‘ANDANTE’
Please feel free to comment on my review.
I have to admit this. The new ‘All Creatures Great and Small’ series was starting to grow on me at the time I saw Series 1’s third episode in 2020. I can’t say that it’s superior than the original 1978-1990 series.
But I was getting into the new show’s tone and atmosphere. I was also getting to like the new actors who were playing the characters of ‘All Creatures’ from watching the new TV show’s third episode. 🙂
I was also hearing that viewers of the new TV show were claiming that the Channel 5 remake is as good as the BBC original. That’s a positive sign. And for most part, I do agree with that statement. 😀
So far, the new ‘All Creatures’ show doesn’t have anything derogatory in it and it does keep to what the spirit and the tone was in the original show. I assume that’s the same for what was in the books.
In the third episode called ‘Andante’, Samuel West as Siegfried hopes to become the new attending vet at the local Darrowby racecourse. It’s interesting how Siegfried approaches to have that position.
Sadly, Nicholas Ralph as James Herriot has to put down a racing horse that is going through a lot of pain. The horse that is called Andante belongs to Helen’s boyfriend, Matthew Lewis as Hugh Hulton.
In the original ‘All Creatures’ series, the issue of James putting down his first horse after he went through pain was addressed briefly at the close of the first episode and at the start of the second. 😐
Here in the third episode of the new ‘All Creatures’ series, the issue is given a central focus. I feel it works really well in providing the emotional impact of James having to put down his very first horse.
Nicholas Ralph’s performance as James is very good, as he reflects on the decision he made about whether he was right to shoot the poor animal or not. Something that wasn’t done in the original show! 🙂
James gets a lot of slack from people who call him a ‘horse killer’, which is pretty harsh considering he defends his actions to spare the animal. Then again, horseracing must be an obsession in Yorkshire.
An example of James being criticised is when he meets Susan Jameson as Lillian Calvert. She’s a farmer and one of her cows has been out in the sun a lot. This was also in the original TV show’s first episode. 😀
At first, Lillian Calvert seems impressed by James as Siegfried’s new assistant. But after James puts down Andante, she’s a bit of a jerk and calls him ‘horse killer’ when he attends to a cow that’s eating lead.
I like how Tristan stuck up for James when he had to attend to Lillian Calvert’s cow. James would have to put up with a lot of criticism from people, even when his judgement of Andante was correct.
I also like how Samuel West as Siegfried supports James in the episode. In the previous two episodes, I was struggling to connect with Samuel West and how he portrayed Siegfried’s character.
But here in this third episode of the series, he was growing on me. Not as a convincing Robert Hardy, but he certainly provides an intriguing interpretation of the Siegfried character in the new TV show.
Siegfried defends James’ actions to people like Hugh Hulton, believing him to be a competent vet. It was a relief when Siegfried told James that what he did was the correct course of action for Andante.
He also stands by James by declining to be the racecourse’s attending vet by Nigel Havers as General Ransom, the local racecourse’s manager, after he receives harsh bigoted opinions about James at the end. 🙂
I also like how Siegfried’s ‘inconsistency’ comes into play for the comedic effect in this episode. At the episode’s end, Siegfried tells Callum Woodhouse as Tristan to not put his feet up on the table. 😀
Moments later, he puts his feet up on the table once Tristan has gone. That got me laughing, which is a good thing! I like how the humour of the series is coming into play, much like how the original series did things.
There’s another moment in the episode that had me laughing. Early on in the episode, James was having trouble driving over a bridge with Hugh Hulton getting in the way. Very funny how they did it!
There’s a misunderstanding between James and Hugh on who should back up first and they bump into each other again. I’m pleased the comedy and the drama balance out well enough in the new TV series.
Callum Woodhouse as Tristan is also growing on me. I know I said in my previous review that Callum’s Tristan might be a little naughtier than Peter Davison’s Tristan, although I’m not sure if that’s the case.
Don’t get me wrong. He’s still enjoyable as Tristan. For one thing, he tries to redeem himself with getting money off from clients. This is so he can please Siegfried in topping up on the ‘petty cash’ tin.
But he did blunder it by spending most of the collected cash for all the people in the Drovers’ Arms. I’m glad he got his ‘winnings’ from a ‘horse bet’ in order to prevent Siegfried knowing he had spent it.
Tristan also seems to form a new relationship with a pretty barmaid at the Drovers’ – Mollie Winnard as Maggie. I did wonder if Maggie would be the first of many love interests for Tristan here.
I hoped that more could be developed in James’ relationship with Rachel Shenton as Helen. She’s currently being attended to by Hugh Hulton in the series. Not sure that all is plain sailing between them.
It’s clear that Helen likes James, even when he attempted to ask her out on a date in the previous episode. Tristan can see how James likes Helen and he’s so willing to support him in his endeavours.
I quite like the friendship that Helen has with Anna Madeley as Mrs. Hall in the series. The two connect with each other when they’re concerned about Helen’s younger sister – Imogen Clawson as Jenny. 🙂
Helen dotes on Jenny like a mother in the series. It’s interesting how Helen’s mother happens to be dead in the new TV series compared to the original series where Helen’s mother was clearly alive and well.
Overall, ‘Andante’ has been a worthwhile episode to watch in the new ‘All Creatures Great and Small’ TV series. At this point, I was hoping that things would become better in the next set of episodes.
I was getting to appreciate the new versions of the ‘All Creatures’ characters I knew from watching the original series. The tone of the new TV series also seemed to be good thus far as I was watching it.
When I watched the third episode on TV back in 2020, a tribute was given to Diana Rigg who played Mrs. Pumphrey in the new TV series. She passed away two days after the second episode was shown on TV.
I was a shock to hear the news. I liked the tribute given at the end of the third episode. She’s greatly missed. I wasn’t sure whether Mrs. Pumphrey would return for a second series with a new actress. 😐
I’m disappointed that the tribute given to Diana Rigg at the end of the third and fourth episodes isn’t included in the DVD release of Series 1. It should have been included to commemorate Diana Rigg. 🙁
When my parents and I first saw the third episode of the new ‘All Creatures’ show, we watched it in Bath when we had a little holiday in September 2020. I’m pleased we saw it when holidaying in Bath. 🙂
‘Andante’ rating – 8/10
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