As the Christmas special of All Creatures Great and Small begins, we see the house filled with decorations as the phone rings and wakes up James Herriot (Nicholas Ralph). He speaks to Dave Kitson (James Burrows) on the phone briefly and learns he needs someone to look at one of his cows. After the call ends, James changes the date to December 24 and prepares to visit Kitson. Dave is there to greet him when he arrives. James gives the cow a shot for pneumonia while Dave asks why he didn’t get dressed since he is wearing his pajamas. James says he came right away as requested and gave her a shot of Prontosil to help with the pneumonia. Before he leaves, he hears a sheep that sounds like it is in great pain. Dave explains she had a rough time lambing yesterday when a big lamb got stuck with its leg in a funny position. He pulled it out just like that because there was nothing else he could do.

James checks on the sheep and offers to give it pain medication to deal with its suffering, but Dave doesn’t want to pay for the medication. He believes it is best to let nature run its course. James tells him Merry Christmas and waits for him to go inside before returning to the sheep to give it pain medication. On his way out, James picks up an L-shaped log that he takes with him. Back in town, Mrs. Hall (Anna Madeley and Tristan (Callum Woodhouse) go shopping for what they’ll need to prepare Christmas lunch. When Diana Brompton (Dorothy Atkinson) asks how many she is feeding, Audrey jokes they’re hard-working men for the most part. Tristan reminds them he has been a good student during the past few months. Diana claims she is looking forward to having an empty house tomorrow. Gerald Hammond (Will Thorp) interrupts to ask Mrs. Hall what time the party starts tonight.

Gerald is told he can come anytime after 7:30. Once he leaves, Diana gives Audrey advice such as fixing her lipstick and hanging the mistletoe, but Audrey says they’re only friends. She reminds Diana she is a married woman. Diana says she was too, but she is having a lot of fun now. Tristan interrupts since he doesn’t want to hear about her fun times with his brother. Before Diana leaves, she tells Audrey to wear something nice that will get Gerald’s attention. Then, Audrey gives Tristan the list and asks him to finish getting everything they need so she can go back to the house for something. He watches her get several letters from the postwoman. As she steps inside Skeldale House, she pockets one of the letters and hears Siegfried (Samuel West) ask whether it is Tristan. She goes into the examination room where Siegfried is working on a rabbit that had its ear bitten off.

She asks him about Diana spending Christmas alone. Siegfried pushes until Audrey admits she believes he should invite Diana over for Christmas, but he says Christmas is a day for family. Inviting Diana might raise certain expectations and he doesn’t want that. Audrey pretends she isn’t going to argue although she thinks it is wrong for Diana to be alone. Siegfried encourages her to invite Gerald and that convinces her to keep the numbers as they are. She answers a call from Mrs. Pumphrey (Patricia Hodge) who wants someone to come and take a look at Tricki Woo (Derek). James offers to go, but Siegfried volunteers. Audrey jokes that Pumphrey is always generous with the sherry this time of the year. She gives him several letters including one from his father. Although James believes his father will be fine, Audrey doesn’t and believes that is why she has people coming over to stay with her. James Senior (Drew Cain) wants his son to call around five tomorrow.

While James has talked to his father, he hasn’t talked to his mother since they visited. As Siegfried arrives at Pumphrey’s place, he learns she sent her staff home since she feels they should be with their families on Christmas. Tricki is lethargic and off his food for several days now. She thought it might have something to do with the cook being away and eating different food. However, Tricki Woo had the trots this morning. Pumphrey insists he has been terribly depressed. After the examination, Siegfried diagnoses Tricki as having gastroenteritis. Since he has lost a lot of weight and there are signs of dehydration, it is best to take Tricki to Skeldale House for treatment. When Siegfried promises to do everything they can to get him home tomorrow, Pumphrey calls him kind. Tristan goes to the pub where he talks to Maggie (Mollie Winnard).

Tristan gets an ale while they discuss him advancing his prospects by going to college. He believes he’ll find out soon enough. James uses a knife to whittle the wood he picked up at Kitson’s house earlier. He holds up the piece of wood and it looks like there is a face on it. Next, he goes to the Alderson house where Helen (Rachel Shenton) is fixing her hair and getting ready. Jenny (Imogen Clawson) enters and learns that James has brought presents although he jokes there might not be one for her. She shows James the pudding she has been making and explains it has been sitting in brandy for a while now. They’re excited to have James over for Christmas lunch since it has only been the three of them for a while and Jenny is determined to cook. In private, James tells Helen that Mrs. Hall is expecting them at Skeldale House too because he didn’t expect her to invite him. Tristan returns with the remaining supplies and complains he couldn’t find redcurrants.

