SPOILERS ALERT!!!

Hello everyone! 🙂

Welcome to ‘Bradley’s Basement’ blog and I’m Tim Bradley!

Here we are on Series 5 of the new ‘All Creatures Great and Small’ TV series, which was shown on Channel 5 in the UK from September to October this year. I’ve greatly enjoyed checking out each of the six episodes of this season, finding them very pleasant to watch.

I wasn’t sure how the new ‘All Creatures’ series would continue, especially with James being in the RAF following the end of Series 4 and in the Christmas Special ‘On a Wing and a Prayer’. Surprisingly, the series found a way to resolve this certain issue for James.

That was to have him infected with a virus following the events of the previous season and to have him discharged from the RAF. That way he can return to Helen, be with her and their baby boy Jimmy and continue his life as a vet in Skeldale House. That’s rather clever.

This is something that didn’t occur in the original BBC TV series. When James went off to the Second World War at the end of Series 3, he didn’t return. There was a gap in-between Series 3 and the 1983 Christmas Special, and by then, the Second World War was over. 🙂

I know that sounds like the original ‘All Creatures’ TV series is more authentic in adapting from the ‘James Herriot’ books compared to the new TV series, but honestly, I don’t mind this so much. The new series is doing is own thing and I’m glad James is back in the series.

It was great to see the cast back again for Series 5. As well as Nicholas Ralph as James, there’s Samuel West as Siegfried, Rachel Shenton as Helen, Anna Madeley as Mrs. Hall and James Anthony-Rose as Richard Carmody, who became a series regular in Series 4.

And we have the welcome return of Callum Woodhouse as Tristan in the series. It was nice to see Tristan again, having missed him in Series 4 and the 2023 Christmas Special. I found it amusing to see him with a moustache, having returned from his time in Egypt. 🙂

It was nice to see the interaction between Tristan and Carmody, particularly in the fourth episode where they ended up locked in a room together with Tricki-Woo. I wonder how the original TV series would have done things with more of Tristan and Carmody together.

I mean, Peter Davison and Christopher Brown could have more screen-time together if Carmody was in more than two episodes of the original TV series. Whilst Series 5 is Carmody’s second season in ‘All Creatures’, he makes his exit in the penultimate episode.

I’m saddened Carmody left when he did, as I expected him to be in the final episode of Series 5. Maybe he might pop up in the upcoming Christmas Special briefly. At least Carmody’s character was a lot consistent than Callum Buchanan in the original TV series. 😀

It was good to see Patricia Hodge as Mrs. Pumphrey in the series along with Tricki-Woo. It was also nice to see Mollie Winnard guest star as Maggie, the barmaid at the Drover’s Arms. She appeared in the season’s third episode to welcome Tristan Farnon back home.

There’s Tony Pitts as Richard Alderson, Helen’s father and Imogen Clawson as Jenny, Helen’s sister. Gabriel Quigley and Drew Cain return as Hannah Herriot and James Herriot Snr, James’ parents, in the third episode to attend the christening of their grandson Jimmy.

Incidentally, I’m very pleased that James and Helen named their firstborn Jimmy as it matches to what’s in the original TV series and presumably in the original books by ‘James Herriot’. Should they have a daughter as their second child, I hope she’ll be named Rosie.

The series features Jeremy Swift as Mr. Bosworth, the local Air Raid Warden whom Mrs. Hall works with. It was very fascinating to see Mrs. Hall take on the role of Air Raid Warden in the series. Thankfully, she didn’t become Chief Warden Hodges from ‘Dad’s Army’. 😀

Whilst Helen Raynor, who was ‘Doctor Who’s script editor in the original Russell T. Davies era, didn’t return to write an episode for Series 5, Maxine Alderton, who wrote ‘The Haunting of Villa Diodati’ and co-wrote one episode of ‘Flux’, wrote the season’s second and fourth episodes and became an associate producer on the series.

Nicholas Asbury, who’s been in the ‘Doctor Who’ TV story ‘The Zygon Invasion’/’The Zygon Inversion’ and in some Big Finish audio stories, plays Mr. Biggins in the third episode of Series 5. I might be wrong, but I think this is the first time Biggins appears in the new series.

And Juliet Aubrey, who’s been in the 1994 BBC TV adaptation of ‘Middlemarch’, portrays Miss Grantley in the fifth episode. She’s also been in the ‘Doctor Who’ audio story ‘The Auton Infinity’. It seems that Siegfried may have found a new love interest in Miss Grantley.

Series 5 of the new ‘All Creatures Great and Small’ TV series has been great to check out. I enjoyed all six episodes of the season, as it was great to have James continue being a vet after he was discharged from the RAF, and it was equally superb to have Tristan return.

I also like how Richard Carmody’s journey in the new ‘All Creatures’ TV series concluded and he got to do more episodes than what Carmody had in the original TV series. I’m currently looking forward to the upcoming Christmas Special, which is due for December 2024.

Incidentally, at the close of the sixth and final episode of Series 5, I found it amusing when Siegfried and Tristan were drunk and they were quoting ‘Jabberwocky’ by Lewis Carroll. Mrs. Pumphrey also joined them. It reminded me of Sarah Sutton in ‘Alice Through The Looking Glass’. 😀

See you soon for the 2024 Christmas Special in December. Stay tuned! 🙂

Thanks for reading!

Bye for now!

Tim 🙂