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The Best Episodes of All Creatures Great and Small

Every episode of All Creatures Great and Small ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of All Creatures Great and Small!

The Best Episodes of All Creatures Great and Small

The trials and misadventures of the staff at a country veterinary office in Yorkshire. James Herriot, a young animal surgeon, moves to a small Yorkshire...

Seasons7

  1. Background image for Merry Gentlemen
    8.6/10(140 votes)

    #1 - Merry Gentlemen

    S2:E14

    Christmas at Skeldale House can be a formidable undertaking, what with sick foals, overfed dogs and a skeleton guarding Siegfried's secret hoard of goodies.

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  2. Background image for Promises to Keep
    8.6/10(67 votes)

    #2 - Promises to Keep

    S7:E12

    It's raining cats - literally - when Tristan has to face the terrors of an enormous sow, Our Gracie, and her litter of piglets, who are due to be castrated. When the farm cats take a fancy to the anesthetic-stuffed offcuts, they start to doze off in some very unlikely places. Mrs. Clarke, a very determined old lady, is struggling to keep her farm running until she can hand it over to her young granddaughter, Mary. But she is reaching the stage when she can no longer handle the pressures, even with her elder granddaughter, Katherine to help -- and Katherine is planning to pursue a nursing career in Africa...

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    Director:Steve Goldie
  3. Background image for Breath of Life
    8.5/10(115 votes)

    #3 - Breath of Life

    S1:E13

    Siegfried discovers that a gift given in good faith has brought the deadly foot-and-mouth disease to the dales, and James accidentally hits upon a "sleep cure" for Mrs. Flaxton's poodle.

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  4. Background image for The Prodigal Returns
    8.3/10(70 votes)

    #4 - The Prodigal Returns

    S7:E1

    Life at the Yorkshire veterinary practice continues to challenge the partners, whether by neglected animals or tight-fisted farmers. There are domestic challenges for Tristan, however, when James and Helen play a practical joke with a "Welcome Home" card from an old female admirer. Life is never simple when true love or the demon drink rule Tristan's life, and he is soon in trouble with Siegfried. A new housekeeper, Mrs. Alton, has been recruited by Siegfried to keep a watchful eye on Tristan, who, dispatched to tie up the details of her employment, is delighted to discover that Mrs. Alton is a rather attractive young widow. But this is not the Mrs. Alton that Siegfried had in mind.

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  5. Background image for Old Dogs, New Tricks
    8.3/10(68 votes)

    #5 - Old Dogs, New Tricks

    S7:E10

    Siegfried takes a close friend to task for wasting his own talents as a veterinary surgeon. Ewan Ross -- "the best horse man north of the Humber" has let his career slide gently into the whiskey bottle after the death of his wife. But Siegfried is determined to make use of his considerable skills. A valuable racehorse with a strangulated hernia could provide Siegfried with not only a way of striking back at "vets in Bentleys", but also putting Ewan on the straight and narrow. James, meanwhile, is strangely reluctant to take on responsibility for Mrs. Pumphrey's beloved Tricky-Woo when she announces that she is off to France. But Siegfried caves in under the persuasive skills of Mrs. Pumphrey and Tricky-Woo moves into Skeldale.

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  6. Background image for Golden Lads and Girls
    8.2/10(118 votes)

    #6 - Golden Lads and Girls

    S1:E7

    James' temper is fraying fast -- what with two car accidents in the space of a week, an inauspicious meeting with Helen's family and his rival still lurking around Helen like a "big glossy spider".

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    The 20 WORST Episodes of All Creatures Great and Small

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  8. Background image for Advice and Consent
    8.2/10(114 votes)

    #7 - Advice and Consent

    S1:E8

    The fortunes of the hard-working Dalby family look set to dwindle even further until almost by accident James discovers the cause of their herd's illness. However, James still needs a push start on other fronts, and Siegfried and Tristan decide to remedy matters with their own expert advice.

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    Director:Peter Moffatt
  9. Background image for Practice Makes Perfect
    8.2/10(110 votes)

    #8 - Practice Makes Perfect

    S1:E12

    Having failed his exams, Tristan fears his brother's wrath. In a desperate effort to reform, Tristan shuns cigarettes, alcohol and women and adopts a rigorous routine of dawn runs and hard work.

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  10. Background image for Fair Means and Fowl
    8.2/10(98 votes)

    #9 - Fair Means and Fowl

    S2:E3

    Nerves are frayed as Tristan's encounter with an "exploding" bullock leads to a lawsuit, and Siegfried's venture in guinea raising runs foul. Meanwhile, James is sent to assist "on of the biggest boozers in the business."

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  11. Background image for Beauty of the Beast
    8.2/10(101 votes)

    #10 - Beauty of the Beast

    S2:E4

    As the tractor threatens to do away with a way of life in the Dales, James battles to save a dying shire horse.

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  12. Background image for A New Chapter
    8.2/10(67 votes)

    #11 - A New Chapter

    S5:E6

    The Herriots prepare to move to Rowangarth and another emergency with Granville Bennett.