He asks Audrey whether she had heard from Edward this year. She didn’t but she wasn’t expecting it anyway. She was hoping for it though. He asks about the letter from Edinburgh before she gives it to him. Audrey describes him as a wonderful, loving boy and promises the letter won’t change that. He tries to open the letter. However, he is stopped with Siegfried enters and asks about the letter. He claimed it is a bill so his brother won’t want it. Siegfried calls for his brother to get advice about Tricki. The dog is gulping water but unable to keep it down. Tristan recommends trying opium and powdered ipecacuanha and says he read something about using a decoction of hematoxylin in cases like this. Siegfried jokes about the idea of his brother reading something, but quickly apologizes. Tristan is adamant he really applied himself this time. Siegfried believes it will pay off this time then. When he goes for the medication, Tristan opens the envelope and reads the letter.

James and Helen arrive at their destination. She asks him about the log so he explains it is a Cailleach or Old Woman Winter that his dad carves every year. On Christmas day, they burn it to ward off evil spirits. Dave greets them and says the cow is doing okay. James looks in on the sheep, but it is already gone. Dave says it didn’t make it past dinner time. He claims James didn’t believe him when he said she was on her way out and suggests book learning can’t match experience. As Dave leaves, he has to shoo the sheep back inside to prevent James from seeing her since she survived. James tells Helen the fight had gone out of the ewe and Dave was going to let her die in pain. He gave her an anesthetic to prevent that from happening. He admits Dave was more worried about the cost and less about the animal’s wellbeing. Although Helen believes James should’ve said something, he doesn’t think the Dales farmers will ever take his word over theirs. He explains it is often best to treat the animal and let the farmers think they got one over you.

Audrey comes downstairs in a beautiful, black dress and looks at herself in a picture’s reflection. She rushes to take down the mistletoe until Siegfried interrupts and says she looks different in a pleasant sense. They go separate ways before Audrey has a change of heart and goes upstairs to change the dress. Helen promises she’ll tell Audrey they’re going to be at her place for Christmas lunch. While James helps Siegfried, Helen answers the door and invites everyone inside. As James checks on Tricki, Siegfried complains about farmers who owe them money going missing until they give away free alcohol. James refers to Siegfried and Diana as lovebirds before quickly returning to Tricki Woo. He is severely hydrated and the saline drip isn’t helping. If he doesn’t start eating and drinking soon, he’ll be too wear to recover. Although he believes Siegfried will think it is stupid, James says there is an idea that having someone to live for can help a patient recover.

Siegfried agrees to try it so they invite Pumphrey to come and sit with Tricki. If anyone can coax Tricki out of this, it would be Pumphrey since she is like a mother to him. Siegfried calls and invites her over right away. He looks at Diana and tells Pumphrey that everyone feels better when they have someone there to care for them. He leaves to go pick her up. Tristan greets Maggie once she arrives. She kisses him before revealing she is getting married to Arthur in the New Year. She says they can still have one last night of fun though. Helen tries to keep everyone happy and quickly realizes Audrey’s job is incredibly hard. Audrey comes down in a different dress and agrees to get him a beer. Helen admits she doesn’t know how she does it. When James joins them, Audrey says they already told James not to bring anything to lunch. Helen tries to tell her they’re going to have lunch at her place but can’t bring herself to do it.

They turn their attention to giving the kids what they want, Father Christmas. James takes on the role while Diana tells Audrey that Gerald scrubs up well. Diana tries to give her some lipstick calling it warpaint and reminds her she is allowed a minute to enjoy herself. She calls Gerald over and forces Audrey to have a conversation with him until they find out they’re standing under a mistletoe. Once they notice, Gerald promises there is no need to panic. He is glad to have her friendship and he doesn’t mind leaving it at that if she wants it. She rushes off to serve the guests while Helen and James try to figure out what to do about the two lunch dates. He surprises her when he reveals he thought they’d live at Skeldale House after they get married because he is on call at night and needs to be here. James confesses he hadn’t thought about what Helen might be doing. She is adamant she is going to continue working on the farm. A boy interrupts, receives an orange from Father Christmas, and quickly leaves.

James reminds Helen that all of this is new for him too since he thought he was leaving just a few months ago. Helen says they need to make a decision about tomorrow even if it hurts someone’s feelings before Siegfried tells James that Pumphrey has arrived. Pumphrey and James try to convince Tricki to eat, but their attempts fail. As Helen joins the others, she hears Dave Kitson talking about needing to have farming in their blood to understand it. Mrs. Pumphrey talks about Tricki and how he fills the entire house with love and life. Siegfried admits he thinks she spoils him a bit too much. She defends herself by telling him that she doesn’t have children or grandchildren. They doubt the treats caused the problem though and instead blame it on a bug he likely picked up somewhere. Siegfried is sorry to admit there is little they can do at this stage. Dave continues belittling the vets and their costs. He claims he likes doing things the old way although Helen says that isn’t possible because everything keeps changing.

