I am liking it better and better. It’s not as silly as the original. For example, I remember the original’s version of James taking Helen out to dinner at the Renniston. The original went on and on about the car being stuck in the mud and James getting his shoes all muddy. This version (aired Sunday) focused a lot less on the mud and more on the characters, which I like.
The new version with the advances in film shows the Yorkshire countryside off gorgeously. The country driving scenes alone are worth the watch.
I have to admit it’s growing on me. The first season grated on me a bit because the stories don’t follow the books that closely while the old series did. However the writing is good as are the actors in the new show. I also enjoy the scenery shots although it does seem like they are reusing clips a bit too much; I think I see the same shot of the car rounding a hill in a gentle turn a few times each episode. What a bit unfortunate is there aren’t that many episodes per season. A typical US show will have 20+ episodes or more than 10 hours per calendar year, but this show only has 7 hours per year.
Like others have said, it’s been so long since I read the books or saw the first television series, that I couldn’t say if it was faithful to the original. Still, I enjoyed it and was happy to see the second series, but the romantic story line was just too dragged out, and I would have preferred to see more animals being treated and more Yorkshire folk being eccentric. God’s country there, so beautiful to watch.
I couldn’t understand why they did a remake, since the original television adaptation was so good, but this one is lovely, also. I’m really enjoying it, too.
We are still catching up, and enjoying it very much. Read the books when they were new and saw the original series but, like many of you, can’t remember a lot of details.
It makes a nice antidote to the news cycle.
Driving around the Yorkshire Dales three years ago, I couldn’t get the old ACGS theme song out of my head! But the new theme song is really nice also. We ate dinner at the “Drover’s Arms”. The pub the old series had used for shooting. They still had photos of the cast up some forty? years after the series aired.
I love the scenery, Yorkshire is so beautiful! I watched the older series when it was on back in the day and I enjoyed it. H and I re-watched the older series a few years ago, and it was good, but seemed very dated. The picture quality was not very good.
I do love the new series, its so tame and easy to watch. A great contrast to a lot of what is on tv these days.
We have Britbox for the time being–we signed up for 99 cents per month for 2 months—and the original series from the 70s is available. We intend to watch, compare and contrast before our trial period is up (although there are so many shows that look good, even at $5.99/month!)
I’d read the books when they came out and enjoyed the original series when it was originally on so I was excited to see the new version last winter. Since there were only 7 episodes, I went back and watched the old series again over the summer. Let’s just say that I don’t believe it has aged well.
I actually found James 1.0 (as well as the actor who played him) quite unlikeable and frequently downright nasty. Even though he’s supposed to be from Scotland he doesn’t make the slightest attempt at a Scottish accent. When he encounters Helen at a local dance he is drunk and disgusting. Current Helen would have had nothing to do with him, but Helen 1.0 marries him anyway. I found original Helen to be a total doormat who had no actual personality or backstory of here own. I’m actually amazed that the original series was so successful and that I remembered it so fondly.
I think the new version is a 1000% better and a much needed lovely escape on Sunday nights. The scenery alone is almost unbearably beautiful. I’m so glad the series was remade and hope it lasts at least as many seasons as the first version.
With season 3 recently ending I thought I’d resurrect the thread to see what people think of the show. For me, I think the photography is amazing and the actors play their parts well. However I’m less enchanted with the actual story line of the show. The Herriot books depicted a wide range of farmers, villagers, and animals in stories covering the gamut from amusing to happy and sad. His books were a real joy to read. The series seems to start with the premise of a rural vet practice but then focuses on invented stories amongst the cast and leaves the treasury of the Herriot stories behind.
I hadn’t thought about deviation from the books, but that interview does explain it well. I don’t mind them going into other things not in the books. We personally have enjoyed every episode and LOVED the season finale. DH gets a kick out of Tristan.
DD’17 hadn’t taken the time to watch more than the 1st episode this season, thinking they would always be available online. Last week when she sat down to treat herself to Episode 2 and discovered it was no longer free online, she had real tears. I found a free 7 day trial of Masterpiece through Amazon Prime that she will probably try when she feels she can binge the rest.
We have loved it. It’s something to look forward to on Sunday nights, when we are usually just thinking about Monday am work. I loved all the books but don’t mind the deviation from them. We enjoy all the characters and most of the storylines. Has it been renewed? I wish there were more episodes each season and that it didn’t take so long for a new season to drop.
Just got a chance to watch the Christmas episode/finale this evening. I loved last year’s Christmas episode when they all went to Mrs. Pumphrey’s home for Christmas so much, but I loved this one as well. I cried a bit when Siegfried and Tristan had their kitchen table talk. The actor who plays Siegfried was especially good in this episode. I always love Mrs. Hall and liked how her story wrapped up by the front door.
