All Creatures Great & Small: Series 04 (1988)

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Having ended its initial BBC run in 1980, the weekly, hour-long medical drama All Creatures Great & Small, based on the autobiographical novels by Yorkshire veterinarian James Herriot, was brought back by popular demand in 1988. Returning for this new batch of episodes is Christopher Timothy as Herriot, and Robert Hardy and Peter Davison as his medical partners, Siegfried and Tristan Farnon. However, Lynda Bellingham has replaced Carol Drinkwater in the role of James' wife Helen. Also new to the cast is John McGlynn as James' young accordion-playing assistant Calum Buchanan. The original series ended with season three, as James and Siegfried joined the RAF to fight in World War II. The fourth season takes place several years later, with the fact that the previously footloose and fancy-free Tristan has been appointed Fertility Advisor for the Minister of Agriculture ample proof that everyone has matured considreably since we saw them last. Otherwise, it's business as usual, with James and his colleagues tending to an exhausting variety of sheep, cows, dogs, cats, and even fleas. Meanwhile, rival veterinarian Granville Bennett (James Grout), who owns a thriving animal hospital, is doing everything in his power to woo the talented James away from the Farnon brothers. James does not, however, make his final decision until the season's last episode, "For Richer, For Poorer." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi