All Creatures Great & Small

Peter McGinn

This show of course is a reboot of the beloved show based on the beloved books from decades ago. Sometimes remakes of good productions seem doomed to failure, but I think this one is right on the mark: still a bit hokey, but smart, thoughtful and updated. In fact, I actually like it better than the original series. Not because of the characters or the acting, for the cast from the original series was superb from top to bottom. The improvement for me is in the plotting and the writing in the new version. You expect the writers to make small changes from the original, just as the original series made changes from the books. I wouldn’t like it if I found myself watching the exact same show with different actors. The difference to me is how they made the changes. I will only use one example so as to not give anything away. The incident with Tristan collecting client payments on market day is handled differently from the original series, and it is done in a way to tie the subplot in with James’s treatment of the prize racehorse. It made the plot tighter. And other changes seem to veer away from straight comedic, almost slapstick scenes, into something more dramatic but not without humor. So I salute the production team for staying true to the soul of the books while making quality changes to keep the story fresh and entertaining. *** Just adding a note after viewing the Christmas special they showed close to the holiday. The episode pretty much confirms everything I said about the show in the above review. The changes from the original series continued with more of the new subplot with Mrs. Hall, and advancing the romance of James Herriot in the strikingly different way they had begun. But the way they handled the climax of the show was not overdramatized as some show would have done it. The Siegfried and Tristan characters are allowed more depth as well. This show isn’t played for laughs as much as the original, though there is humor, and it continues to impress me.