Review by C.J. Bunce
Like a breath of fresh air, the UK Channel 5 and PBS Masterpiece series All Creatures Great and Small has become the best continuing TV series in the UK. Despite some struggles to find its balance, the seven episodes of Season 5 followed suit with drama, humor, and quaint vibes. It’s another show that proves fan service can be done right. Nobody wants to see animals in jeopardy, so the scripts carefully balance the realities of a British veterinarian in the Yorkshire Dales during World War II with the needs of its audience, in a manner similar to the cozy mystery genre–no violence too overt and never anything bad in excess.
The world wants this family of mostly unrelated co-workers to succeed, thrive, and survive. This season that meant a return of a fan-favorite character, and the departure of another. And as a baby enters the picture, two other characters examine what it means to be growing older. It’s the stuff of vanilla drama but made better because it’s contained in the historical fiction and war genres. As a sixth season begins production, the toughest thing for fans is that it doesn’t get a full slate of 10 episodes per season. Like Doctor Who, each season has an eagerly-awaited Christmas episode as its finale, the kind of hook that gives viewers something to look forward to each year. The finale for season 5 airs tonight in the States on PBS Masterpiece.
Returning for the fifth season is Nicholas Ralph as veterinarian and new WWII veteran James Herriot and Samuel West as his mercurial mentor Siegfried Farnon. Anna Madeley is back as the matriarch of Skeldale House Mrs. Hall, along with Rachel Shenton as the Jack-of-all-Trades farmer and mother Helen Herriot. James Anthony-Rose is back in his second season as new vet Richard Carmody. Also returning is the elegant and regal Patricia Hodge as Mrs. Pumphrey, and her adored pampered Pekingese Tricki (played by Derek).
But even more than following James Herriott’s journey, what fans of the series have been waiting for is no secret: Callum Woodhouse’s Tristan Farnon, back from the war. Siegfried’s mischievous brother has been serving in the Royal Army Veterinary Corps and his return is everything fans would want. Despite an ongoing military job he is still up to his normal antics. A high point for the series is the fourth episode, “Uninvited Guests,” which features Tristan and Richard squabbling over living quarters at the house and they get trapped together at Mrs. Pumphrey’s home–now used as a military hospital–with a missing snake. Patricia Hodge shows again how powerful an actress she is, and how strong her character. She, too, is experiencing uninvited guests of a sort, as she volunteered her great home for the war effort, but didn’t expect for her and Tricky Woo to get kicked out in the meantime.
The war is real, something tangible and not all that distant away. The bulk of the dramatic work this season lands on Anna Madeley as Mrs. Hall, who is trying to find her role in the war effort. With a son sailing the ocean in the Pacific Theater, she joins up to assist the local warden, policing the streets at night to make sure all citizens have doffed their lamps and closed their curtains so as not to make it easy for enemy planes above. The veterinary job similarly is getting to Samuel West’s Siegfried, who finds himself too agitated by a local client who won’t repair his gate. Clients not following medicinal instructions seems to be a hallmark of Yorkshire. But Siegfried rises up above it all eventually.
You can’t say enough about Mrs. Pumphrey’s dog Tricki. Richard brings his own dog into the family, Hamish, played by Tweet. But a series like this actually needs more recurring animals we get to know so well. Mrs. Hall brings a fox into the picture at the end of the season. Will it return for the next?
For those after a tear-jerker, just follow Mrs. Hall all season. All her calm and steadiness comes to a head when her son is feared missing after an attack on his ship. But everyone takes on too much during wartime. Mrs. Hall has her new volunteer job and she must maintain the household at Skeldale House. Siegfried must maintain his practice with the uncertainty of whether he is going to have any help. James is off at war, but then a disease from a past episode creeps up and makes him unfit for duty, so he gets to go home, but carries with him PTSD before it had the label. Helen doesn’t just want to be a mom, but wants to contribute like everyone else, but struggles when she doesn’t feel needed back on the farm. And James, Tristan, and Richard all feel guilty they are not doing enough.
Newcomers this season include Jeremy Swift as Mr. Bosworth, the over-zealous and pitiable warden, Caroline Menton as the amiable Doris, a crush for Richard and an aide to many in the town, and Duncan Preston as the crusty pigeon aficianado, Enoch Sykes. The show briefly sets up Professor T’s Juliet Aubrey as a potential love interest for Siegfried next season. Typically babies on film are not something to celebrate, but little Otto Pearson hits all his cues well as little Jimmy. We also see the welcome return of a more grown up Jenny Alderson (Imogen Clawson) and her father played by Tony Pitts.
Mr. Bosworth loses a dog to someone failing to bury the carcasses of rats who were poisoned, which is a great way the show shares science with viewers–dogs, cats, and wild animals are unintentionally killed every year in every neighborhood by people using poisons to fend off pests. This show serves as an educational tool that can save lives. For those wanting to dig into the war theme, you’ll find victory gardens, training for bombing missions, training horse and donkey soldiers, air raid preparation, and the sacrifices and active roles of everyday Brits–like veterinarians who were vital to keep farming going during the war despite the ongoing threat of disease. But it’s not all heavy drama. The writers know how to play the characters–and these actors–for some great laughs.
The adapted novels of James Herriot have been told on the small screen a few times now, and the messages of the importance of science and medicine, of community and family and duty are timeless, sure to be adapted over and over again in the future. Also returning for Season 5 are writers Debbie O’Malley (Payback, The Guilty) for episodes 1 and 6 and Maxine Alderton (All Creatures Great and Small, Doctor Who) for episodes 2 and 4. They are joined by writers Matt Evans (Phoenix Rise, A Town Called Malice) for episode 3 and Robin French (Cuckoo, The Great) for episode 5. Brian Percival (All Creatures Great and Small, Dark Angel) returns as Lead Director and Executive Producer of Episodes 1 and 2, Stewart Svaasand (Tin Star, Outlander) returns to direct episodes 3 & 4, and Andy Hay (All Creatures Great and Small, The Last Kingdom) directed Episodes 5, 6 and the Christmas Special. Yvonne Francas (The Syndicate, Our Girl) also returns as Producer.
Catch the entire new, fifth season and season finale tonight of All Creatures Great and Small, UK Channel 5’s highest rated drama ever, online and on the PBS app. All Creatures Great and Small has been renewed for Season 6, so subscribe on this page and keep coming back to borg for more coverage of the series in the coming years.