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  13. Background image for It Takes All Kinds
    8.1/10(138 votes)

    #12 - It Takes All Kinds

    S1:E3

    Sigfried declares that the business is in shambles financially, and his solution is Miss Harbottle, a meticulous secretary who rules the cash box with an iron hand. Amid a relentless succession of new faces - many gruff, some eccentric - James meets the lovely Helen Alderson.

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  14. Background image for The Last Furlong
    8.1/10(114 votes)

    #13 - The Last Furlong

    S1:E9

    The sport of kings beckons James and Siegfried to the Broughton Races — James in search of a dead cert to raise forty pounds for a Mediterranean honeymoon, and Siegfried in pursuit of a dream job at the track.

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  15. Background image for Cats and Dogs
    8.1/10(112 votes)

    #14 - Cats and Dogs

    S2:E1

    The waiting room is packed at the Darrowby practice, but Siegfried seems more focused on catching his hard-drinking brother asleep on the job.

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    Director:Peter Moffatt
  16. Background image for Attendant Problems
    8.1/10(104 votes)

    #15 - Attendant Problems

    S2:E2

    The return of lambing season brings a boost to Siegfried's spirits, but James, laid up in the surgery, is reminded of the harsher realities of a vet's life.

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  17. Background image for Judgment Day
    8.1/10(101 votes)

    #16 - Judgment Day

    S2:E5

    The Darrowby Show is a much-anticipated event for the whole community, except for the duty vet. This mixed honor falls to James this year.

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  18. Background image for Pride of Possession
    8.1/10(100 votes)

    #17 - Pride of Possession

    S2:E8

    The atmosphere is tense as James prepares to perform groundbreaking surgery. Meanwhile, Siegfried wrestles with a disinterested prize bull, and Tristan's hormones run riot over Darrowby's merry widow.

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  19. Background image for Nothing Like Experience
    8.0/10(130 votes)

    #18 - Nothing Like Experience

    S1:E6

    James musters the courage to visit Helen after she's seen him at his worst. Siegfried resorts to sorcery to aid a gypsy's ailing pony, and a wild ghost chase solves the mystery of the shrouded figure haunting Raine Abbey.

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  20. Background image for Bulldog Breed
    8.0/10(113 votes)

    #19 - Bulldog Breed

    S1:E11

    As James struggles to save the dairy herd in which a friend has sunk all his savings, he discovers a colleague's guilty secret.

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    Director:Peter Moffatt
  21. Background image for Tricks of the Trade
    8.0/10(102 votes)

    #20 - Tricks of the Trade

    S2:E7

    James gets a taste of the high life when he comes to the aid of a city vet, Granville Bennet, while Siegfried juggles the care of Mr. Wilkinson's awesome "colt" with the fine art of debt collecting.

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    Director:Kenneth Ives
  22. Background image for Puppy Love
    8.0/10(99 votes)

    #21 - Puppy Love

    S2:E10

    Tristan may have finally found the right girl in Alice McTavish. Meanwhile, James struggles to save a dog whose death could trigger the end of the owners' marriage.

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    Director:Kenneth Ives
  23. Background image for A Present from Dublin
    8.0/10(67 votes)

    #22 - A Present from Dublin

    S5:E7

    Calum welcomes the new arrivals -- one that bites and one that fits Siegfried's cooking & cleaning requirements.

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  24. Background image for Hampered
    8.0/10(63 votes)

    #23 - Hampered

    S7:E11

    Siegfried is laid up at Skeldale with his foot in plaster. His dreams of mouthwatering meals prepared by Mrs. Alton are soon shattered by her regime of a strict diet "for an invalid". Tristan falls for the dark, sad-eyed beauty, Angela Mortimer, Mrs. Pumphrey's great-niece, who has been jilted by her fiance. Fortunately, the demanding dog Tricky-Woo provides an ideal excuse for Tristan to make a number of house calls. James impresses three hero-worshiping locals with his cow-curing abilities, and he learns to value their support when he has to judge the Darrowby Vegetable Show, with disastrous results.

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  25. Background image for Dog Days
    7.9/10(167 votes)

    #24 - Dog Days

    S1:E2

    James finds that long hours and rough conditions can make a veterinary work a dog's life, but for some dogs, like Mrs. Pumphrey's Tricki-Wu, have it so well that they can afford to spread the wealth.

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    Director:Peter Moffatt
  26. Background image for Sleeping Partners
    7.9/10(106 votes)

    #25 - Sleeping Partners

    S1:E10

    James and Helen's wedding day has finally arrived, though their honeymoon destination couldn't have been further from the Mediterranean. Finally, Siegfried bestows the best wedding present of all.

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Best Episodes Summary

"Merry Gentlemen" is the best rated episode of "All Creatures Great and Small". It scored 8.6/10 based on 140 votes. Directed by Christopher Barry and written by Anthony Steven, it aired on 12/24/1978. This episode scored 0.0 points higher than the second highest rated, "Promises to Keep".