Rating: 
Summary: Almost As Good As I Remembered It
Review: I've waited years for this show to become available. It made a big impression on me when I first watched it. Looking at it again, I think the wait was worth it. Duttine makes an thoroughly engaging hero, from the first time we see him with the shakes to the last as the dynamic and compassionate head master he has become. Frank Middlemass and Alan MacNaughton are superb, the first as the head master who hires and guides Powlett-Jones, and the second as the ascerbic but rather lonely teacher who befriends him. I do think now that the last woman in Powlett-Jones' life is so utterly upper-crust as to be a bit off-putting. And as wonderful a school as Bamfylde is, it's worth remembering that it has been all the public schools like Bamfylde that have helped make Britain one the most rigidly class conscious countries it continues to be. But even recognizing that the Delderfield book and this production very much extoll the establishment's view of itself, it still is a very satisfying piece of work. Just keep a grain of salt handy. I thought the DVD transfer was quite good, with almost no signs of age. If you like things British, or just a well told tale, To Serve Them All My Days is worth getting
Rating:
Summary: badly served by the network that made it
Review: It's taken a while (a substantial understatement) but 'To Serve Them All My Days' one of the Beeb's finest ever dramas gets the DVD release its many admirers have for so long demanded. And it beggars the question, what have the BBC been playing at? TSTAMD - an Andrew Davies adaptation don't forget, a giant in the biz over on the Brit side of the pond - has been criminally ignored by the BBC for years, garnering only a late-night re-run on cable/satellite channel UK Drama in recent memory. They should be truly ashamed of themselves. It's not a promising premise, admittedly; shell-shocked socialist miner's son recuperates from his experiences at Passchendaele by taking a job as history master at second rate public (that's private to you) school. The drama takes place between the wars, following young David Powlett-Jones as he grows up and learns to compromise his hotheadedness enough to actually teach his young charges something about 'real' life. Like all the best stories it's about change, about reacting and growing and moving on. And it's constructed briliantly. It'll fly off the shelves, and I'm getting my order in now. I advise you to do likewise.
Rating:
Summary: Superb!
Review: Like others who have commented here, I was quite taken with this mini-series when I saw it on PBS in 1984. Seeing that it had become available on DVD recently, I revisited it, wondering if my fond memories from 20 years ago would prove accurate or had taken on an unrealistic glow over time. Not to fear: I found the show's quality *surpassed* my memory of it. The series scarcely ever strikes a false note, and is bursting with poignant, funny, compelling and honest moments and characterizations.
The writing is very sharp, often surpassing the source material. I read the book after my first viewing 20 years ago -- Andrew Davies' script really improves upon Delderfield's portraits of the women in David Powlett-Jones's life, especially Christine Forster. I thought the direction was very strong as well, with pacing that moves along, yet lets us linger over important moments in ways that 21st century television rarely does. But the acting trumps all -- what a remarkable cast, always note-perfect.
The story follows David Powlett-Jones, a shell-shocked veteran of WWI. As we learn in the first of 13 episodes, David was the youngest son of a Welsh coal-miner. Unlike his three older brothers, two of whom died in a mining accident along with their father, David was "kept out of the pit" to attend the local grammar school. At age 18, instead of heading to Oxford as planned, he was shipped to France, where he spent three years fighting in "the Great War." His arrival at Bamfylde school in what appears to be early 1918 is part of a recovery program prescribed by an army neurologist: a closed community in a rural setting to help mend both the physical and the mental wounds David endured in the war.
At first David is skeptical that someone of his limited formal education, working class roots, and Socialist political leanings really belongs at Bamfylde, a public school where the boys "have an unconscious assumption of privilege." But the gentle yet insistent persuasion of headmaster Algy Herries convinces him to give it a try. His first day in the classroom provides an immediate challenge as the schoolboys test his mettle. But despite David's outwardly shy and soft-spoken ways, he soon shows that he can be as tough as any situation demands.
The series follows the intertwining of David's personal and professional growth, and the recurring conflicts between these two facets of his life. Along the way, there are loves, friendships, triumphs, and tragedy. Through it all, John Duttine is a marvel of sensitive and compelling acting, as are many of his cast-mates.
Be forewarned that the series was produced in 1980 on videotape and with a limited budget (reportedly less than $2 million -- in comparison, "The Blue and the Gray," a 1982 Civil War saga about 2/3 as long, cost between $16 and $18 million). Hence, the production often has the look of a filmed play, with few outdoor scenes and no special effects. But what it lacks in "gloss," it more than makes up for in substance.
I highly recommend this series to anyone who enjoys quality drama.
