All Creatures Great and Small

James Herriot finds himself in a compromised position skiing through rural snowy countryside to save a litter of dying piglets. Helen is confined to bed having a slipped a disc in her back and Tristan is hoping that Siegfried will give him a job since he has resigned from the Ministry of Agriculture.

With Helen still bedridden, domestic chaos erupts and James struggles manage with both chores and children in her absence. Siegfried and Tristan praise his noble efforts but provide no support and do nothing to help the situation. Tristan infuriates Mr. Bushy, a redoubtable farmer, by treating a dog instead of Busby's cow, by sleeping in, and finally by treating a bull instead of Busby's dog!

Calum returns from Ireland and is thrilled to hear that Deirdre will be spending a week in Darrowby; unfortunately, the week doesn't quite go as planned. Siegfried treats a horse after it suffers a serious fall and James is introduced to a family of cat lovers. Tristan meanwhile treats a dog who seems to take great joy in biting him.

Life is more hectic than usual at Skeldale House with Siegfried away at a conference, Helen still confined to her bed and Tristan busy with farewell parties before heading off to Ireland. James treats a horse with a mysterious ailment, Calum takes delight in gently tormenting a straight-arrow farmer and everyone grows tired of Tristan's limited culinary skills (which seem limited to baked beans).

James and Helen make an offer on a house but it's now up to the bank to provide them with a mortgage. Will their less-than-friendly banker oblige? Siegfried starts to lose confidence in their pharmaceutical supplier, Mr. Barge, thinking that he only has remedies from the dark ages. James disagrees and puts Mr. Barge to the test. Calum treats a flock of sheep with an everyday remedy.

Helen is packing for the move to their new house and is worried when James and Calum must visit Granville Bennett with a sick dog requiring an urgent operation. With the operation complete, Granville suggests they attend a veterinary lecture at a nearby village. To no one's surprise, Granville's main interest seems to be in the buffet dinner and open bar and both James and Calum return home late.

Calum stays busy and must perform a minor operation on "Puppy" but James' advice on administering the sedative doesn't seem to quite work. He also needs to operate on a sick cow, but has some difficulty keeping the owners focused on the task at hand. Calum also receives a visit from Molly McFeely, with whose family he stayed with while in Ireland - and Deirdre decides to visit at the same time.

Still short-handed with Tristan away in Ireland, Siegfried proudly announces that he has arranged for a vet, Willy Bannister, to assist at the clinic. To Calum's dismay, Willie is fond of opera, but he brightens somewhat when Willy claims to be a good cook. James has to deal with the Wains, a brother-sister team of farmers who have somewhat different approach to life and work.

Siegfried goes on the warpath as a number of farmers have not paid their bills. They draw up a black list of the worst offenders and decide to tackle the issue head on. But Siegfried doesn't worry when rumors have Major Bullen being bankrupt - as he is a gentleman, Siegfried is quite sure the Major will pay up.

Siegfried invites a new student for practical experience and Calum isn't happy about it. Calum is also in a bad mood when Deirdre has to leave earlier than planned but regrets her departure less when the student, Emma Styles, arrives. She accompanies him on his rounds and he is quite taken with her but he questions whether it's practical for a woman to be involved in heavy animal work.

Having just returned from a two week holiday in Scotland, James has trouble re-adjusting to work. On his first day back, he does his rounds in shorts, much to the amusement of local farmers. Siegfried heads off on his own holiday and that means a lot of extra work for both Calum and James. Deirdre comes to spend a week to help them out and the practice receives an unexpected visit from a nearby vet.

Calum nurses a young fox back to health but releasing it back to the wild proves to be more challenging than expected. Deirdre unexpectedly shows up in Darrowby on business, but is with someone called Anthony. Siegfried purchases a television in time to see the inaugural TV broadcast in the Dales; he even helps out one of the locals who won a television in a raffle.