All Creatures Great and Small: The Complete Series 5 Collection

There never was much tumult in this beloved BBC series about veterinarians in Britain's rural Yorkshire Dales, but the 12 episodes of the 1988 season shook things up a bit and revitalized the show. Based on the bestselling memoirs of James Herriot, the series was originally set in the 1930s, but the fifth season takes place in the post-World War II years, when advances in technology and communication are beginning to make the world a smaller place--although residents of the Dales are slow to embrace modernity. Herriot (Christopher Timothy) and his mercurial partner Siegfried Farnon (Robert Hardy) realize that change is inevitable even if they can't predict when or how it will affect them. In terms of narrative, one of the biggest changes is the return of junior partner Tristan Farnon (Peter Davison), largely absent from the previous season due to his stint with the Ministry of Agriculture; his reappearance signals a slight diminution of the role of Calum Buchanan (John McGlynn), brought into the practice to compensate for Tristan's departure. The inevitability of change is also manifested in what is perhaps the season's best episode, “A New Chapter,” during which James suffers the loss of his beloved dog just as he and wife Helen (Lynda Bellingham) are preparing to move into a new house. Other notable installments here include the season opener, “Against the Odds,” which finds the Dales covered with several feet of snow and Herriot forced to make his rounds on skis, and “The Salt of the Earth,” in which he is asked to treat a dog that faints to get attention. Warm, gentle, humorous, and occasionally poignant, All Creatures Great and Small remains one of the most fondly remembered shows ever to cross the Atlantic, and this latest DVD box will delight new viewers as well as old fans. DVD extras include “Who's Who in the Cast” text biographies. Recommended. (E. Hulse)