As the episode begins, we find out that it is 1937 and we’re in Glasgow. We see a young man named James Herriot (Nicholas Ralph) running down the road with a dog close behind him. He calls for Malcolm and collects his mail. Then, James returns home with his dog and reads a letter he just received. James’s mother Hannah (Gabriel Quigley) complains about the money they’ve wasted on the veterinary college while his father James Senior (Drew Cain) reads a newspaper. She wonders if people even need vets anymore but James Senior is confident something will come along. James Sr. goes for the mail while James tells his mother he doesn’t want to work on the docks. Seconds later, James learns that he has got an interview.

James needs to go to Yorkshire for the interview but his mother worries and says her son would be better off at the docks. She tells her son not to be disappointed if there is no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. James leaves on a train. His mother tells his dad that she hopes to God he gets it. On a bus, James reads a book called Cattle Sheep and Pigs before a man tells him he won’t learn anything from that book. When a passenger gets on, they mention Darrowby and that catches James’s attention. On his way out, James talks to the new passengers. Once the bus leaves, James finds himself surrounded by nothing. Then, a man in a carriage tells him he’ll want a bus for Darrowby. James needs to be there before four but there are no more buses coming until tonight.

It begins raining on him and he drops his hat. He rushes to the city on foot and eventually makes it to the S. Farnon Veterinary Surgeon office. Mrs. Hall (Anna Madeley) answers the door and admits she had almost given up on James. She explains she keeps house for Mr. Farnon. They step inside and James is introduced to the dog Jess. She likes him. Siegfried Farnon (Samuel West) enters, asks for a pencil, and can’t seem to remember why he asked for James. Mrs. Hall has to remind him that it has something to do with the assistant job. Siegfried pulls her aside and says they agreed there would be no more but she says James traveled all the way from Glasgow. She pleads with Siegfried to give the boy a chance so Siegfried agrees and introduces himself to James.

James thought it was an interview and he tries to give Siegfried his references but Farnon would rather start working. They grab supplies and equipment before walking through Mrs. Hall’s domain. They go outside and Farnon gives James a tour of the animal shed. He learns that he’ll be feeding the animals and that their practice covers most of the Northern Dales, Swalesdale, and Wensleydale. James will need a car. Farnon has a beautiful car but James’s isn’t great. They leave and have to stop briefly. Farnon tells James that most of their work comes from the smallholdings. They stop and talk about a shorthorn cow and the fact that this species is dying out now. Siegfried explains that this place has character of its own and the Shorthorns are part of that.

Then, they discuss James’s desire to become a vet. He explains that there was a small city farm at the back of his school and it was like having a part of the country in the city. James developed a fondness for animals. Siegfried says the animals aren’t the problem but it is the people that cause all the bother. They visit Mr. Jeremy Sharpe (Steve Jackson) who is having a problem with his gelding. James says he has worked with many horses in vet college but this will be his first in the real world. He takes off his coat and begins making observations. They laugh as James makes his way through the mud and toward the horse. He bends down and gets kicked by the horse but that doesn’t stop James. He goes down again so the others decide to jump in and help. James grabs the animal’s leg and looks at its hoof before asking Farnon for a knife.

He explains it is pus in the foot and he gets it seconds later. Farnon begins working to disinfect the wound. When they return to the car, Farnon says they should go back a different way over the Brenkstone Pass and down Sildales. He wants James to see it. He confesses iodine just makes the clients feel that they’re getting their money’s worth. James is given the keys and allowed to drive. As they drive along, Farnon tells James about the spots nearby and the weather. The brakes go out and James isn’t sure how he is supposed to slow the car. Siegfried encourages him to have faith in himself and drive faster. Then, they barely climb up the hill on the other side.

They make it back and Hall is there to greet them. James follows Siegfried to the pub where Jeremy is telling everyone about James and his horse. Another client asks Farnon about the cat before he is told to come into surgery tomorrow and pick it up. He agrees to talk to Henry about another animal later. Henry Dinsdale (Mark Noble) doesn’t take no for an answer. He sits down with them and begins talking about his sow. Mr. Handshaw interrupts and Siegfried promises he’ll be up there first thing in the morning. Handshaw (Nigel Betts) says it won’t be a problem because he’ll go visit George Pandhi. Siegfried tells him he is a perfectly adequate substitute before telling Henry to direct his questions to his assistance. James is surprised he is getting the job.

