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The Worst Episodes of All Creatures Great and Small

Every episode of All Creatures Great and Small ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst Episodes of All Creatures Great and Small!

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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 town to begin his first job.

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Worst Episode
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    All Creatures Great and Small Season 1 Episode 2 - Dog Days
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #1 - 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.

    Director:Peter Moffatt
    Writer:Brian Finch

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  2. All Creatures Great and Small Season 1 Episode 6 - Nothing Like Experience
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #2 - 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.

    Director:Christopher Baker
    Writer:Johnny Byrne

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  3. All Creatures Great and Small Season 1 Episode 9 - The Last Furlong
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #3 - 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.

    Director:Christopher Baker
    Writer:Anthony Steven

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  4. All Creatures Great and Small Season 1 Episode 10 - Sleeping Partners
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #4 - 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.

    Director:Terence Dudley
    Writer:Johnny Byrne

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  5. All Creatures Great and Small Season 1 Episode 12 - Practice Makes Perfect
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #5 - 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.

    Director:Christopher Baker
    Writer:Johnny Byrne

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  6. All Creatures Great and Small Season 1 Episode 13 - Breath of Life
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #6 - 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.

    Director:Terence Dudley
    Writer:Anthony Steven

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  7. All Creatures Great and Small Season 2 Episode 4 - Beauty of the Beast
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #7 - 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.

    Director:Peter Moffatt
    Writer:Johnny Byrne

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  8. All Creatures Great and Small Season 2 Episode 8 - Pride of Possession
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #8 - 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.

    Director:Christopher Barry
    Writer:Anthony Steven

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  9. All Creatures Great and Small Season 2 Episode 12 - Pups, Pigs and Pickles
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #9 - Pups, Pigs and Pickles

    S2:E12

    Siegried turns on the charm to teach Tristan a lesson, while James, busy with calving, finds one farmer's traditional Yorkshire hospitality a bit hard to swallow.

    Director:Robert Tronson
    Writer:Terence Dudley

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  10. All Creatures Great and Small Season 2 Episode 13 - A Dog's Life
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #10 - A Dog's Life

    S2:E13

    Despite Siegfried's insistence that he relax and "cultivate the inner man," James can't shrug off the irritations that often make his professions a dog's life. Siegfried's inner man is cramming for the annual quiz that pits the men of Darrowby against the fearsome Women's Institute.

    Director:Kenneth Ives
    Writer:Johnny Byrne

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  11. All Creatures Great and Small Season 3 Episode 4 - Hair of the Dog
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #11 - Hair of the Dog

    S3:E4

    Tristan and Siegfried meet Roddy, a hobo and his dog who are passing through the area. Mrs. Hall needs to visit sick relatives for a few days and Tristan is assigned chief cook and bottle washer. He also has to do the spring cleaning, cook the meals and put in his time in the surgery. Siegfried is less than sympathetic when Tristan complains. Granville Bennett stops in wanting the vets to care for his dog, Phoebe, who needs an minor operation. He invites James and Siegfried to lunch the next day and James once again over imbibes. Helen practices her first aid skills on James.

    Director:Christopher Barry
    Writer:William Humble

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  12. All Creatures Great and Small Season 3 Episode 6 - Pig in the Middle
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #12 - Pig in the Middle

    S3:E6

    James and Helen are about to celebrate their first wedding anniversary and Tristan suggests to James that they go to the Harlequin, a modest restaurant that opened recently. It turns out to be anything but and is in fact one of the poshest restaurants in the area. Siegfried starts seeing Margery Egerton. Tristan, now a free man since being forbidden to see Miss Mount, sets his sights on previous conquests. Siegfried and Tristan ask James to arbitrate when they both want the same evening off. James has to pay several visits to Mr. Bailes whose dog seems to take great delight in scaring the wits out of him.

    Director:Michael Hayes
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. All Creatures Great and Small Season 3 Episode 8 - A Dying Breed
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #13 - A Dying Breed

    S3:E8

    The vets visit a modern dairy farm and are left to wonder who benefits from the cold efficiency. Miss Westerman returns with her dog Hamish and Tristan tries to avoid her, given that he misplaced her dog the last time she him in the vets' care. She is concerned at the rumors that all dogs will need to be destroyed if war is declared but Tristan sets her mind to rest. The vets agree to spay a cat for a minimum fee, but find they may have gotten more that they bargained for. Siegfried treat Herbie Hinchcliffe's aging horse Dolly and becomes emotionally involved in the case when he has to put

    Director:Richard Bramall
    Writer:Unknown

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  14. All Creatures Great and Small Season 3 Episode 9 - Brink of Disaster
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #14 - Brink of Disaster

    S3:E9

    Siegfried has become a bit horse shy given his recent experience with Dolly. James has to deal with the very unpleasant Ralph Beamish, an arrogant horse owner who continually ignores his advice. Siegfried visits a local pig farmer and fears his animals may be infected with foot and mouth disease. Mrs. Beck continues to complain about her with the vets bill and is now worried about how her cat might survive a gas attack should war be declared. Germany has invaded Poland and the British government has given Germany an ultimatum to leave or they will be at war.

