As the episode begins, James Herriot (Nicholas Ralph) gets ready for the day and realizes that Tristan isn’t home. We see that he has spent the night with Maggie (Mollie Winnard). Seconds later, James receives a call from Mrs. Pumphrey’s butler and Tristan listens to the conversation. It sounds bad and Mrs. Pumphrey (Diana Rigg) wants James to visit her house immediately. Tristan rushes to get Maggie out of the house before anyone notices. Audrey Hall (Anna Madeley) checks the door and receives a package before Tristan says hello. Siegfried (Samuel West) enters and his brother reminds him it is only a week before he returns to college. Tristan is told that there is a list of medicines to make up as long as his arm. Siegfried also wants him to answer the phone morning and night since James and Audrey are too busy.

Then, Tristan tries to stop Siegfried from entering his room because Maggie is hiding in there. Siegfried enters but she is nowhere to be found. Tristan thought his brother wanted him to go to college and he promises that it’ll be different this time around. When Siegfried steps out, Audrey tells Tristan it is a lot of money and he can’t expect him to hand it over just like that. Audrey confronts Tristan with evidence that he had a lady friend over and he confesses that they fell asleep on the sofa. Maggie is allowed to leave and passes by James on her way out. James is thanked by Mrs. Pumphrey as soon as she arrives. James tends to Tricki right away. As James listens to the dog, Pumphrey asks if he can hear all that rasping and wheezing. James admits it isn’t the cold before asking if she has been sticking to the diet he prescribed.

She claims she has followed the one cup of biscuits twice daily diet to the letter. Then, she admits she has given Tricki the odd treat because life becomes dull otherwise. James warns her that Tricki is becoming dangerously overweight but he shouldn’t die. James decides to take Tricki to Skeldale House so they can keep him under observation and rule out anything more serious. Pumphrey intends to send the dog with some of his belongings. Next, Siegfried works with another dog that might’ve been eating newspaper. The man admits he can’t afford to give the dog the tip-top stuff. Siegfried can’t get close to the dog because it won’t stop barking. Instead, he decides to try a different medication. Audrey wakes up Tristan just in time for Siegfried to pass by. Siegfried asks him what he is up to so Tristan says he is preparing medicine as ordered.

James arrives with Tricki’s essentials. Siegfried checks the dog’s luggage and finds a lot of food cans inside. James wants to send them back but Siegfried says they might need to ease the dog into it. He orders the man to place the box on the table before saying Tricki is a disgrace. James reminds him that it isn’t Tricki’s fault since Mrs. Pumphrey overindulges him. Tristan goes through the food while Siegfried concludes that his brother is spoiled. He tells Tristan to answer the phone before they argue. Siegfried tells him he can forget the check until he bucks his bloody ideas up. In the end, Audrey is forced to answer the phone. James puts together a plan to get Tricki fighting fit. As for Tristan, he believes his brother will want him gone soon enough but Hall isn’t sure he’ll get to go where he wants.

When Siegfried enters, Tristan pretends that James left him in charge of Tricki for the day. Then, they learn that Helen (Rachel Shenton) called because her bull is having trouble performing. James gives Tristan pointers before leaving so he can see Helen. Audrey asks Siegfried if he is going to come to church with her. He says yes because he has enough to pray for. Before she leaves, Audrey tells Tristan she is making his favorite food roast beef and she wants him to earn it. Next, James meets with Helen and Fred Dobson (Jon Furlong). James learns that Clive is having some difficulty serving the cows and he hasn’t shown much interest. Clive has been in with them for a week and this normally doesn’t happen. Usually, it is more difficult to get Clive to stop. Tristan eats on the couch and throws the ball for Tricki to get it.

Meanwhile, Audrey and James discuss whether Tricki will be okay with Tristan while James tries to find out what is wrong with Clive. James says Clive is impressive down there so there is nothing wrong in that area. James wants to give Clive testosterone and he believes it should work almost immediately. Then, they discuss Helen and farming. She admits they do their best to keep up with the rent. She says Hugh Hulton (Matthew Lewis) has been good to them since he inherited the property from his father. Hugh lost his father around the same time Helen lost her mother and that is one of the reasons they got together. James thought it had been going on longer and Helen admits they knocked about together since they were kids. They agree to exit quickly since the testosterone will make Clive aggressive. Mrs. Dobson arrives before James tells Helen he hopes she didn’t have a big breakfast.

Tristan is forced to jump up from the couch when Siegfried returns with Mr. Mulligan. Clancy is sick again so Tristan shows Mulligan where to take the dog. Tristan learns that the dog has been vomiting bad and Siegfried gave him some medication but it doesn’t seem to be working. Siegfried watches as Tristan gives Mulligan and Clancy a bag that should last them for about a week. Tristan wonders how you could love something so ferocious but Siegfried believes he faced worse terrors on the front and many men like him lost their hearing as a result. Tristan believes the dog just needed to improve his diet. Siegfried wants to make sure that they don’t make a habit of feeding all of the pets. Siegfried asks if he did a full examination to rule out anything else and Tristan asks the same. Tristan returns to his duties with Tricki while James finishes the feast with Dobson and Helen.

