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In the TV world, Christmas means two things: Christmas specials and period dramas. (And, this year, I suppose it also means Christmas specials of period dramas…) Earlier this week, to fill our time while we anticipate the ridiculously over-advertised likes of Downton, Doctor Who and AbFab, we were given some period dramas to make the wait less arduous: Just Henry on ITV1, and Young James Herriot on BBC1. Neither generated particularly feverish anticipation, but that didn’t stop both being hugely enjoyable Christmas treats.
For anyone who’s read the book (written by Goodnight Mister Tom author Michelle Magorian), Just Henry may have been a bit surprising. Material was chopped so freely that the last few Harry Potter films seemed like chapter-for-chapter adaptations: the last 200 pages were completely lost; only one of the book’s several sub-plots was given much attention, with the central story of Henry learning about cinema being virtually ignored; and Mrs Beaumont’s role was both significantly changed and reduced.
Had this been a more well-known book, there might have been more anger towards the adaptation, but we need to look at this realistically. Every detail of a 700+ page book is not going to be feasibly squeezed into an hour and a half; even with all the cuts, there were times, especially the beginning, when things felt as rushed as a seasoned London Underground commuter’s dash down the escalators. But what this adaptation succeeded in doing was turning a (ahem) booky book into something that worked for television, with an intriguing build-up, a well-managed middle and a gripping finale. It wasn’t Goodnight Mister Tom, but it was a hugely entertaining drama all the same.
Of everything that’s on this Christmas, I probably had lower expectations for this three-part series than anything else. I’ve never watched All Creatures Great and Small, and from what I’ve heard it sounds like a far too sickly confection for my taste (The Vicar of Dibley sounds like a gritty, hard-hitting drama in comparison.) I was therefore surprised to find myself hankering for a second series as soon as the last episode had finished.
Initial reports had suggested that YJH was grim in tone. When comparing with the original series, this might be true, but the gloomy university setting cannot disguise the fact that this was very gentle, sweet, good-natured viewing. What made it stand out most were the characters, and the performances of their respective actors. Over the course of the three episodes, all of the central characters were well developed and very easy to care for, with Ian de Caestecker, in his second star-making turn of the year (after The Fades), as Herriot himself, being ably supported by Amy Manson, Tony Curran (aka. the ginger Scot who’s reliably good in everything, but never quite good enough for you to take note of his name) and Gary Lewis as the boo-hiss villain. All in all, ideally cosy viewing for these bitter winter nights.
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