All Creatures Great & Small - The Complete Series 4 Collection

Those who've followed the Herriot story from its humble beginnings are in for a surprise! Series 4 opens with a "new" Helen, two little Herriots, no Mrs. Hall and is set some time after WWII. With Series 3 closing on such a powerful emotional note, I had hoped we would follow the fortunes of the cast through the war years and their subsequent return. After such a long period with this group, it took some adjusting to the cast changes. It didn't help that the writers recycled some earlier themes from past programs, and my copy of episode 1 had an annoying scratchy soundtrack. It left me altogether just a little frustrated.But my disappointment was brief. This series is every bit as powerful as its predecessors. James and family are in the thick of life, dealing with everything from buying a home to attending school concerts to deciding whether to leave the practice. Siegfried is his usual brilliant self, Tristan loafs..ahem, works for the Ministry of Agriculture as an Artificial Inseminator (perfect!), and we are treated to a new vet in the practice, Callum. The bagpipe-playing, haggis-eating Scot soon wins the heart of Tristan's girlfriend while his menagerie of wild pets drives Siegfried to distraction. Even Granville weighs in with an hilarious episode resulting in the typical mess.Buy this series! Yes, it looks different, and yes, there are some reprised scenes from prior programs, but for my money you'd have to go a long way to equal the acting and quality of writing seen in this entire series. So call the dogs in, gather the kids round and settle down for a tasty treat from the Yorkshire Dales. You won't be disappointed.

Be sure to watch the set of DVD Specials that precede Season Four; they take place in the long hiatus between Seasons Three & Four. Wonderful series, of course. Robert Hardy is always marvelous, whether here, or stealing scenes in "Harry Potter." As other viewers have noted, the changing of the Helens is odd at first, but you get used to it, as Lynda Bellingham does a great job. Peter Davison is pitch-perfect. The excellent John McGlynn is an enlivening addition, quite true to the "real" Herriot character.I've raised various creatures, and been knocked off a milking stool several times. These books and DVD portrayals are timeless. For your complete viewing pleasure: don't plan on going anywhere, just sit back and enjoy with a shot of aged single malt, peat-scented Islay Scotch Whisky, like "Laphroaig." The discerning Siegfried Farnon would appreciate it too. Sip along with the vets, who have a supernatural capacity to work and imbibe. Must be the fresh Yorkshire air.Warning: For Season Four ordered new DVDs, but received an opened, used, banged-up box instead. More quality control in Amazon's inventory & shipping needed. These guys usually do a wonderful job, and the other DVDs arrived ok.

I love this series. The first 3 series were some of the most entertaining TV I had ever seen. The 4th series however feels very different. James' wife is a lot more timid and seems to more willingly take a back seat to whatever James whats. James seems to be a lot more stern and less happy then in the first 3 series. He's lost some of his innocence which made him so appealing(perhaps due to the war). I was also a little disappointed that Christian isn't practicing medicine in the field. These things aside, still a great series.

This is part of the series filmed in the late 1980s, with all of the charm of the original series intact. Many characters continue in the new series, which takes place immediately after WWII and through the early 50's, though the Helen Herriot part is played by a new actress. You'll come to love her, too! All of the animals and several of the irascible farmers from the first series make regular appearances in this new series, older but no less vexing to Sigfried, who still can't get them to pay for services rendered.Mrs. Pomphrey and Wickie Woo, her pampered over-weight pekinese pooch, still rely on "Uncle James" to cure Wickie of maladies brought on by eating rich human food and not exercising. The animals still give birth, get sick, and die in ways that are portrayed very realistically or in fact, part of what made the series so engrossing for me in the first place.

My wife exposed me to Herriot's books over three decades ago and when the series debuted on TV we both watched every episode religiously. As a grizzled old dinosaur the word "charming" sticks in my throat as being just too feminine for me to use comfortably, yet, try as I might, I can't find a more appropriate word to describe this exceptional oasis in the midst of the wasteland that makes up most of what has appeared on the small and large screens in my life. While no movie or series ever seems to do justice to the books they are based upon, this production is right up there with "The Paper Chase" as coming far closer than most other such attempts.

A great series!

This is an excellent collection of 3 discs with the whole of series 4 on them. The picture quality is first class, as is the sound.In this series we see the arrival of Calum Buchanan the Scottish vet, who no doubt owes some of his attributes to the real late James Herriot, also a Scot.This series features the 'new' Helen, Lynda Bellingham, who I never quite warmed to as much as the original Carol Drinkwater, though she had a hard act to follow. It also contains one of my favourite episodes 'The Bull with the Bowler Hat' in which we see Siegfried making a fool of himself trying to collect sperm from a bull for the new technique 'Artificial Insemination' instead of leaving the expert Tristan to do the task - hilarious!All in all a fine collection and a must have for any fan.

Item as described, shipped promptly.

Think this has been covered in another review, but between series 3 and series 4 there are two christmas specials available on import from the netherlands. The 1983 special has everybody coming back together at skeldale after the war. The 1985 special Tristan is working for the ministry of agricultre, Seigfried has moved out but still works with James. I have just bought them through amazon and they work fine, you just have to turn the dutch subtitles off, picture quality is great i think it was shot on film. Two weeks ago i was staying in the area where all creatures was filmed, you may know Skeldale and Darrowby was shot in Askrigg, the prisoner of war camp from the 1985 special was shot at Grinton Lodge which is now a youth hostel, on the road to Leyburn. Quality acting, gentle storytelling, enjoy.

This series of delightful stories continues into a fourth series. They move beyond the books by introducing some new characters, but retain their humour and high standard of acting and production. The stories are not all happy and the hard side of life in the Dales is emphasised. The DVDs are well produced. Those who enjoyed series three will not be disappointed though the stories have moved on some years since the start of the Second World War in series three and are now set in the early 1950s. This DVD is highly recommended.