Our Zoo 

A drama series about the family who founded Chester Zoo in the 1930s.

Stars:

Lee Ingleby, Liz White, Anne Reid

Cast

Series cast summary:
Lee Ingleby	...	George Mottershead 6 episodes, 2014
Liz White	...	Lizzie Mottershead 6 episodes, 2014
Anne Reid	...	Lucy Mottershead 6 episodes, 2014
Honor Kneafsey	...	June Mottershead 6 episodes, 2014
Peter Wight	...	Albert Mottershead 6 episodes, 2014
Amelia Clarkson	...	Muriel Mottershead 6 episodes, 2014
Ralf Little	...	Billy Atkinson 6 episodes, 2014
Stephen Campbell Moore	...	Reverend Aaron Webb 6 episodes, 2014
Sophia Myles	...	Lady Katherine Longmore 6 episodes, 2014
Hayley Carmichael	...	Camilla Radler 6 episodes, 2014
Tom Hardman	...	Archie Radler 6 episodes, 2014
Faye Brookes	...	Frankie 5 episodes, 2014
Sally Bankes	...	Mrs. Pollard 5 episodes, 2014
Hugh Skinner	...	Dr. Barnaby Ford 4 episodes, 2014
Gary Davis	...	Mr. John Pollard 4 episodes, 2014
Jason Watkins	...	Ronald Tipping 4 episodes, 2014
Steve Cooper	...	Mr. Ernest Fowler 4 episodes, 2014
Jessica Ransom	...	Mrs. Polly Ford 4 episodes, 2014
Jonathan Cullen	...	Fenchwood 3 episodes, 2014
Karl Collins	...	Barlow 2 episodes, 2014
Shari Fox	...	Secretary 2 episodes, 2014
Simon Lowe	...	Gascoigne 2 episodes, 2014

Storyline

A drama series about the family who founded Chester Zoo in the 1930s.

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Plot Keywords:

1930s | tv mini series | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 September 2014 (UK)

Also Known As:

Oakfield

Filming Locations:

Walton Hall Park, Warrington, Cheshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Big Talk Productions, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

312 min (total run time)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Filmed in various places around Cheshire, England.

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Goofs

The clergyman would have been referred to as either 'Rector' or Vicar' or else 'Mr' ['Father' if high Church]. 'Reverend' is actually a description not a title.

User Reviews

Warm-Hearted Tale of Strength and Persistence in the Face of Adversity

OUR ZOO tells the story of George Mottershead (Lee Ingleby) and his family, who founded Chester Zoo in the early Thirties in the face of considerable pressure from the local people of Upton as well as the Ministry of Health. The story is a familiar one common to British movies (remember PASSPORT TO PIMLICO (1949), or THE TITFIELD THUNDERBOLT (1953)) of the underdog triumphing against apparently impossible odds.

Directed by Andy de Emmony, Robert McKillop, and Saul Metzstein, this six-part drama series emphasizes the importance of family values as a way of resisting bureaucracies. Despite occasional differences of opinion - especially in the last episode, as George prepares to fight the court case - George, his wife Lizzie (Liz White), and their two children (Honor Kneafsey, Amelia Clarkson) stay together through thick and thin, even if they have to endure several difficult times in the process. The move from their cramped little shop to the newly- purchased stately home and gardens (the location for the zoo) is a traumatic one, especially for Muriel (who wants to continue her relationship with Christopher (Perry Glasspool). They experience continual problems of making financial ends meet, and subsequently have to endure the villagers' almost unanimous opposition to the project. The fact that they emerge triumphant in the end offers a comment on today's society; despite the preoccupation with individualism (a by-product of capitalist values), community loyalty often provides the surest means of achieving one's ends.

George's parents (Anne Reid, Peter Wight) clearly understand the importance of this dictum, as they act unselfishly in their son's interests, rather than continuing their humdrum lives as co-owners of a greengrocer's shop. Both actors offer portrayals of stable, level-headed personalities, the kind of people that keep George's feet on the ground as he tries to fulfill his dream.

Stylistically speaking, OUR ZOO is shot in a series of dimly-lit interior sequences, reflecting the realities of life during the Thirties. The program's location-work is particularly convincing, especially in the opening episode, where the Mottishead's life in a cramped back-to-back terraced development proves constricting, both physically and mentally. Sometimes Matt Charman and Adam Kemp's script incorporates some linguistic anachronisms that wouldn't have been uttered by people living in early Thirties Britain, but its emphasis on so-called "old-fashioned" values such as the strength of the family is both touching and heart-warming. OUR ZOO is definitely a series worth spending time with.