Although it is only a trial period, James is thrilled to get the job with four quid a week and full board. After a little back and forth, the local guys convince James to have a beer with them. Mrs. Hall hears a bump in the night and intends to protect herself but she only finds a drunken James feeding the cats. He tells her that he got the job and only had two. She tells him to put the cats back before Mr. Farnon wakes up and catches him. It takes James a bit longer to get up in the morning so Mrs. Hall does her best to wake him up. James rushes to get ready and Hall has Alka-Seltzer ready for him. He is given food before they begin discussing Henry’s pig. They leave and prepare to see the Aldersons about calf trouble. James misses the turn and Siegfried doesn’t like that at all.

Seconds later, James opens the gate and drives the car through. James begins looking for Mr. Alderson until he finds himself surrounded by a big animal that scares him. Helen Alderson (Rachel Shenton) comes out and takes care of the animal. James is told not to look Clive in the eye. James eventually climbs down and introduces himself to Helen. As they walk toward the calf, Helen tells Jenny (Imogen Clawson) to get herself back to the house and do her homework. Helen helps comfort the calf while James checks it. He believes it is a clean fracture of the metacarpal bone but that there is little displacement. James suggests a plaster cast but Siegfried second-guesses him and makes him second guess himself. James takes care of the calf’s leg seconds later. He says goodbye to Helen and she tells him that Siegfried’s bark isn’t as bad as his bite.

James leaves with Farnon. Back at the clinic, Mrs. Dinsdale (Naomi Radcliffe) arrives to pick up Jasper. Siegfried interrupts and asks James to grab Leo for him. James grabs both cats and heads back in the other direction. Unfortunately, he gets the cats mixed up and gives Jasper to Siegfried. He rushes to fix that problem immediately. He tells Mrs. Hall about the mix-up because he can’t remember switching them while drunk the night before. James gets the wrong cat again and realizes Siegfried has Mrs. Dinsdale’s cat. He rushes in and stops Siegfried while trying to explain what has happened. Mrs. Dinsdale is angry that they drugged her cat while James tries to remedy the problem. Siegfried finds out that he was drunk so James begins packing his belongings that night.

He tells Jess he is in the dog house. Mrs. Hall speaks to Siegfried and puts in a good word for James. She doesn’t think it is good for Siegfried to continue running this place on his own. They argue back and forth but Siegfried doesn’t change his mind that James needs to go. That night, Dick Rudd (Alexis Platt) rushes over to tell them they’re having problems with their calf. James pleads with Mrs. Hall to let him go and try to fix the problem. She agrees and James leaves a few moments later. James meets with Dick and his wife. James begins working on Missus immediately. He has to enter through the backdoor and tells Dick that the head is caught in the pelvis. James says it is no good because it is not coming around.

He decides to keep trying. Mrs. Hall waits at home while James does his best to help Missus. Siegfried wakes up and realizes something is wrong. Dick tells James that he doesn’t want the Missus to suffer. Siegfried learns what is going on while James decides to try one last thing. He wants to try to hook it around the jaw and pull it around that way. He tries his best while Dick helps. It begins working and James thinks he has it. The baby emerges seconds later and James begins cleaning it. Later, Dick tells James he has seen it a thousand times but it never gets old. Siegfried arrives and tells James he never gave him permission to go on his own. James tells him that it turned out well but Siegfried says he was lucky. James says it wasn’t lucky and he worked hard to get it done. James lashes out at Siegfried and calls him insufferable.

Siegfried tells James he better get used to it. James tells him he won’t regret it before they shake hands. At the end of the episode, James drives the car and doesn’t use the brake this time.

 

All Creatures Great And Small Review

At first, I was a bit worried that All Creatures Great and Small was going to be cheesy and drawn out. It felt like it there in the beginning and I was thinking I wasn’t going to like it. However, it got very good there in the end. The last scenes with James delivering the new calf were very emotional and uplifting.

The last five minutes hooked me in right away. I hope the show sticks to these moments and less of the harsh insults and bad attitude from Siegfried. Either way, I enjoyed it. As long as it stays this good, I’ll stick with it and I’ll do so happily. In fact, I could easily see All Creatures Great and Small becoming one of my favorite shows of 2020.

I haven’t watched anything spectacular in months and was just waiting for something good to come around. All Creatures Great and Small might finally be what I was looking for. The episode scores a 7 out of 10 but I think it’ll get better from here on out.