A Very Peculiar Practice [1986] [DVD]

Watching the whole thing again, but this time within the space of a week, there are two aspects that really strike me:

1. The brilliance of the lead actors -- i.e. the four doctors plus the vice-chancellor. I find it impossible to think of another actor who could have played those parts better. Peter Davison effectively replays his vet persona from the James Herriott series (rather than his Dr Who!), but it is such a winning character. He is a man to whom things happen, rather than a man who makes things move, although along the way he does stand up for what he believes in. Things always turn out OK in the end for Dr Dacre. (One suspects the writer Andrew Davies always wants the unpretentious characters to win through. In the final episode, the consultant who has all the insight and makes all the key recommendations is the clumsy wimp for whom everyone feels embarrassed.)

David Troughton (brother of Patrick Troughton, the second Dr Who) plays a fantastic Bob ... or 'Robert' to the few who respect him. He hates his job and can't stand touching patients. His mentor Jock seems to feel much the same way, always looking for a psychological explanation for the most physical of symptoms. Barbara Flynn has never surpassed her performance as Rose Marie, one of the first television bisexuals.

2. The other thing that hits me is the relevance of the university funding crisis to today. We may have thought things were tough back in the mid-80s, but the budgetary shortfalls are much worse today. John Bird vividly brings across the problems of the vice-chancellor in trying to attract funds, no matter how devious the means.

The only weakness in the cast, if there was one, was Lynn, Dr Dacre's love interest. She gets no funny lines, and it wasn't a complete surprise that, after an ambiguous end to the series which could have allowed her character to reappear, she was totally replaced in the second series.

The packaging is nothing special, and the extras ditto. It's a shame this wasn't released by the BBC -- instead it has been put out by NetworkVideo under license from the BBC. Occasionally one or two frames are missing, so the action slows down unaccountably for a split-second. The sound is unaffected by the visual glitches.

Though we may moan about the current absence from DVD of the second series -- which to my knowledge has only ever been shown once on terrestrial television -- the first series is wonderfully self-contained, and probably the better of the two series. Encourage everyone you know to buy this first instalment -- for goodness sake, don't lend it to anyone -- and that may encourage the powers at the Beeb to release the second series on DVD.