All Creatures Great & Small

The residents of Skeldale House figure out life's changes as James and Helen become a married couple

A woman in a wedding dress looks up at a man in a suit. Behind them, a woman and a man stand with a dog. Another man stands behind the couple, smiling. They are all happy.

There are so many men to fall in love with on All Creatures Great & Small. Maybe that is why I look forward to a new season every year. It is nice being able to watch good, kind men.

The animals are another reason to watch too, of course.

“Second Time Lucky”

James and Helen finally get married

It is time for veterinarian James Herriot (Nicholas Ralph) and Helen Alderson (Rachel Shenton) to get married. Everyone is excited except for the owner of the veterinary practice at Skeldale House, Siegfried Farnon (Samuel West). He is cranky that James will be gone for a week and has given such little notice. Because, apparently, six months is too little notice.

Siegfried must have missed all the wedding planning discussions too, for him to be caught so unaware.

The night before the wedding, James; Siegfried; and Siegfried’s brother, Tristan (Callum Woodhouse), all go to the local pub to celebrate. Helen’s father, Richard Alderson (Tony Pitts), shows up at the pub too. The next morning, Siegfried, Tristan, and Richard wake up a little rough around the edges from their night out. James, however, is not with them. He is missing.

Instead of going home like the others, James spends the night in a farmer’s barn. At the pub, the farmer tells James he is concerned about his cows having tuberculosis (TB). Even though he is getting married the next morning, James insists he check on the cows. He goes to the farm and sleeps in the barn. When he wakes up, he tests the cows for TB.

James becomes so involved in the process that Tristan has to practically drag him away to get to the wedding in time. Because of this, and with war looming, Tristan worries about how far James will go, and what he will sacrifice, in order to perform his duty.

Hand-drawn drawing. A stone wall with a gate has a path stretch into the distance.
Gateway to the Future
Kate Dorsey

“Honeymoon’s Over”

James and Siegfried struggle with their new relationship as business partners

When James comes home from his honeymoon with Helen, he discovers Siegfried has made him a partner in the veterinary practice. This is exciting at first. Then James discovers what being partner actually means.

Because James is a partner, he is now responsible for some of the clinic’s expenses. The expenses cut into his salary so much that Tristan makes more than James does, despite Tristan only recently being out of veterinary school.

To make the situation worse, Siegfried is unwilling to let James make any decisions or see how the business is actually run. He continues to treat James as he always has, while giving him less money.

Siegfried is happy to act oblivious to the tension this causes in the house. Mrs. Hall (Anna Madeley), the Skeldale House housekeeper, is not. She convinces Siegfried to show James the business side of the clinic.

Gleefully, Siegfried dumps all the clinic’s financial papers on the dining room table. He is certain James will never be able to figure out the paperwork and life will go back to normal.

What Siegfried never expects is for Helen to look at the paperwork. When she does, he is forced to realize that Helen is better at finances than he is.

Everyone at Skeldale House has known and liked Helen for a long time. However, she has a lot of surprises for all of them this season.

All Creatures Great & Small – Season 1

All Creatures Great & Small – Season 2

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