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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(139 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(66 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 The Prodigal Returns
    8.3/10(69 votes)

    #3 - 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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  4. Background image for Old Dogs, New Tricks
    8.3/10(67 votes)

    #4 - 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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  5. Background image for Fair Means and Fowl
    8.2/10(97 votes)

    #5 - 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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  6. Background image for Beauty of the Beast
    8.2/10(100 votes)

    #6 - 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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  8. Background image for Blood and Water
    8.2/10(63 votes)

    #7 - Blood and Water

    S6:E5

    James meets a pair of elderly twins. Oliver and Roland Strong, rabbit breeder and prize cabbage-grower respectively, have divided the cottage left to them by their mother and have not spoken to each other for 50 years. Now Oliver is convinced that Roland has poisoned one of his rabbits.

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  9. Background image for The Best Time
    8.2/10(65 votes)

    #8 - The Best Time

    S6:E12

    Siegfried is perplexed when the usually-caring Grandma Clarke snubs her neighbor, Franco Pedretti, who is the new shepherd on the estate where she is a tenant farmer. It soon becomes apparent that she blames Franco for the untimely death of her son in Italy during the war and the subsequent death of his wife in childbirth.

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    Director:Tony Virgo
  10. Background image for Cats and Dogs
    8.1/10(111 votes)

    #9 - 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
  11. Background image for Attendant Problems
    8.1/10(103 votes)

    #10 - 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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  12. Background image for Judgment Day
    8.1/10(100 votes)

    #11 - 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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  13. Background image for Pride of Possession
    8.1/10(99 votes)

    #12 - 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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  14. Background image for Where Sheep May Safely Graze
    8.1/10(67 votes)

    #13 - Where Sheep May Safely Graze

    S6:E6

    When James treats a sick cat, he finds himself in an awkward position with Mrs. Pumphrey and Mrs.Tibbett. These two formidable and mutually ferocious Darrowby matrons compete both in presents for the invalid and in hounding James for information of the patient's progress.

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  15. Background image for Tricks of the Trade
    8.0/10(101 votes)

    #14 - 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
  16. Background image for Puppy Love
    8.0/10(98 votes)

    #15 - 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
  17. Background image for The Call of the Wild
    8.0/10(67 votes)

    #16 - The Call of the Wild

    S6:E3

    Deidre and Calum are busy planning their wedding. Deidre discusses her future with Helen, who hopes the couple will stay in Darrowby. However, Calum gets offered a job in Nova Scotia. Siegfried, believing he has forced Calum into applying for the job, hopes he can now persuade him to reconsider.

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  18. Background image for Mending Fences
    8.0/10(67 votes)

    #17 - Mending Fences

    S6:E8

    Jenny Garston and David Rayner, individually charming farmer and horse-breeder, have been sworn enemies since their earliest school days. When a triple birthday is marred by tragedy it falls to Siegfried to negotiate with the stony-faced neighbors.

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  19. Background image for In Whom We Trust
    8.0/10(64 votes)

    #18 - In Whom We Trust

    S6:E10

    An old friend of James and Siegfried, an itinerant raveler called Roddy Travers, arrives in Darrowby. He appears to be stealing instruments from the practice but Siegfried and James are relieved to discover that Roddy's recently acquired lurcher dog, Murphy, is the culprit. However, the situation turns serious when an elderly local farmer accuses Murphy of sheep killing.

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    Director:Tony Virgo
  20. Background image for The Rough and the Smooth
    8.0/10(60 votes)

    #19 - The Rough and the Smooth

    S6:E11

    Siegfried insists on singing the praises of his new time- management system, a personal diary, much to the annoyance of James. James is particularly put out by Siegfried's successful demonstration to his bete-noir, the redoubtable Mr. Ripley. However, Siegfried's morning is spoiled when he has to deal with Humphrey, an exuberant Great Dane.

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    Director:Tony Virgo
  21. Background image for Hampered
    8.0/10(62 votes)

    #20 - 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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  22. Background image for Faint Hearts
    7.9/10(102 votes)

    #21 - Faint Hearts

    S2:E6

    While James struggles to cope with the procrastinations of the Bellerby family, Tristan succumbs to the charms of a millionaire shipbuilder's daughter with a penchant for lobster.

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  23. Background image for The Nelson Touch
    7.9/10(61 votes)

    #22 - The Nelson Touch

    S6:E4

    Siegfried visits a farm to treat a sick cat and pulls off a brilliant piece of human diagnosis at the same time. He also gets an unexpected visit from the puritan Mr. Hopps -- who does not have an animal with him.

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  24. Background image for The New World
    7.9/10(62 votes)

    #23 - The New World

    S6:E7

    When Lady Hulton's cat falls ill, Siegfried embarks, with typical zeal, on updating the practice to cater for such refined clients. Lady Hulton, however, catches him out at every turn. James' problems lie with an affable but lazy farmer, Vernon Harker, whose plans to save himself from work even extend to marrying a tower of strength with a grown son to match.

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  25. Background image for Knowin' How to Do It
    7.9/10(62 votes)

    #24 - Knowin' How to Do It

    S7:E2

    Planting a syringe full of anti-abortion vaccine into a farmer's backside creates something of a crisis for Tristan. Farmer Nat Briggs is convinced that his chances of starting a family have been ruined by Tristan's clumsiness, and he hangs threateningly around the Drovers waiting for a chance to confront Tristan. But it is Siegfried who gets a letter threatening court action. James, meanwhile, keeps Helen guessing about his mysterious visits to a local joiner, whose pet, Helen knows, died some time ago.

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  26. Background image for If Music Be the Food of Love
    7.9/10(61 votes)

    #25 - If Music Be the Food of Love

    S7:E3

    Tristan's heart is all a flutter because of the lovely Jane Mercer. When he discovers that she sings in the choral society, Tristan develops a fresh interest in matters musical. But strong-willed Jane takes a donkey's owner to task for neglecting the animal, much to the embarrassment of Tristan. Farmer Biggins, meanwhile, baffles all three partners with his strange behavior. A legendary non-payer of vets' bills, he finally meets his match when Granville Bennett - "the finest small animal practitioner in the north" attends his tom cat and manages to get Biggins to settle his outstanding account in full.

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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 139 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".