Rating:
Summary: The Best of British Drama
Review: Simply put, TSTAMD is 11 hours of riveting drama, being without a doubt one of the best mini-series ever produced by the BBC. I first saw it on TV in 1980/81, and have been waiting ever since for it to be released either on tape or DVD. And now it's here, and well worth the wait. The acting is superb. The story is always interesting. Such is the exceptional level of production that you actually feel like you are really there; the characters and story being so well portrayed. The DVD picture quality is superb; however the sound is only average by today's standards but quite acceptable. If you love fine acting, deep character development and a great story this is a must see. BUY 'TO SERVE THEM ALL MY DAYS' TODAY!
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: Thank goodness this has at long last come out on DVD. It's well worth the long wait, compulsive viewing. The casting is unsurpassed, the acting superb, locations great. A tiny wobble with the digital picture on occasions - perhaps a problem with translating the signal to NTSC, but it doesn't spoil one's enjoyment of the series at all. This is a wonderful story, well dramatized, and well produced. I recommend you to buy the DVD, I just wish they still made series this good.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: Thank goodness this has at long last come out on DVD. It's well worth the long wait, compulsive viewing. The casting is unsurpassed, the acting superb, locations great. A tiny wobble with the digital picture on occasions - perhaps a problem with translating the signal to NTSC, but it doesn't spoil one's enjoyment of the series at all. This is a wonderful story, well dramatized, and well produced. I recommend you to buy the DVD, I just wish they still made series this good.
Rating:
Summary: Probably the best BBC series ever
Review: This one surpasses even Upstairs & Downstairs. Unfortunately the visual quality of the DVD is poor, as was U&D. It looked better on a small screen tv rather than a 65 incher. A great shame when this is such a superbly acted series. I had never heard of any of the cast, one would have thought that they would have been academy award winners by now. Maybe this series was shown on PBS or A&E, but I missed out on it before.
This is British Public School as it should have been. I attended uppercrust British schools, and remembered characters as depicted in this series. I have to admit that I have not read the book, but was surprised that no boys were caned in the tv series when in fact beatings were a normal part of the British school day, and I cannot believe that in the early 20th century it was any different. I do not believe that the series would have been better by dwelling on the negative aspects of British school life too much, but for the sake of authenticity it should have been acknowledged.
Apart from that I still give it 5 stars because of the quality of the acting.
Rating:
Summary: Heartwarming And Inspiring
Review: To Serve Them All My Days is a BBC production originally shown on Masterpiece Theater in the early 1980s. I saw it then and admired the wonderful acting, the lovely settings, and the excellent story. I am so glad it is finally available on DVD. The story revolves around young David Powlett-Jones, a shell shocked and wounded veteran of World War I who is hired to teach history at Bamfylde School in the last days of the war. David is from a Welsh coal mining family, and he has strong socialist convictions as well as a large chip on his shoulder about the priviledged youths and men he now finds himself among. This is a subtext that runs throughout the series, but the primary story deals with David's growing self confidence and abilities. There is also a romantic subtext, with David being involved with three women, a wife who dies tragically, a brief fling with another woman, and finally a second wife who is both upper class and a Labour politician, thus combining the two disparate elements in David's life. John Duttine is wonderful as the star of the series, but there is an excellent supporting cast led hy Frank Middlemass and Alan MacNaughton. Another nice aspect is the depiction of Bamfylde School itself, giving us Americans a pretty good idea of life in a British public school.
Rating: 
Summary: Rise!!!
Review: To Serve Them All My Days, really is a powerfully moving series and, like most film and television surrounding wars, speaks powerfully about its subject while keeping it firmly embedded in a tale appealing to those on either side of the fence.
The first episodes, depicting the young, limping shellshocked soldier David Powlett-Jones arriving at Bamfylde, and slowly making his way, growing stronger and forging bonds while earning respect with the students are powerful and moving.
If the later episodes involving romance, marriage and political machinations of the school system become a tad "soap operatic" - the same can be said of the best series today (The Sopranos, Dead Like Me, etc.) - and like those, the level of acting and commitment to the telling of the story at hand is impressive and never less than entertaining.
The cast is impressive, with affecting performances: John Duttine captures every bit of nervousness and one cannot help but route for his Powlett-Jones. Frank Middlemass and Patricia Lawrence as Algy and Ellie Herries are strong, sympathetic and make a formidable team. The brilliant Alan McNaughtan is amazing as Howarth keeping things from ever turning maudlin or saccharine and injects a beautifully jaundiced eye into the proceedings.
You can't go wrong with this set.
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