There’s something comforting about settling down to watch All Creatures Great And Small.
From the very first aerial shot of a vintage car winding its way through the rolling Yorkshire Dales, it feels like being wrapped in a warm blanket.
Sheep are rounded up, farmers call out to their dogs, and before long, we’re back in that small, familiar village life where drama and comedy meet so naturally.
The new season opens with James and Helen’s children, a sequence that leans a little too sweet.
Watching James deliver a lamb while speaking to his son as if he were addressing an elderly patient might have felt a bit heavy-handed.
But before long, the show slid back into its usual balance of warmth and realism.
When Siegfried Loses His Grip
This time, the central worry is Siegfried. With Mrs Hall away visiting family in Sunderland, he’s allowed the practice — and himself — to spiral into chaos.
James complains to Helen about dwindling profits, missing stock, and an overall sense that things are falling apart.
The message might feel a little familiar: without women keeping an eye on things, men can quickly lose their way.
And in Siegfried’s case, the evidence is everywhere.
Skeldale House in Complete Disarray
Without Mrs Hall’s steadying presence, Skeldale House looks more like a scrapyard than a working practice.
Rats scurry across the floors, a Shetland pony somehow ends up in the bathroom with its hooves in the tub, and Siegfried’s sense of order has gone completely missing.
To top it off, a woman who’d clearly spent the night on his sofa has to be quietly ushered out before James arrives for work.
Who knew Siegfried had such surprises in him?
Tristan’s Smart Return
Amid the mayhem, Tristan makes his long-awaited return from the war in Italy.
Dressed sharply in his captain’s uniform, he cuts an impressive figure.
Unfortunately, Siegfried has managed to forget his brother entirely, leaving him to arrive at the station with no welcome party.
It’s one more sign that things can’t continue like this. Something has to change, and quickly.
The Push to Bring Mrs Hall Back
Naturally, the solution is simple: Mrs Hall needs to return. But her reintroduction doesn’t start smoothly.
When Siegfried encounters her back in the kitchen, she casually explains she’d just been “in the pantry.”
His confused reply — “All this time?” — captures his endearingly vague nature. Had she really been locked away for months, one suspects he might not have noticed.
Still, the reunion we’ve all been waiting for couldn’t be far off.
A Romantic Moment at the Station
The big emotional payoff arrives in a scene that feels straight out of Brief Encounter.
As Mrs Hall heads back to Sunderland, Siegfried races to the station in a desperate attempt to stop her.
With the war just ended, the platform is filled with embraces and celebrations — and in that moment, it only feels right for the two of them to finally join in.
“It’s good to have you back,” Siegfried says, before joking about how far behind they are on the laundry.
It’s the kind of wry, understated romance that suits him perfectly.
Nostalgic Echoes
Elsewhere on television, there was a nostalgic nod to the 200th anniversary of the railways with another showing of The Railway Children on BBC4.
Old-fashioned though it may be, it remains a charming reminder of simpler times — and in its own way, a fitting companion to the gentle nostalgia that All Creatures Great And Small serves up so well.
What’s Next for Skeldale House?
With Mrs Hall back in place, Siegfried steadied, and Tristan home from the war, the pieces are set for another season of small-scale village drama that feels both timeless and comforting.
All Creatures Great And Small doesn’t try too hard to manufacture laughs or tears; it just lets them happen in a way that feels real.
And perhaps that’s why, even decades on, the series still works its quiet magic.