This 'n That Thursdays: All Creatures Great and Small on PBS

From Film Music Reporter

Have you been watching the new version of All Creatures Great and Small on PBS?  If you love shows about animals, the country lifestyle, and/or life in a small English village during the mid-20th century, then you should be!  I was a big fan of the original 1978 BBC series, which is based on the life of English country vet James Herriot, so much so that I bought and read the first and third of his five-book series (I don't know why I did not get the second, fourth, and fifth novels, so I am going to have to remedy that!).  I love the little blurbs on Amazon about Herriot's life, so I am posting them here verbatim:

"James Herriot (1916-1995) was the bestselling author of memoirs including All Creatures Great and Small, All Things Bright and Beautiful, All Things Wise and Wonderful, The Lord God Made Them All, and Every Living Thing. At age 23, Herriot qualified for veterinary practice with the Glasgow Veterinary College, and moved to the town of Thirsk in Yorkshire to work in a rural practice. He would live in, work in, and write about the region for the rest of his life. Though he dreamed for years of writing a book, his veterinary work and his family kept him busy, and he did not start writing until the age of 50. In 1979, he was awarded the title Order of the British Empire (OBE). His veterinary practice in Yorkshire, England, is now tended by his son, Jim Wight.

James Herriot (1916–1995) was the pen name of James Alfred “Alf” Wight, an English veterinarian whose tales of veterinary practice and country life have delighted generations. Many of Herriot’s works—including All Creatures Great and Small, All Things Bright and Beautiful, All Things Wise and Wonderful, The Lord God Made Them All, and Every Living Thing—became international bestsellers and have been adapted for film and television.

Herriot’s stories rely on numerous autobiographical elements taken from his life in northern England’s Yorkshire County, and they depict a simple, rustic world deeply in touch with the cycles of nature."

In case you missed this season's showing of the new series, you are in luck - the series is available for free online viewing here (with ads, unfortunately).  If you would like to view any but the most recent episodes on the PBS website, you must make at least a $60 donation, but if you donate to PBS anyway then this is as good a way as any to make your donation!  I missed the first episode, and our power went out right before the airing of Episode 6 thanks to our recent nasty winter storm, so I need to watch both episodes as soon as possible.  And even more great news - the series has been picked up for a second season!  I do love a good public television series, and in my opinion this is one of the best.  Below is the trailer for this show: