Installment #39 in Monolisticle's Ongoing Campaign Against the "Internet of Endless Listicles."
If:
You love British nostalgia pieces like Downton Abby.
And:
You need a cooling-off period after recently watching steamy Bridgerton.
And:
You’re still having trouble completely recovering from the ubiquitous angst of 2020.
And:
You once came across an old rerun of The Andy Griffith Show and found yourself actually not completely hating it and its sweet small-town wholesomeness and thought it to be a refreshing reminder of simpler times.
Then:
You just might love All Creatures Great and Small. It’s much like The Andy Griffith Show in charm and spirit, except it’s centered around the life of a young country veterinarian, rather than a sheriff, and it takes place during the 1930s in the Yorkshire Dales of Britain, rather than Mayberry, North Carolina.
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All Creatures Great and Small is heart-warming and funny, and with all the prerequisite odd and enticing characters, played by excellent actors including newcomer Nicholas Ralph as the earnest young vet, and his charming and witty love interest played by Rachel Shenton (who won an Academy Award for writing and producing The Silent Child, which, by the way, may be the best short film I’ve ever seen. Read the article here).
The cast also includes:
The late great Dame Diana Rigg (who’s won a Tony, an Emmy, and has graced the screen in everything from the James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service to the excellent but far less wholesome Game of Thrones). In All Creatures, Dame Rigg plays a wealthy aristocrat who shamelessly spoils and over-indulges her lap dog to the point of needing veterinarian assistance. (Frankly, anything Dame Diana Rigg appears in is worth watching merely because she appears in it. I will miss her and her incredible talents in future seasons, and in the world of drama in general).
Award-winning actor Samuel West skillfully plays the young vet's demanding but actually soft-hearted boss, Siegfried Farnon. Callum Woodhouse plays Siegried's younger brother, Tristan, who is much more interested in his next drink at the pub or party than in vet medicine, but brings a mischievous likeability to the character that inclines you to forgive him no matter how much trouble he inadvertently creates. Anna Madeley plays the vet's housekeeper, who turns out to be the soul and emotional fulcrum of the group, and her expanded role from the original series is well justified.
How to watch it:
It’s currently airing on PBS, the same folks who brought us the delightful Downton Abbey.
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