TV Review: The Fourth "All Creatures Great and Small" is Balm for the Soul

The series, based on the beloved novels by James Herriot, continues to enchant with its fourth outing.

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I’ve been a fan of the new All Creatures Great and Small ever since I started watching it a couple of years ago (I was a bit of a latecomer, alas). I’d loved the original books, of course, as well as the BBC series that aired from 1978 to 1990, and so I was a bit hesitant at first. As soon as I started watching this new iteration, however, I was hooked. It had all of the warmth and generosity and coziness I wanted, along with some spectacular performances from its main cast, all of whom added their own gloss to the characters I knew so well. 

The fourth season sees James, Helen, Siegfried, and Mrs. Hall all contending with various professional and personal crises. Most significantly, perhaps, James is preparing to be called up for service in World War II, which is already raging by the time the series begins. Things only get more complicated when Helen discovers that she’s pregnant, which leads to quite a few confrontations, particularly since James and Siegfried seem determined to keep her from doing anything they might consider dangerous. 

As has been the case throughout the series’ run, Creatures deftly weaves together animal and human drama into a coherent and cohesive whole, one that manages to tug on the heart-strings without ever veering into the realm of cheap sentiment. In the very first episode, for example, James encounters a young boy whose dog seems to be suffering from distemper. The lad, a product of poverty, is immensely distrustful of James, and comes close to having his dog confiscated by the RSPCA, and in the process James has to examine some of his assumptions about animal care. It all comes out all right in the end, of course. The dog is on the path to recovery, and the lad has gone to work for a recently widowed farmer, where he’ll not only have some purpose to his days but will presumably earn a bit of money to take back to his great-grandmother.

Both Siegfried and Helen have quite a lot of growing and introspection to do, as well. Helen’s life understandably changes forever once she finds out she’s pregnant, and she has to grapple with both her own sense of vulnerability and the worries of those surrounding her. If you’re not in love with Rachel Shenton’s performance as this character, then I don’t know what to tell you. Siegfried, meanwhile, continues to deal with his brother’s absence in war. I continue to love what Samuel West does with this role, capturing just enough of the bombastically idiosyncratic character of the novel while sanding off his rougher edges and allowing us to see his more tender, tearful side.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Hall not only manages to secure her well-deserved divorce but also takes some important steps in her relationship with the lovable and endlessly kind Gerald. Anna Madeley continues to deliver some truly exemplary character work, capturing Mrs. Hall’s resolute kindness and warmth even as she also shows us the heart she has endured, particularly at the hands of her ex-husband and her son. You can’t help but just want her to be happy, whether that’s with Gerald or with Mr. Farnon (the two share an increasingly-obvious attraction this season).

If there’s one complaint I would have about this season, it would be the lack of Tristan, who had his own departure at the end of the previous season and is currently serving in France. That being said, James Anthony-Rose makes a welcome addition as the bookish and awkward Richard Carmody, who struggles a bit to adapt to life in the Dales. He has several amusing run-ins with the redoubtable Mrs. Pumphrey, particularly when he doesn’t give dear Tricky the sort of lavish attention that they feel he deserves. 

There are moments of sadness and grief, to be sure, particularly when a young farming family has to contend with an outbreak of brucellosis that leads to them losing several of their calves. I’ve always appreciated this series’ willingness to engage with the complexities and difficulties of farm life, where the loss of even a few calves can mean the difference between holding a farm together or plunging into financial ruin. Creatures doesn’t shy away from the harsher realities of life in a place like the Dales, but it also makes it clear that there is community and goodness here, too, such as when Helen manages to gather the community together to help their new residents.

For me, though, the most heart-wrenching episode was “Papers,” when James has to finally depart to take up training with the RAF. When, at the end of the episode, Ralph recites Robert Burns’ “A Red, Red Rose” as he departs for training, I’m not ashamed to say that I wept. It was one of those moments that perfectly captured the heartache of a soldier departing for war, never knowing if he’ll return home to be with his family. For me the most poignant image isn’t Helen hanging up a model airplane, nor James looking at their wedding photo, touching and resonant as those are. Instead, it’s the image of his bus slowly making its way across the frame, the beauty of Yorkshire spread in the distance. It’s a moment which perfectly captures the aching beauty and sadness of this moment in the series. 

The enduring ethos of All Creatures Great and Small is decency. Herriot and the other residents of Skeldale House–and of Darrowby more generally–are good folks who are doing the best they can in a world that grows more uncertain  by the day.  Whether it’s figuring out a tortoise has fleas or making sure that a cat that has been hit by a car has the chance to live, these people do everything in their power to protect the animals in their care. As it has from the beginning, this season of the series encourages us to love and care about these characters, to see them in all of their (sometimes frustrating) complexity and contradictions. We want what’s best for them, even if they sometimes have difficulty seeing exactly what that might be. In this very cynical age, All Creatures Great and Small is a balm for the soul, and I can’t wait for the next season.