Holding The Baby – As this episode begins, Mr. Bosworth (Jeremy Swift) and Audrey Hall (Anna Madeley) work the blackout watch. Audrey has to run into Skeldale House because Siegfried (Samuel West) still has the light shining through the window. Bosworth scolds them before leaving. Siegfried gives Audrey a letter from Tristan about his adventures in Cairo. In the morning, Richard Carmody (James Anthony-Rose) prepares for his exams. James Herriot (Nicholas Ralph) enters the room and learns they have a new routine. Helen (Rachel Shenton) said she agreed to help her dad move in the flock today. Siegfried says they have a cow that’s been hit by a car. James offers to take care of Jimmy. Helen makes sure he has everything he needs before she leaves. She leaves James with a dirty diaper to take care of. Hilda Sudderby (Jennifer Hennessy) tells Siegfried that the car only clipped the cow’s rear end.
Hilda reveals she’s been reported for the incident and will have to put a sign up. She worries she could end up with a fine, according to the air raid warden. Siegfried soon learns she’s talking about Mr. Bosworth. Helen catches up with Richard (Tony Pitts) and Jenny Alderson (Imogen Clawson) who learn that James is back. Jenny tells Helen about her friend Doris (Caroline Menton) who is with the Women’s Land Army at Danby’s Farm. Jenny tells Helen to go home and be with James, but Helen decides to stay and help out. Audrey checks in on James and Jimmy. They talk about Mr. Dowson (Adrian Hood). James takes Jimmy with him and tells Richard it’ll be fine. However, James ends up forgetting the supplies on top of the hood and leaving them behind. Once they arrive. Mr. Dowson says he’s worried about his new calf kicking the bucket. Siegfried learns that Hilda is painting her cows with stripes.
He warns her that cows like to lick things, including each other. Hilda admits it was the Warden’s idea. Siegfried says he’ll deal with Mr. Bosworth. Richard and James check on Dowson’s calf. Dowson complains that his calf keeps kicking its bucket. James tells him it is psychological and he’ll have to train it out of him. Helen learns that Doris has invited Jenny to visit Leeds. Helen warns her about the air raids they’ve had over there. Richard tells Jenny to tell her the rest of it. Jenny admits she might stay if she fancies a job there. Helen asks if she really wants to work in a department store. Jenny doesn’t want to talk anymore about it. In private, Richard says she’s made her mind up. Helen thinks Doris has made it up for her. Siegfried returns and tells Audrey what Mr. Bosworth is doing. Bosworth is there and overhears his insults. They argue about the lead paint before Bosworth leaves.
Richard tells James that a little showmanship could be in order. He says they have to consider the people too. When Dowson returns, Richard tells him he’s going to give the calf some thiamine. Then, he claims the calf will stop kicking the bucket in 30 minutes or so. James tells Dowson there won’t be a charge today. He learns the baby needs a diaper change, but the diapers have gone missing. Helen joins Doris and Jenny. She tries to get Jenny to talk to her in private. Jenny says they’re taking Candy and Joan out. Jenny reminds Helen that she’s barely been there. Audrey talks to Siegfried about the arrangement. He admits he agreed to it, but only before he knew a tyrant was involved. She argues that she can fight her own battles. Jenny and Doris go riding together. Elsie helps with Jimmy before Dowson yells for James to come see the calf. James is surprised that the calf has been cured. Airplanes overhead scare Candy.
Audrey finds a dog in distress so she immediately calls Siegfried. James talks to Richard about the calf and his upcoming exams. James realizes he’s left Jimmy behind and that’s why Hamish has been barking. They return to get Jimmy before leaving. Jenny finds Doris sitting alone. Candy is standing nearby. Doris says she stumbled on the wet roots and they went flying. When Siegfried arrives, Audrey tells him that the dog’s tag says “Bingo”. Siegfried notices Bingo has been in paint although he suspects the dog was poisoned with strychnine or some sort of pesticide. He says they need to make the dog vomit as soon as possible. Jenny returns and says Candy has gone lames on her near fore. Doris went to phone Skeldale House. Siegfried continues taking care of Bingo. He wants to take him back to surgery. Audrey admits it gave her a scare so she isn’t sure how she’d handle a real emergency.
Siegfried says this was a real emergency. Mr. Bosworth arrives just as the dog goes still. Siegfried believes they’re too late since Bingo stopped breathing. They soon learn that Bingo belonged to Mr. Bosworth. He admits it was just him and Bingo. Doris manages to stop Richard and James. She asks for a lift. She explains she’s going to see the vet because a horse at Heston Grange needs help. Bosworth doesn’t want to talk about what might have poisoned Bingo. He says he doesn’t even own a mousetrap. They find the paint that Bingo had gotten into. Bosworth admits he’s been handing the paint out all over. He says they should stop telling people to paint their cows. James suspects Candy just has a tendon sprain. Doris says Richard is a bit of a hero. He loses his nerve and nearly trips. James says Candy is elderly now and old horses can be prone to injury. A bandage might not be enough to stop it from happening again.
James thinks it’d be best to stop riding her and even think about putting her out to pasture. Helen speaks to Jenny who believes Candy is all they have left of their mom. Helen argues that their mom is everywhere there. They talk about Joan and Helen being a proper mom now. Helen tells Jenny she won’t stop worrying about her. Jenny says she’s not leaving. She’s just visiting for a day or two to see what she thinks of it. Doris thinks she’s better off there. Helen agrees she can go to Leeds. In the car, Audrey and Siegfried talk about Bosworth and his current situation. Audrey believes Siegfried still has plenty ahead. Helen learns that James forgot Jimmy’s bag. James doesn’t know how she managed by herself. He confesses he left Jimmy behind at the Dowson’s house and it took a few minutes for him to notice. Helen tells him not to be so hard on himself. Siegfried nearly hits a painted cow.
Audrey believes the paint worked and Mr. Bosworth saved them. Helen and James talk about accepting the chaos. James admits it’s odd that Siegfried is cooking. They sit down for dinner. Bosworth bangs on the door to tell them to get the lights out. He gives Siegfried a one-pound fine. Audrey thinks they should leave them to it and have dinner.
All Creatures Great And Small Review
This episode was a little better than the series five opener, but it also failed to hit emotional highs as well. It was almost there at times, but the constant ping-ponging of scenes didn’t help matters. We had the very strong scenes with Bingo passing away and finding out the dog belonged to Bosworth.
That should’ve been expanded on a lot. Instead, the show immediately jumped over to Jenny and the horses. Sadly, the latter scenes didn’t have the same impact. While a better episode, it still felt like this lacked any emotional impact. Another point is that the series seems to be delving more into humor similar to what Father Brown did.
That’s a shame because the show works best when it focuses on the raw emotions of each situation. Another potential issue is that James Herriot is no longer the sole focus of the series. He’s really being overshadowed by Richard Carmody and that will become a bigger problem with Tristan returns.
Overall, the episode was okay although it felt like it had a handful of missed opportunities to be so much better. The episode scores a 6 out of 10. Recaps of All Creatures Great and Small can be found here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link. Learn more about advertising with us here. Join the discussion here.
Jay Skelton is a fan of all television shows and movies. He tries his best to keep up with the latest foreign television shows and movies. Jay loves skinny dipping in the dark too.