    Director:Michael Hayes
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. All Creatures Great and Small Season 3 Episode 10 - Home and Away
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #15 - Home and Away

    S3:E10

    Mrs. Hall is away visiting a cousin and James agrees to fill in for Stewie Brannon while he's on holidays. Siegfried and Tristan make the best of it but Tristan's culinary skills have not improved over the years. He does make an excellent bangers and mash, for every meal, everyday. James treats a severely injured dog and has a bit of difficulty with the local dialect.

    Director:Terence Dudley
    Writer:Unknown

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  16. All Creatures Great and Small Season 3 Episode 12 - Matters of Life and Death
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #16 - Matters of Life and Death

    S3:E12

    James treats Paul Cotterell's dog Theo, who has been losing weight and is diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease. James recommends that Theo be put down and Paul agrees. James doesn't realize the impact this has on Paul and the tragic results that ensue. James meets Lord Hulton, a hard working farm owner despite his aristocratic background. Hulton takes a liking to a horse that has wandered onto his property from the nearby military depot. At the Billings farm, James finds young calves who are wasting away. He thinks they have ingested an irritant of some kind, but the vets simply can't isolate it.

    Director:Michael Hayes
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. All Creatures Great and Small Season 3 Episode 13 - Will to Live
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #17 - Will to Live

    S3:E13

    Siegfried takes Tristan to task for not mending a hole in the fence. Tristan announces that he now refuses to subject himself to Siegfried's tyranny but he is given 24 hours to mend the fence or face the consequences. Tristan tries to recruit James in his battle with Siegfried, but James will have nothing to do with it. Siegfried comes up with the perfect response. James operates on a sick calf but those assisting him are worse off than the calf. As a result, James comes down with a bad case of the flu. James is also concerned at having to give bad news to Andrew Vine about his dog, given his recent experience with Paul Cotterell.

    Director:Christopher Barry
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. All Creatures Great and Small Season 3 Episode 14 - Big Steps and Little 'Uns
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #18 - Big Steps and Little 'Uns

    S3:E14

    England is at war and the time has come for James and Siegfried to join their military units. Their last day at the practice is a busy one and James is repeatedly called out when he had hopes to spend a last, quiet evening at home with Helen. Siegfried surprises James with a small gift. Mrs. Hall also has a surprise announcement for everyone and Tristan receives shocking news from the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.

    Director:Terence Dudley
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. All Creatures Great and Small Season 4 Episode 1 - One of Nature's Little Miracles
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #19 - One of Nature's Little Miracles

    S4:E1

    Calum Buchanan joins the practice along with his tame badger, Marylin. Pregnant ewes, the plumbing at Sceldale and Helen's lost engagement ring herald the new arrival.

    Director:Peter Moffatt
    Writer:Johnny Byrne

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  20. All Creatures Great and Small Season 4 Episode 7 - Ace, King, Queen, Jack
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #20 - Ace, King, Queen, Jack

    S4:E7

    The week leading up to the Darrowby Show proves to be a difficult one for James. He finds that he has been asked to judge the dog section at the show, an invitation he can't refuse. Since Mrs. Pumphrey will inevitably want to enter Tricki Woo, James expects to be put in a very embarrassing situation.

    Director:Roderick Graham
    Writer:Terry Hodgkinson

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  21. All Creatures Great and Small Season 5 Episode 3 - Choose a Bright Morning
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #21 - Choose a Bright Morning

    S5:E3

    James receives a cry for help from the isolated Bramley family who last came to town in 1929.

    Director:Robert Tronson
    Writer:Anthony Steven

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  22. All Creatures Great and Small Season 5 Episode 5 - When Dreams Come True
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #22 - When Dreams Come True

    S5:E5

    Helen is finally up and about - only to face the morning after the chaos of Tristan's party the night before.

    Director:Jeremy Summers
    Writer:Johnny Byrne

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  23. All Creatures Great and Small Season 5 Episode 7 - A Present from Dublin
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #23 - A Present from Dublin

    S5:E7

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

    Director:Jeremy Summers
    Writer:Anthony Steven

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  24. All Creatures Great and Small Season 5 Episode 11 - The Jackpot
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #24 - The Jackpot

    S5:E11

    James wears his shorts to a visit and is challenged to a race, while Jock, a once champion sheepdog, and delights in chasing cars from the farm.

    Director:Tony Virgo
    Writer:Anthony Steven

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  25. All Creatures Great and Small Season 6 Episode 1 - Here and There
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #25 - Here and There

    S6:E1

    James meets Basil Courtney, a cowhand for a local farmer. Basil has worked in a circus, been a teacher, has knowledge of art and a nose for good wine! James is intrigued until he discovers that Basil has not been giving the farmer's calves their treatment and, as a result, they are showing no signs of improvement.

    Director:Bob Blagden
    Writer:Brian Finch

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Worst Episodes Summary

"Dog Days" is the worst rated episode of "All Creatures Great and Small". It scored 7/10 based on 1 votes. Directed by Peter Moffatt and written by Brian Finch, it aired on 1/15/1978. This episode scored 0.0 points lower than the second lowest rated, "Nothing Like Experience".