All Creatures Great & Small - Series 1 - Volume 1 [1978] [DVD]

Wonderful to see this excellent first series of James Herriot stories that come straight off of the pages of those superb books. The main casting is absolutely perfect and the rich array of brilliant character actors in supporting rolls will probably never be surpassed. They went on to record 90 episodes in total. Fantastic.

Based on the books of James Herriot, this is series one of the classic TV adaption. The series tells the story of newly qualified Scottish vet Herriot (Christopher Timothy) travelling to Yorkshire, to secure a job of assistant vet to Seigfried Farnhan (Robert Hardy) This first series tells how James gets the job, his first tentative steps in the practice, his courtship, and subsequent marriage to local girl Helen Alderton (Carol Drinkwater) and his first meeting with the youthful and philandering Brother of Siegfried, Tristan (Peter Davison)Also in series one, this disc set being the first of two parts, Sigfrieds exasperation over his Brothers failiure to qualify, his hilarious attempts to organise the practise by employing a secretary, the dragon like Winnifrid Harbottle!The story of the vets unfolds against the impending world war two, often bringing into play nostalgic elements, like listening to Lamplight the wireless in the sitting room, cosy fireside chats, and mealtime cnversations, making the audience often appreciate the joy of home cooking, and the companionship of good friends and family.James dedication to his work is at times, in the opinion of his partners, bordering on the obsessive... Also shining through is his innate caring attitude towards the community he has grown to love. But it is the towering performence of Robert Hardy as Siegfried, and his psychological battles with his Brother Tristan, which went a long way to making this series the gem that is is.

Perfect condition arrived on timeDelighted with purchase

I've enjoyed reading the James Herriot Books, so to know that there was dvd's based on the story was great!!You know how some films that are made based on books, you watch and you have not a clue how they came to base it on that particular book as its not true to it? Well these Dvd's are different, because they are very true to the books, i'm happy to see that!In this first series, James comes to the town of Darrowby as a fresh Vet from COllage. It takes time for him to get used to the unusal ways of the farmers, the cases he has to work on are shown in the film, also the scraps of Trickiewoo! and he even finds something quite special in a miss Alderson. Christopher Timothy and Robert Hardy are well suited for the parts of James and Siegfried. Its an enjoyable film, suitable to watch with the family too!

All the television series in different packages, if there is a box set available I'd go for that as it could save you some money, not to mention the time to locate them all.My daughter wanted to become a vet and was interested by the TV programmes so I bought her these.Obviously I had to buy her the rest of the set/s and series.Only 4 stars as I couldn't find all of them on one site.

I have just purchased the complete collection of 89 episodes (new) of All Creatures on DVD from Amazon for around £23! My Sony Bravia TV is renowned for the quality of non-HD pictures, but even so, the picture quality of this first series DVD set is dreadful compared to that of the complete box set of all episodes. This means that this series 1 set is extremely bad value for money so not recommended. Try to find the complete collection on Amazon as it is of far better quality.

I enjoyed watching an old favourite again and, as a big James Herriot fan, I would highly recommend this to others who have read the James Herriot books.and enjoyed them as much as I did. The books give an insight into the world of a 1930's vet in rural Yorkshire - a world long gone. The stories are filled with gentle humour which is reflected in the television series. I particularly enjoyed the performance of Robert Hardy as the likeable, sometimes bombastic, dedicated boss and employer of James Herriot. I look forward to purchasing and watching other DVDs in this series.

You get 3 DVD's covering the first 6 episodes. You either know All Creatures which means I don't need to tell you all about it........or you were too young to catch it on TV the first time which means you need to watch it. Robert Hardy at his best......just so funny!! Plus of course the other well known actors that make this a brilliant nostalgic look at the life of a rural vet!