough an act' for any other performer to follow but a virtual slap in the face of what Miss Riggs had given. 

[AZChristian]

Thoroughly enjoying the opportunity to read "All Creatures Great and Small."  Yesterday, I read the account of Strawberry the cow.  The version on the episode was NOTHING like what was written in the book, other than the name of the cow and the fact that she had an abscess in her throat.  Even so, I enjoyed both the book version and the show version.

I feel the same way about comparing the actors from the first series to the actors from this new series.  They are different, but they are both A-OK with me.

[crankcase]

Season 1 of the 1978 series can be viewed free (but with ads) at dailymotion.com.

Ep 1:   https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5rtx21

The romantic climax, for those interested in such things, occurs at the end of Ep 7: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5rtx2h

It also contains James’s tea with the Aldersons, a scene which illustrates the profound circumstantial differences between the two Helens and the basis for the huge change in the romantic story arc.

The ‘78 series, along with tons of other Brit shows, can be viewed for $7/mo. (but with the usual 7-day free trial) at: https://www.britbox.com/us/

[John Potts]

On 3/4/2021 at 1:35 AM, crankcase said:

Season 1 of the 1978 series can be viewed free (but with ads) at dailymotion.com.

For those in the UK, it's currently running on BBC4. All the rebroadcast episodes are currently available on catch up at https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0318ps9

All the new series is available at https://www.my5.tv/all-creatures-great-and-small/season-1

Edited March 5, 2021 by John Potts

[freddi]

I love the 1970s series -- and was surprised at how much I like this one.  The scenery is certainly the connection between the two.

Interesting scheduling note:  In the U.K., the first six episodes ran from early September to early October -- then the Christmas episode aired almost three months later as a Christmas special, on December 22.  I had really felt that the end of the sixth episode, with the four members of the Skeldale household heading home as a team from the pub, was a concluding scene for a season, and indeed, it was.  

[dcalley]

On 2/20/2021 at 8:47 AM, Gizkok said:

No one has mentioned, at least not that I have seen, the wonderful sweaters, jerseys, cardigans, vest and other knitted things. 

I was going to disagree with you, but then I remembered I'd seen it...on a knitting blog.

On 2/22/2021 at 10:27 AM, Wonkabar5 said:

Yes,  it’s a Region 2 dvd. I have seen it on amazon. Do you have a multi region player? 

If you still have a computer with a DVD drive, the free software VLC Player can, I believe, play any region of disc.

On 2/22/2021 at 10:41 PM, Doublemint said:

I always thought if a bride jilted someone in the church, she would turn around and leave.   How could she have sat there all alone?  Did all the people and groom just walk out and leave her there, as well as her family & attendants?

I thought she only came out after everyone had gone. I assume she had her father bring Hugh to the room where she was waiting, and then it spread and everyone left. Then she was free to go sit in the pews.

This cracked me up:

Quote

Tristan: I’m sorry, I can’t do this –

Mrs. Hall: Tristan –

Tristan: No, I can’t be the only one dying to know what on earth happened…

Siegfried: There is a time and a place –

Tristan: With Suzie’s puppies?

Finally, I noticed that there are new audiobooks with Nicholas Ralph narrating. My library's Overdrive site has both the Nicholas Ralph and the Christopher Timothy versions.

Edited March 9, 2021 by dcalley

[crankcase]

1. Ok, so what on earth did happen?

2. ”What?..................What might you have told me?”

What, what might Rachel Shenton have been trying to tell us?

Edited March 9, 2021 by crankcase
edit

[krankydoodle]

I just watched the series on DVD and am wondering if scenes have been cut. In the second episode, James and Helen mention a few times how they ran into one another earlier when he was swimming but it's not shown. That seemed like a significant moment to have happened off-screen. There are a few other moments or threads throughout the series that seemed to get short shrift or left out entirely. The episodes on the disc run about 52mins but look like they're 60mins on the Channel 5 website though presumably at least some of that time is because of ads.

[sugarbaker design]

17 minutes ago, krankydoodle said:

I just watched the series on DVD and am wondering if scenes have been cut. In the second episode, James and Helen mention a few times how they ran into one another earlier when he was swimming but it's not shown. That seemed like a significant moment to have happened off-screen

But it didn't happen off-screen.  In the first or second episode James went swimming in the local watering hole and Helen happened to walk by.

[krankydoodle]

1 minute ago, sugarbaker design said:

But it didn't happen off-screen.  In the first or second episode James went swimming in the local watering hole and Helen happened to walk by.

Oh, dang, I don't know how I missed it. And this is one of the rare times when I wasn't doing something else while watching tv. Was it a blink-and-you-miss it scene? From the way they talked about it, even bringing it up in the Christmas special, I figured it must've been a decent length.

[sugarbaker design]

Just now, krankydoodle said:

Was it a blink-and-you-miss it scene? From the way they talked about it, even bringing it up in the Christmas special, I figured it must've been a decent length.

It was definitely not a blink-and-you-miss-it scene.

[crankcase]

Skinny-dipping

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-8706255/Romance-James-Herriot-Rachel-Shendons-character-heats-tonight-Creatures.html

[AZChristian]

2 minutes ago, crankcase said:

Skinny-dipping

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-8706255/Romance-James-Herriot-Rachel-Shendons-character-heats-tonight-Creatures.html

I remember saying, "Helllllloooooo, Mr. Darcy" while watching that scene on ACGAS.