Dave says they’ll never know more about his animals by reading a book so Helen suggests caring for them a bit better. She tells him about James giving the sheep an injection to help her on her way and suggests she’d still be suffering now if he didn’t. Dave reveals the ewe survived so Helen decides to take that information to James. Tristan and Maggie hang out in private as she tells him he is a good lad, but he is like a magpie going from one shiny object to the next. She is only telling him because she cares about him. He’ll have to put more in if he wants to get more out of it. James tells Siegfried how he gave the ewe an anesthetic and it might help Tricki too. Helen is invited into the medical room with them. Pumphrey is told what they’re going to do before Siegfried warns her it is a very powerful drug and Tricki might not wake up. She whispers into Tricki’s ear and holds his paw while James injects the medication. With that done, Siegfried tells Helen they’ll give Pumphrey a minute and run her home since they can only wait and hope for the best.

Siegfried learns that Audrey changed her dress. Diana interrupts to say Gerald is making off with the silver. Before Diana goes, she tells Siegfried she had a great time and he invites her over for Christmas, but she is worried that could raise certain expectations. She asks him to come around for a nightcap instead. Gerald explains to Audrey that he thought he’d help because she’d be there all night otherwise. She claims he can’t do that since he is a guest. She asks him to leave and quickly changes her mind before giving him a kiss on the cheek for the mistletoe earlier. She also invites him over to Skeldale House for Christmas lunch. He agrees to come and says it sounds lovely. Once he leaves, Tristan calls Mrs. Hall a dark horse and she notices that he seems down. In the morning, James, Tristan, and Siegfried get up early and rush downstairs to check on Tricki. His heart rate is slow. James intends to give him a shot of adrenaline to bring him out of the anesthetic.

After a few tense moments, Tricki wakes up and begins eating out of Tristan’s hand. Then, the dog goes after the bowl of food. James takes Tricki to the Pumphrey residence and is invited to stay for a drink. Initially, he turns down the offer but decides otherwise. Siegfried finds the envelope to Tristan’s letter from the college and decides to ask Mrs. Hall if there is a secret she is keeping from him. She doesn’t know although Tristan seemed down in the dumps last night. Siegfried begins wondering if veterinary practice isn’t his calling after all. Tristan enters and his brother begins telling him it would be a waste to turn him into something he isn’t. They’re surprised to learn that Tristan actually passed this time, but Siegfried isn’t willing to accept his word for it. Tristan relents and shows him the letter from the school proving he passed. James calls in the middle of the argument and learns about the good news. James meets with Helen who learns that Tricki is going to be okay.

James says the farmers will open up to her when they won’t him. He knows she is always going to be on the farm, but there is a place at Skeldale House for her too. He reveals he wants to have Christmas lunch somewhere else. Pumphrey is surprised when people begin arriving outside to have Christmas lunch with her. They throw up a Christmas tree and set the table before Pumphrey and Siegfried play the piano together. James makes it to the phone in time to call his parents, James Senior and Hannah (Gabriel Quigley), as promised. He learns there is a long line of people waiting on calls. James Senior has already done the log and Hannah complains he made it look like her again. James says otherwise, but Hannah isn’t going to change her mind. Before the call ends, James thanks for parents for paying for him to go to college because none of this would’ve been possible otherwise. Then, James tells Siegfried and the others how they burn a log to bring prosperity and good luck for the year to come.

As the log is burning, his father always quotes a verse of Rabbie Burns so James decides to do the same. Once he finishes, he returns to the game with Tristan and Helen. Siegfried shows Audrey the exam results which prove his brother passed with distinction. Audrey looks out of the window and sees a plane flying overhead. She says nothing about it to the others because they’re so happy. Before the episode ends, we see Santa’s sleigh flying in front of the moon.

 

All Creatures Great And Small Review

It is always a pleasure to get to watch a new episode of All Creatures Great and Small. Despite the large number of shows being released in recent weeks, nothing comes close to the quality, emotion, or charm of All Creatures Great and Small. The episode was fantastic despite some of the storylines being a bit cliché and the solutions being cheesy.

Anyone who has been watching for this long is likely emotionally invested in the characters making the stories touching and very effective. There were some truly great moments that may have viewers reaching for the tissues nearby. I also appreciate that it didn’t feel like a gimmick episode just to make money on the show’s success. Instead, it tied in perfectly with the previous season and gave a few hints as what to expect in the next which I can’t wait for.

The only issue I have with this episode is that it is the only one we’re getting for a while. I can confidently say All Creatures Great and Small is one of the best, if not the best, shows on television right now. It gives me hope that great shows can still be created. It exhibits the best British entertainment has to offer. The Christmas special was indeed special and scores an 8.5 out of 10. All recaps of All Creatures Great And Small can be found on Reel Mockery here.