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The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, January 8, 2021 4 By Rachel Jones TV Media H ot on the heels of hits such as "Downton Ab- bey" and "Grantches- ter," PBS has done it again! There's a new bingeable British drama ready to warm your heart — "All Creatures Great and Small" is coming to the network on Sunday, Jan. 10, and is slated to follow the ad- ventures and misadventures of a well-meaning veterinarian's assistant in Northern England during the 1930s. The show is based on a se- ries of semi-autobiographical books by James Alfred Wight (who wrote under the pen name James Herriot), which delved into his own life as a country veterinarian in York- shire during the '30s and '40s. In a fairly unusual move, the lead role, James Herriot, named so for the author him- self, will be played by newcom- er Nicholas Ralph. Despite not having any previous on-screen credentials, it appears from the trailers that Ralph, who gradu- ated from the highly respected Royal Conservatoire of Scot- land (formerly the Royal Scot- tish Academy of Music and Drama), is the perfect fit. As the story goes, Herriot is reluctant- ly taken on by the quirky Dr. Siegfried Farnon (Samuel West, "Mr Selfridge") to help with a rural veterinary practice's day- to-day responsibilities and gain some valuable new expe- rience. Rounding out the cast of main characters is Mrs. Hall (Anna Madeley, "The Royal"), the resident housekeeper of Skeldale House, and the lovely and likable — albeit moder- ately less integral — Helen Al- derson (Rachel Shenton, "Hol- lyoaks"). But on a sadder note with regard to character news, the current remake is one of the last shows to feature ac- tress Diana Rigg ("The Aveng- ers"), who played the eccentric Mrs. Pumphrey in just two epi- sodes before her death this past September. All the action takes place in the breathtaking English coun- tryside, which has become a character in its own right, but it looks like Herriot will be falling in love with more than just the pleasant farmland and attrac- tive waterfalls in this series re- make. It's pretty clear from the trailer that Helen has captured his attention, though her cur- rent boyfriend, Hugh Hulton (Matthew Lewis, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2," 2011), might have some- thing to say about that. In a bit of exciting news for PBS, this year marks the 50th anniversary of Masterpiece, the renowned series responsi- ble for the new show. As Mas- terpiece fans continue to tune in as they have done for half a century now, "All Creatures Great and Small" is sure to draw many new viewers to the program as well, each of them eager to dive into the lives of its newest show's unique char- acters. Others tuning in to Masterpiece for the reboot may have fond memories of the original British television series, but rest assured that while the storyline remains more or less the same as its predecessor, no one should ex- pect to see an exact replica of it. "It's a completely new ad- aptation," Ralph said in a re- cent interview with The Irish News. "The storyline will not be the exact same." And al- though many longtime fans loved how the earlier version played out, the writers of the reboot decided to branch out in a new direction and gener- ate some new anticipation and excitement. That being said, fans of the original series or the books will find no reason to stress as the producers have taken a great deal of care to handle the new material with the same empathy and sensi- tivity as always. The original series, which ran sporadically between 1978 and 1990, featured Christo- pher Timothy ("EastEnders") as Herriot, Robert Hardy ("Har- ry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," 2005) as Siegfried Far- non, Mary Hignett ("Doom- watch," 1970) as Mrs. Hall, and Carol Drinkwater ("A Clock- work Orange," 1971) as Helen Alderson. Also based on the same series of books, the later episodes — from the late '80s into 1990 — picked up where the initial story left off, expand- ing upon the already exhaust- ed source material that Wight's books had to offer. With Wight's permission, the show's producers were able to create their own material, thus giving birth to a second series. All in all, 90 episodes of the series aired, going on to become very popular with many countries outside the U.K. as well, includ- ing the United States. One of the reasons that the original show was so popular both in the U.K. and, later, in North America is because of its strong emphasis on communi- ty. The slower pace of life in the '30s and '40s, paired with era's deep sense of community, re- minded viewers of a simpler time; one when banding to- gether was preferable to push- ing each other apart. And for what it's worth, the critics liked it, too. The original show garnered several awards, including a Peabody Award in 1981, sever- al British Academy of Film and Television Arts awards and nominations in the categories of Best Drama Series in 1979 and Best Actor for Robert Har- dy in 1980. The new series of "All Crea- tures Great and Small" has al- ready aired in the United King- dom and has been received positively by both viewers and critics — it has even been re- newed for a second season! If you're thinking that (as the British say) the show is not your "cup of tea" — think again and give this sweet show a chance to show you that it's made from good stock. Watch your favorite charac- ters come to life as "All Crea- tures Great and Small" pre- mieres Sunday, Jan. 10, on Masterpiece on PBS. coverstory Rachel Shenton as seen in "All Creatures Great and Small" Lending a farm hand: Reboot of 'All Creatures Great and Small' airs on PBS By Adam Thomlison TV Media Q: Gwyneth Paltrow did an amazing job during her stint on "Glee." Has she ever been on Broadway? A: Just once, and it didn't require her to actually be on stage. Gwyneth Paltrow served as a producer for the musical "Head Over Heels," a mashup of the music of legendary '80s pop group The Go-Go's, and a story taken from a 16th- century English poem. The combo worked better than it might sound, but not well enough. The show ran just 188 regular performances back in 2018, which, in Broadway circles, makes it a flop. (In the breathless language the New York Post uses for Broad- way news, this show was "a disaster.") We can hope that this experience didn't totally sour Broadway for Paltrow because, as you point out, she does have a pretty good set of pipes. She did that five-episode run on "Glee," the musical nerd's musical show, but she's still primarily a film star, and that's where she's done most of her singing, too. She sang a number of songs in her hit 2010 film "Coun- try Strong," which led to her performing the film's title song on all the awards shows that year (well, not "all" of them, but she did perform at the Oscars, Golden Globes and CMAs). And "Country Strong" wasn't her first musical film. She also starred in 2000's "Duets," a karaoke film that came at the height of the karaoke craze. It also yielded a pop hit in the form of "Cruisin'," a duet with co-star Huey Lewis. You might hope for another run at Broadway, but most of Paltrow's time these days is taken up with her wellness brand/marketing empire, Goop. Q: Is Sylvester Stallone done with the Rocky char- acter? A: It's starting to look like Sylvester Stallone will never be done with his most famous creation. There have been a number of large time gaps between films in the series, but Stallone seems to be pretty devoted to him. After reviving the ex-prize fighter as a trainer for the two Creed movies in 2015 and 2018, Stallone is now hatch- ing ideas for another spinoff. The new film would see Rocky agree to train another an- gry young fighter — this one an immigrant who is stuck in the U.S. with no prospects (suggesting a return of the politi- cal Rocky who won the Cold War in 1985's "Rocky IV"). However, I should stress here that this is just an idea lodged in Stallone's head at this point, and there's reason to believe that head is still a bit indecisive — after the re- lease of "Creed II," Stallone said emphatically that he was done with Rocky. But now, along with the possibility of a new movie, there are also plans in the works for a third Creed movie. The whole arc of Rocky news is playing out like one of his movies: just when he's on the ropes taking hits and you think he's going down, he suddenly lands a huge shot and he's back in the fight. The lesson we've learned after 45 years is to never count Rocky out. Have a question? Email us at questions@tvtabloid.com. Please include your name and town. Personal replies will not be provided. hollywoodQ&A

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