All Creatures Great & Small back on Thursday.

[olderandnonthewiser]

I love this series, one of my all time favourites and a new series starts on Thursday. Lovely feel good tv, and a real sign of Autumn when a new one lands.

Anyone else?

Edward was injured in the war and Mrs H went to be with him and his family and to look after him.
I'm pretty sure Edward's child's mother was living with them but just didn't feature in the episode.
Siegfried just went to pot because he missed Mrs H

They made plain from the start, in interviews etc, that this was a not a remake of the previous series or a pure adaptation of the books. It's mostly the books and some 'real life' bits, plus new themes.

Part of it is having Mrs Hall as a servant with no stories or inner life etc isn't really in keeping with modern storytelling, nor having such passive female characters.

The real family of Alf were more involved in casting etc this time and were much happier. They were reportedly very unhappy with a lot of the original, especially Christopher Timothy.

From.thw very beginning they've had a strong and warm relationship between Siegfried and Audrey, they've held hands a few times and clearly care very much about each other.

He also believed in her when she was at her lowest, having been sacked because of Edward's theft .

I think without her to keep him on an even keel, worrying about Tris and then having two small children (Jim and Rosie) Siegfried just went to pot over the 3 1/2 years.

Helen and the children moved to her Dad's, Jim goes back and forth between Skeldale when on call and the farm tg rest of the time.

My guesses are - fans are resistant to new characters in relationships with existing ones; it's not a biography of Donald; and Anna Madeley is lovely and has great chemistry with Sam West.

DON'T READ TW ( Suicide )

Ok , I hope the above stops those that might find the following upsetting.
I've just read about the real life character that has been portrayed as Sigfried.

Apparently , and sadly , he committed suicide two weeks after the death of his wife .
Alf Wright ( Herriott ) had already died some years before , and Tristran ( apologies I don't know his real name ) had already passed and the death of his wife must have pushed him over the edge . So sad .

Yes, I read what you have posted, @AutumnWreath . He seems to have been a somewhat mercurial character throughout his life and prone to despondency.
I like the Sam West character, though, as a dramatic creation.

That is sad to hear.

I agree, Sam West is great.

Did anyone see the programme on BBC4 last night with Christopher Timothy and Peter Davison talking about ACGAS? I missed the start. It was just before they showed episode 7 of whichever series it is they're on now.

That's interesting re the family not being happy with the casting of CT @PastaAllaNorma . I don't think very warmly of his James.

No, the family were very unhappy with his casting. They wanted him to be Scottish - and young! Also, the real JH was a meticulous person, including about his appearance and they just felt CT wasn't appropriate casting.
They like Nicholas Ralph, his daughter says he sounds like her Dad, and they have helped with this production.

I think Nicholas Ralph has been delightful, especially in the early series when Jim was so nervous and unsure. Just lovely.

He's recorded a couple of the audio books. They made for a great distraction during a much delayed flight.

That's a great recommendation, thanks!

Oh wow! I love this programme. Complete cosiness in televisual form.

I hoped they’d released the whole series, and I could have a binge!
I think part of the reason I enjoy it so much is that it brings back cosy memories of my whole family watching the original All Creatures together on Sunday evenings back in the 80s.

@JoeTheDrummer
What a lovely memory.

I'm the reverse - enjoy settling in each week to watch the episode together, talk about it during the week with my friend who also wat he's, and look forward to the next.

I think it's a slow and gentle pleasure that I enjoy being released one at a time to ease me from summer towards winter.

@PastaAllaNormaWe enjoy it being weekly too, we don’t watch much now that isn’t bingeable and it’s nice to eek it out and look forward to the next episode.

I must have read the books 400 times - I know them inside out and love them dearly, and I never expected to like the series, but I do!

I actually really don’t mind the idea of a Siegfried/Mrs Hall relationship. In the books, Siegfried and James are about the same age and Mrs Hall is a very elderly woman and minor character. The changes they’ve made to both characters for the purpose of the tv show really work, so I’m happy to see them change more and carry it forward.

What does sadden me a bit is that some of the stupid scrapes and miraculous fixes and disasters that happened to James in the books have been given to Tristan for the series, which makes TV James quite a bit more bland than book James.

I really wish they’d squeezed in the Raynes ghost bit before Tristan became too mature and sensible! It’s my favourite of book Tristan’s escapades.

I think the worry was that the wild dog had caused such havoc that the sheep had been chased off their known heaf, hence lost, and having also attacked the dog the dog was unable to keep them together and heading home. They had taken trouble to explain hefting in the first scene between James and his son.

I think the ridiculous search line was looking for the injured dog.

Yes, and apparently Brian Sinclair (the real-life Tristan) actually did pull that prank. That's some dedication to practical joking, hanging around outside in the dark and cold for hours waiting for the very occasional vehicle to pass.

I'm not overly keen on the idea of Siegfried and Mrs Hall.

That said the books themselves were "based on" Alf Wight and the Sinclair brothers weren't they?

I think I read somewhere that some of the things that happened to JH had happened to other vets, not AW.

Yes, AW was writing fiction, of course, loosely based on his experiences and those of the other vets. It's a series of entertaining vignettes, and all the books are lovely.
I read that "Mrs Hall" was based on various housekeepers that they had at Skeldale House.

Apparently Donald was even more eccentric than Siegfried in real life, and Brian got into even more mischief than Tristan!

Another thing that comes across in interviews (and is more than hinted at in the books), is that apparently, Donald was extraordinarily lacking in self-awareness. Donald was said to dislike his portrayals in the books and on TV, as he saw himself very differently to the way others saw him.

Indeed! I read an interview with Rosie and she said that she and Jimmy are sent the scripts prior to shooting to sense check if it’s escapades the real characters would have got up to

Just found this thread - we had no idea that the new series had started. Can't wait.

I loved the books and the original series but this one captures the vibe very well and the casting is lovely.

Thanks to everyone sharing history and context. I've only seen this new series.

I read that Robert Hardy had met Donald Sinclair and he was more eccentric/erratic(?) in real life.