Included in the DVD release for the third season of “All
Creatures Great and Small” is a commentary track for the episode “Pig in the
Middle.” The title of the episode is
drawn not from an actual pig, but from a situation James finds himself in,
where Siegfried and Tristan Farnon ask him to arbitrate over the matter of
which brother will get to take a particular night off. Both have good reasons why they should not
have to remain home that evening in case a veterinarian’s skills are needed,
and both are James’ close friends. As he
doesn’t wish to favor one over the other, James decides that neither should
benefit, and both should cancel their plans and remain at home that evening. Needless to say, neither Siegfried or Tristan
is satisfied with his ruling.
Providing commentary was Michael Hayes, the
director of the episode, Carol Drinkwater, who played James’ wife Helen, and
Robert Hardy, who portrayed James’ senior partner Siegfried Farnon. I found their commentary informative and
delightful, and thought I would share some snippets with you.
When producer Bill Sellars approached Robert Hardy about the part, he
sent him the first two books Alf Wight had written under the name James
Herriot. These were American editions,
as the Herriot books first gained popularity there. Hardy read the first, All Creatures Great and
Small, which was a compilation of two shorter books originally published in England. While Hardy found the stories “enchanting,” he
called Sellars and said, “I don’t know how you’ll make a TV show out of this.
You’ll bore the cities and enrage the country.”
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| Farms in Darbyshire |
Nor was Hardy particularly wowed by Sellars’ initial
decision to film the series in Darbyshire, another portion of England from
James Herriot’s beloved Yorkshire. While
Darbyshire was closer to London, would have simplified production, and saved
costs, Hardy saw the landscape as completely different, and the idea
disrespectful to the author and his stories.
He told Sellars that either the TV series would be shot in Yorkshire, or
he would have nothing to do with it.
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| Darbyshire Cow: "C'mon Hardy, be reasonable!" |
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| Yorkshire cows outside Askrigg: "Stick by your convictions, Robert!" |
The locals had mixed feelings about the production. Many people enjoyed it, and one town even demanded that their rector change the time of the Sunday morning services so they could get home in time to watch the program. Carol Drinkwater remembered that the couple
who owned the house in Askrigg that doubled for Skeldale House
later sold it for far above its market value.
And, as people began to visit remote locals such as Askrigg which the
production used for James Herriot’s fictional Darrowby, many of the houses
located at the center of such villages were converted into shops, restaurants, and vacation
cottages. During the fourth through
seventh seasons, which were filmed several years after the third, Robert Hardy
fainted on a particularly hot summer day.
The doctor who attended him said that, while he didn’t particularly mind
being called out, he wasn’t happy about doing so for them, as they had made his
beloved region into a tourist attraction.
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| Skeldale House in Askrigg: A tourist attraction? Never! |
The weather changed dramatically during our visit to Yorkshire, from cold, rainy days to hot and sunny weather. Thankfully, I never fainted.
Dragon Dave
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