[krankydoodle]

Well, I feel like a dumbass. I guess my distrust of PBS since finding out they edit Endeavour episodes got the better of me. Now I'm wondering if I missed other stuff in the show I thought might've been cut out. In James's birthday episode, he starts to cough/sneeze a lot and I thought that was building to something but I don't remember anything coming of it. And in the Christmas special, we don't see any scenes in the church apart from Helen sitting in there by herself after calling off the wedding, correct?

[chitowngirl]

In the Christmas episode, Mrs. Hall is there for Christmas service and she’s crying (or really, trying not to cry) because she hasn’t heard from her son. Siegfried comes and stands next to her and takes her hand.

In terms of the wedding, no, we didn’t see anything but Helen sitting by herself.

Edited March 10, 2021 by chitowngirl

[possibilities]

I think the episodes on my PBS station aired with a running time of around 52 minutes. They block out 60, but they have a bunch of station business before and after.

[AZChristian]

1 hour ago, possibilities said:

I think the episodes on my PBS station aired with a running time of around 52 minutes. They block out 60, but they have a bunch of station business before and after.

Like those long commercials for Viking River Cruises that no one can take.

[JudyObscure]

10 hours ago, AZChristian said:

Like those long commercials for Viking River Cruises that no one can take.

At least those Ralph Lauren commercials had an Irish Setter.

[sugarbaker design]

10 hours ago, AZChristian said:

Like those long commercials for Viking River Cruises that no one can take.

I have to admire a business that has been essentially, and hopefully temporarily, wiped out and still supports PBS.

[lucindabelle]

On 2/25/2021 at 1:54 PM, Leeds said:

I googled "retro casting" since I've never heard the term before.  My tip, don't google it.

Heck I don’t even know what I meant. In certain I meant to write alternative or color blind  casting. Where you cast the best actor for the role and don’t change the character: ie a black character can play say  Benjamin Franklin but it’s theater anyway so he’s playing a white man. It’s problematic when we’re not far back enough in time that we know.

 

retro casting must have been me thinking about retroactive alternative casting or some weird thing.

 

my example is a musical I once saw set in Hollywood in the 30s. We see Judy garland in theater school and there are black children and at a party a black couple comes in. And because of color blind casting and alternative casting I honestly don’t know if that’s because Hollywood was that progressive or whether it’s black actors playing white roles.

apologies for confusing everyone!

[seacliffsal]

I think it was only me who found the Christmas episode a bit...tedious.  Loved the Tristan as an elf working with the young boy and donkey, but was totally over the angst of 'I love her but she's marrying someone else and should I say anything?'  I am not really a fan of 'love/lust triangles' and would prefer more focus on other interactions-especially those that include the animals.  

[Wonkabar5]

Husband and I currently working our way through the second coda (Series 4-7) of OAllCreatures. 

He is now accustomed to Lynda Bellingham.  Lolol.  Just finished Series 5. There is one new associate who has a *much more tedious* personal relationship with his gf than the Hugh/Helen stuff so take some comfort. Ha-ha. 

[supposebly]

I've only recently seen seasons 4-7 and yes, THAT relationship was incredibly tedious and irritating.

I do think they should have stopped at around season 5. Things get, dare I say it, repetitive. More nice young farmers with their existence in peril due to a possible outbreak of  foot and mouth disease, a lot of old people with their pets dying.

It started to feel like, I've seen this before, haven't I. 

Regardless, I loved whenever Mr Biggins showed up. If he was even half as irritating as in the show, I eventually would have pushed him into the path of a oncoming bull in heat. Or whatever the correct Yorkshire term is. Does the new show have a Mr Biggins? Are they dealing with the farmers who don't quite accept that they need to pay the vet with the new-fangled medicines?

[AZChristian]

Currently reading "All Things Wise and Wonderful" (and enjoying it tremendously).

There's been a lot of discussion here, comparing Robert Hardy to Samuel West as Siegfried.  Just wanted to share a quote from what I read yesterday.  Herriot describes Siegfried as having a "long aristocratic face, clipped moustache and lean frame."

I loved Robert Hardy, but I think I love Samuel West just a little more, especially since the books hint that Siegfried was a bit of a lady's man.

[chitowngirl]

Mrs. Pumphrey has been re-cast for Season 2

While no one can replace Diana Rigg, I’m glad the character will continue.

[Blergh]

1 hour ago, chitowngirl said:

Mrs. Pumphrey has been re-cast for Season 2

While no one can replace Diana Rigg, I’m glad the character will continue.

 

While I liked the character a great deal, it might have worked better had  this performer had been cast as Mrs. Pumphrey's sister who inherited everything including Tricki  instead of having her play the very same character after Dame Diana's death. Yes, of course, I'm willing to give her a chance to see how she does and jells with the others but I can't say I won't be missing the late Miss Rigg. 

In the same article, it says that virtually the entire Season One cast will re-appear- including Cleo Sylvestre who played the older, biracial farmwife Annie Chapman. I wonder what her role will be- beyond possibly having to deal with the aftermath of James and Helen having slept (and ONLY slept) together under her roof the night before Helen aborted her wedding to Hugh?