Roman Sampson
One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.
Ortiz
Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.
Bob Shank
One of the most terrific things about this great (even dramatic) long-lived British television series is that it had nothing to do with animals. Aside the confluence of wonderful animal husbandry with succinct British life-styles before-and-after the war, the human content is almost immeasurable. What we've all enjoyed so much about this incredible production is the inter-arrangement, personal and day-to-day trials within a close-knit family-owned business. It continues because of 'values' we've often treasured - and still long for. It's watched because it's incredibly engaging. And it's treasured not only for its immaculate and natural filming/editing/scoring/dialog - but for the characters who made it 'real' in our lives. Don't believe me? Watch the current 're-creation' of it in 'Duck Dynasty.' ...and how BIG is that?
Eowyn1967
I was led to buy the first two DVDs from the glowing comments I read on this site and from having really enjoyed James Herriot's books which I've read and reread over the years. Well, books do not age or hardly but films (and TV films most especially) do. So I really do not recommend buying those DVDs unless one is nostalgic of static camera work, slow pace, bad special effects and mediocre acting from all but Robert Hardy, the actor portraying Siegfried (but I never pictured him that way from reading the book - I think he's described as tall, dark and elegant, and I imagined him much, much younger...). In fact neither I nor my children have been able to finish watching the 2nd DVD. I've seldom watched something so slow-paced. I suppose in any case that much of Herriot's humour comes from exaggeration and choice of words, and that's probably next to impossible to render on screen...
Peter Hayes
The life and times of Yorkshire Dales veterinary practise in the years leading up to WWII. Based on the million selling James Herriot autobiographies.James Herriot (real name Alfred White) came to Yorkshire as a young vet looking for his first job and despite being of Scottish origins made the place his own. They have even turned his old surgery (in Thirsk) in to a museum and it well worth a visit. Look it up on the internet if you are visiting the area.There are very few books well enough written that within a few pages you are dragged inside and falling in love with the characters. I was around when they still were being written and when a new one came out you could be sure I'd be first in line at the bookshop. I'd even set the alarm clock an hour early so I could find more time for them.(I doubt I'll ever be as excited as that over a book again!) The fact that the main man carried on long after becoming a millionaire author showed that he was a man of dedication and integrity. Today there is a shortage of farm vets in that part of the world. The life is no easier now than it was then.The series got together a dream cast and the male leads are fabulous and very true to the pages of the book - while the women try and make the best of their tea making, love-interest and showing-people-in roles.Many of the pets on the show were treated for free in exchange for them being used on the show. It doesn't get any more "method" than having your hand up the backside of a cow for real! In one episode a foreign female vet seems poised to get involved in the practise -- but she only seems to upset the happy home and soon leaves. Also to be noted is that pages of the book involved bad people and youngsters who turned to crime. Even a suicide. You won't find them here. Nevertheless some of the farmers are less than pleasant people -- with the vets prepared to take them on as clients despite their character and (in real life) propensity for not paying their bills. The central problem with this series is that sometimes you feel you are born in the wrong age. Oh for the time when country cottages were within the budget of a working man and everyone had time to stop and chat over tea. Yes, it is a bit misty eyed and cute (although not all the animals are), but there are plenty of morals and lessons-in-life too.
cooper-11
The original series of 41 episodes was a beautifully accurate version of the Herriott books. Superb acting is expected in a British production, and this is no exception, as the actors do an amazing job of capturing the essence of the even the minor characters. The vets, Christopher Timothy, Robert Hardy and Peter Davison are especially true, as is Carol Drinkwater (most superior to her replacement as Helen). The series also captures the essence of the Yorkshire Dales: the lovely green hillsides, wide vistas and individualistic spirit. Visiting that area is like stepping into the Herriott stories, as we discovered in 1982 and many subsequent visits. And having a pint with the cast between shooting on location showed us how authentic the series is. Many people don't realize that these are not `warm, fuzzy' animal stories. Each episode has a moral point to make and makes it subtly, through action not speeches. The series is also inspirational, for it is, implicitly, the story of the birth of scientific veterinary medicine.