As Tristan drives Helen home, they encounter Hugh on the bridge. James asks Hugh if there is something wrong but he says it is nothing for James to worry about. James notices that Hugh has a flat tire but Hugh says he has already sent for a mechanic. James offers to take care of it but Hugh doesn’t know if the vehicle has a tool kit. Tristan tries to get Tricki to walk to the pub but the dog is too stubborn to move. Tricki refuses to budge so Tristan has to carry the dog the rest of the way. Maggie is happy to see the dog while Tristan blames Siegfried for making him jump through so many hoops. Tristan wonders what he can do to get the dog to walk and Maggie isn’t sure either. Food falls on the ground and Tricki eats it. Tristan comes up with the idea of putting food on a string to get Tricki to walk. Audrey catches Siegfried singing and eating so she tells him he better not spoil his appetite.

James finishes working on the tire and Hugh admits he would’ve never managed it. Then, Hugh thanks James for this and for what he did for Andante before. James returns home and sits down with Audrey and Siegfried for dinner. Tristan joins them a short time later and puts Tricki on the ground. Tristan goes to the table while Tricki heads for the basket of food. Audrey can’t understand why nobody is eating but we know that they’ve been snacking on Tricki’s food all day. Tristan believes he can handle it for them though. Tricki eats as Tristan stuffs his face as well. Later, James throws his shoes at Tristan in hopes of waking him up. Audrey nearly grabs the phone but Tristan arrives in time to stop her. It is Pumphrey and she is worried about Tricki. Tristan does his best to get Tricki to speak, but he won’t so he imitates his bark instead. Pumphrey is happy to hear from her pooch.

Then, Tristan joins the others and tells them that the phone hasn’t stopped ringing all morning. We learn that Clive is back to business. Tristan asks his brother if he has given any more consideration to the check. James meets with Helen and helps her with the eggs. He tells her that Dobson has called and Clive is having a good time with the cows. When Helen steps outside, Richard Alderson (Tony Pitts) rushes into the room and accuses James of stealing their eggs. He quickly explains himself before Jenny (Imogen Clawson) joins them. Helen returns with a treat to thanks James for helping with Clive. He is not impressed though. Audrey returns to the closet and grabs the package she received earlier in the episode. We see that the package she sent to Edward had been returned saying he is not known at this address.

She opens the box of cookies she shipped before looking at her note. Siegfried enters and checks on her. He offers to drive her to Scarborough and search for Edward until they find him but she says she has chased Edward long enough. Tristan arrives with Tricki and weighs him to check his progress. Siegfried enters and Tristan quickly removes Tricki from the scale. Siegfried forces his brother to put him on the scale again and they find out that the dog is heavier now. Siegfried gets angry because he doesn’t think his brother has been walking Tricki at all. Tricki returns to the luggage and eats more. Before too long, Pumphrey visits them so she can check on her dog. Audrey looks around and finds out that Tricki has been eating on his own. She runs into Siegfried and tells him that Tricki has gone missing.

Siegfried tells Pumphrey that Tristan or James likely took the dog for a walk. Audrey gets the tea and Tristan enters without Tricki. Audrey encourages them to look upstairs while she serves tea. Tristan returns and finds out what has happened. He opens the luggage and finds Tricki sitting inside with the food. They’re worried about everything the dog has eaten and they agree they’ll have to tell Mrs. Pumphrey about it. When she is gone, they quickly go to work on Tricki. James admits he should’ve never left Tricki with Tristan but he doesn’t think it is his fault. He can’t understand how the dog got into the hamper and James says it is usually his fault. Siegfried comes clean and confesses that he left the hamper on the floor. They can’t believe what they’re hearing so Siegfried pleads with them not to rub it in.

We learn that Tricki will likely start to recover when they get fluids into him. Moments later, Tricki returns home. Pumphrey wonders if the dog is starving since he feels like a sack of spanners. Tristan reminds her that he has taken Tricki on many walks before they encourage her to remember Tricki’s diet. After that, Siegfried tells his brother that James will take him to the station and he’ll see him at Christmas. Tricki begins barking and Siegfried can’t believe that Pumphrey is feeding Tricki already. Siegfried rips the check and says it is insanity to do something over and over again and expecting a different result. Siegfried decides to tutor his brother and help him with his exams. Tristan returns home and tells Audrey that his brother is a lunatic but James is amused by the idea. Tristan worries that it is going to be torture.

Siegfried interrupts and tells him he has brought someone special for his first practical experience. Mulligan enters with Clancy. They decide to perform a general examination on the dog despite its behavior. Tristan finds out that Mulligan isn’t worried about the growling because he is hard of hearing. He approaches and pats the dog while realizing his bark is worse than his bite.

 

All Creatures Great And Small Review

At times, it feels like All Creatures Great and Small is a bit long-winded, but it is still one of the best shows I’ve watched in recent months. Despite the flaws and cheesiness of the series, I will continue watching it happily. I appreciate the dynamic relationships and ongoing character development.

I like that the storylines transition seamlessly from one episode to the next. I wish they would tone down the jokes a bit because they don’t always hit home. Still, I think more people will enjoy All Creatures Great and Small. It is funny at times and emotional other times. It is always entertaining since you never know what is going to happen next. The episode scores a 7.5 out of 10. Previous recaps of All Creatures Great And Small can be found on Reel Mockery.