All Creatures Great and Small

Tristan is must manage domestic challenges when James and Helen play a practical joke with a "Welcome Home" card from an old female admirer. A new housekeeper, Mrs. Alton, has been recruited by Siegfried to keep a watchful eye on Tristan, who 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.

Planting a syringe full of anti-abortion vaccine into a farmer's backside creates a mini-crisis for Tristan. Farmer Nat Briggs is convinced that his chances of starting a family have been ruined by Tristan's clumsiness and waits for a chance to confront him. But it is Siegfried who gets a letter threatening court action.

Tristan is smitten over the lovely Jane Mercer. When he discovers that she sings in the choral society, Tristan develops a fresh interest in anything musical. Farmer Biggins. a legendary non-payer of vets' bills, finally meets his match when Granville Bennett - "the finest small animal practitioner in the north" attends his tom cat and forces Biggins to settle his outstanding account in full.

Tragedy strikes Bill Shadwell when his herd of dairy shorthorns contracts Johne's disease. As Shadwell nears retirement, his son wants to move into more profitable Friesian dairy cattle. Mr. Grimsdale's bull has a serious problem and Siegfried is convinced it has swallowed a dangerous metal object. But tightfisted Grimsdale doesn't think an operation is needed.

The mysterious Mrs. Donovan poses problems for all three partners. Siegfried rashly dismisses her as "a warm-hearted woman who loves animals" -- until she starts interfering with his patients and there seems to be no limit to her homespun remedies. Lovely Rosemary Brocklehurst attracts the romantic attention of Tristan when she brings in Esmerelda, a tortoise, which won't come out of its shell.

Queen Elizabeth II's Coronation is cause for Darrowby celebrations on a grand scale. James and Helen's 12-year-old daughter, Rosie, is due to be crowned too, as Darrowby's pageant princess. Siegfried resorts to traditional cures when he tackles a sheep with liver fluke, and is all too eager to pass on to James a rather smelly problem afflicting a dog called Wolfie.

Buffoon, Stewie Brannen, an old friend of Siegfried's, has invited the distinguished Professor Norton to a black tie dinner, and prevails upon Siegfried to host it at Skeldale -- and lend him a dinner suit. But disaster looms when Siegfried and Stewie are called out for a calving, in full evening dress, and James has to hold the fort with an irritable Mrs. Alton.

There's unusual friction in the Herriot household when 12- year-old daughter Rosie announces that she wants to become a vet. James goes out of his way to show her the arduous, dirty and dangerous side of his work, while Helen thinks he ought to encourage her. Siegfried, meanwhile, manages to lose Mrs. Pettinger's kitten Prudence, which escapes from the surgery and hitches a ride to Hull.

Siegfried is determined to discover who shot Korean War veteran Jacob Pearson's dog. The suspect is Captain Crawford's willful and surly 20-year-old son, Hugh. Both James and Siegfried have extraordinarily little success in extracting payment from wily farmer Dennis Pratt -- until they discover he may be sneaking his cows onto a neighboring farm to enjoy better grazing.

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 whisky bottle after the death of his wife. But Siegfried is determined to make use of his considerable skills. 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.

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 Mortime. Fortunately, the demanding dog Tricky-Woo provides an ideal excuse for Tristan to make a number of house calls.

Tristan has to face the terrors of an enormous sow, Our Gracie, and her litter of piglets, who are due to be castrated. 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.

It is Christmas 1953, and an outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease has hits the Dales.