‘All Creatures Great and Small’ Season 6 Debuts with “Gathering the Flock”

If it’s January, then it’s time for All Creatures Great & Small to return to our screens, as we jump from Season 5’s Christmas special set at the end of 1941 to the Season 6 premiere set in May 1945. Any day now, the war is expected to end, and for us, it’s a delightful return to the landscapes and characters we have come to know so well. The opening scene shows veterinarian James Herriot (Nicholas Ralph) watching a pair of enthusiastic sheepdogs expertly take charge of a herd of sheep on the steep green slopes of the Dales.

The past three years have been eventful for James and Helen (Rachel Shelton), who have a new daughter, Rosie (Arlie/Autumn Doyle), while her big brother Jimmy (Thomas Riches) is now a four-year-old aspiring veterinarian toddler who loves helping his dad on his rounds. The family isn’t living at Skeldale House anymore, having moved from their attic bedsit to Helen’s family farm, Heston Grange, to help out her dad Richard Alderson (Tony Pitts). Helen’s younger sister, Jenny (Imogen Clawson), is considering other prospects as the war has opened up new possibilities, maybe even moving to London, now that there’s someone else to live with their father.

But the move isn’t working as well as they hoped. James is dealing with his increasingly fragile and unstable partner, Siegfried Farnon (Samuel West), who disappears without warning; Richard is anti-telephone, so they can’t call to look for him. The house, formerly cosy and tidy, managed with grace and efficiency by housekeeper Audrey Hall (Anna Madelely), is strewn with debris, and Siegfried and his pet rats run wild. James is worried about Siegfried and equally about the survival of the practice. Siegfried’s younger brother, Tristan Farnon (Callum Woodhouse), is on active duty in Italy, and they don’t know when (or if) he’ll return.

Despite his concerns, James still finds solace in the beauty of the Yorkshire Dales and the company of his family, particularly his son Jimmy, who proudly helps with lambing. James discovers farmer Archie Treadwell (Wayne Foskett) has an injured, elderly sheepdog, Fly, who needs attention after a mishap with barbed wire. James takes Fly back to Skeldale House for treatment, as he suspects she also has arthritis and will soon need to retire in favor of Archie’s younger dog, Lad.

In the wreck of the dining room, Jimmie discovers a Shetland pony helping itself to the fruit bowl, and a rat on the sofa, which is heaped with blankets, revealing Siegfried in his hungover glory. Susan (Lucy-Jo Hudson), his date from the previous night and owner of the pony, also emerges from the sofa. Siegfried bribes Jimmie to keep quiet and hides Susan in another room just as Tristan, now promoted to Captain, has arrived home. (Siegfried was supposed to pick him up from the train station. Whoops.)

Siegfried gallantly opens a window for Susan to exit the house, but she’s back within minutes to pick up her handbag and her stockings. James and Tristan are both entertained as Siegfried attempts to explain the situation. Offended by Tristan and James’s merriment, Siegfried, clutching at his lost dignity, leads his pony patient out of the room.

Tristan, shocked by the house and his brother’s behavior, tells James it reminds him of Siegfried’s state of mind after he lost his wife. Audrey has returned to her family in Sunderland, now that she and her son, Edward (Conor Deane), are reconciled, and his marriage has given her a granddaughter. Tristan and James agree that they should ask her (without undue pressure) to return. Audrey agrees to come for a few days, though she doesn’t tell Siegfried that James and Tristan begged her to, making the first meeting awkward for them both. However, Audrey and Helen are delighted to see each other again.

As Audrey attempts to return to their old routine by offering Siegfried a game of Scrabble, Tristan retreats to the pub and talks with his ex, Maggie (Mollie Winnard), now married with a child, although she’s had no word from her husband in months. Tristan tells her he expects to be sent to India next.

Poor Audrey finally gets Siegfried to settle down, only to find he turns even the easiest conversational topic into a potential minefield, including suggesting the state of the place is her fault for leaving Skeldale House. He claims she robbed the male members of the household of their autonomy and demands to know whether she considers Siegfried a problem to be solved.

The next day, Siegfried returns home to find Audrey chatting in the kitchen with Susan, whom she knows from church activities. Susan came by to return Siegfried’s glasses and car keys (he is continually losing things) and take her pony home. Since the two women are drinking tea, Siegfried declares his male autonomy by making himself coffee. He burns himself and becomes angry, sneering at Audrey that she is only a housekeeper, and telling Susan to leave.

Tristan walks alone in a spectacular landscape topped with a World War I memorial, troubled by his wartime experience, in a culture that values stoicism as a badge of courage. He’s distracted by the sound of a dog whining, and finds Lad injured, alone on the hillside. Tristan, Siegfried, James, and Archie begin a search for Fly and the flock, but the light is fading, and they’re afraid the sheep are lost. But then they hear bleating, and see Fly (such a Good Dog!) and the entire flock running toward them. Returning to the surgery, Archie is alarmed at the thought of having a dog as a – gasp – pet, but we think he and Fly will both adapt!

With Lad and Fly now safe, James has a straightforward chat with Siegfried about how he is pushing people away and making everyone miserable, himself included. But Audrey has left, and Siegfried and James go in search of her, fearing correctly that she has returned to Sunderland. She found her dog Dash comfortably snuggled up with Skeldale’s Jesse – ironically, the two dogs had decided just now they were friends again – and, suitcase packed, left the house for the railway station. James and Siegfried drive as fast as they can to the station, and Siegfried runs across the line to the opposite platform as she’s about to board her train.

However, as Siefried begs Audrey to return, something strange begins to happen: out of the blue, people start screaming, crying, laughing, and embracing all around them on the platform. In case you didn’t notice the date on the newspaper, today is May 5, 1945, and the news just broke that Germany has surrendered. The war, after six harrowing years of hardship, loss, and uncertainty, is finally over.

In Darrowby, the church bells ring out for the first time in six years as the town celebrates with a bonfire in the town square, dancing, hugging, and drinking. James and Helen kiss by the light of the bonfire. With the hindsight of history, we know that after the euphoria, hard times will lie ahead, but for now, it’s wonderful to see the inhibited Brits of Darrowby rejoice.

All Creatures Great & Small Season 6 will continue with new episodes every Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on local PBS stations, the PBS app, and the PBS Masterpiece Prime Video Channel. All episodes of Season 6 are available to stream on PBS Passport for members.