The BEST episodes of All Creatures Great and Small season 1

Every episode of All Creatures Great and Small season 1, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of All Creatures Great and Small season 1!

In the mid-1930s James Herriot, who recently graduated from the veterinary college in Glasgow, finds work in the rustic Yorkshire Dales of Northern England. This heartwarming drama chronicles his encounters with the locals and the animals they depend on. Based on the semi-autobiographical novels of James Alfred Wight, OBE, who wrote under the pseudonym James Herriot.

Last Updated: 11/1/2024Network: BBC OneStatus: Ended
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Sleeping Partners
star
8.46
52 votes

#1 - Sleeping Partners

Season 1 - Episode 10 - Aired 3/12/1978

James and Helen's wedding day has finally arrived, though their honeymoon destination couldn't have been further from the Mediterranean. Finally, Siegfried bestows the best wedding present of all.

Directors: Terence Dudley
Watch Now:Amazon
Bulldog Breed
star
8.37
51 votes

#2 - Bulldog Breed

Season 1 - Episode 11 - Aired 3/19/1978

As James struggles to save the dairy herd in which a friend has sunk all his savings, he discovers a colleague's guilty secret.

Directors: Peter Moffatt
Writer: Brian Finch
Watch Now:Amazon
Advice and Consent
star
8.35
80 votes

#3 - Advice and Consent

Season 1 - Episode 8 - Aired 2/26/1978

The fortunes of the hard-working Dalby family look set to dwindle even further until almost by accident James discovers the cause of their herd's illness. However, James still needs a push start on other fronts, and Siegfried and Tristan decide to remedy matters with their own expert advice.

Directors: Peter Moffatt
Writer: Brian Finch
Watch Now:Amazon
Golden Lads and Girls
star
8.29
89 votes

#4 - Golden Lads and Girls

Season 1 - Episode 7 - Aired 2/19/1978

James' temper is fraying fast -- what with two car accidents in the space of a week, an inauspicious meeting with Helen's family and his rival still lurking around Helen like a "big glossy spider".

Directors: Terence Dudley
Writer: Brian Finch
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
The Last Furlong
star
8.24
84 votes

#5 - The Last Furlong

Season 1 - Episode 9 - Aired 3/5/1978

The sport of kings beckons James and Siegfried to the Broughton Races -- James in search of a dead cert to raise forty pounds for a Mediterranean honeymoon, and Siegfried in pursuit of a dream job at the track.

Watch Now:Amazon
Nothing Like Experience
star
8.17
90 votes

#6 - Nothing Like Experience

Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 2/12/1978

James musters the courage to visit Helen after she's seen him at his worst. Siegfried resorts to sorcery to aid a gypsy's ailing pony, and a wild ghost chase solves the mystery of the shrouded figure haunting Raine Abbey.

Writer: Johnny Byrne
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Calf Love
star
8.05
74 votes

#7 - Calf Love

Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 1/29/1978

Siegfried has a major victory, and his brother Tristan has to deal with pigs in more ways than one. James discovers he has a rival for Helen's affections.

Directors: Terence Dudley
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Dog Days
star
7.71
136 votes

#8 - Dog Days

Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 1/15/1978

James finds that long hours and rough conditions can make a veterinary work a dog's life, but some dogs, like Mrs. Pumphrey's Tricki-Wu, have it so well that they can afford to spread the wealth.

Directors: Peter Moffatt
Writer: Brian Finch
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Practice Makes Perfect
star
7.66
83 votes

#9 - Practice Makes Perfect

Season 1 - Episode 12 - Aired 4/7/1978

Having failed his exams, Tristan fears his brother's wrath. In a desperate effort to reform, Tristan shuns cigarettes, alcohol and women and adopts a rigorous routine of dawn runs and hard work.

Writer: Johnny Byrne
Watch Now:Amazon
Out of Practice
star
7.65
92 votes

#10 - Out of Practice

Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 2/2/1978

The veterinary practice goes from strength to strength, but James fears he has wrecked his chances with Helen after a disastrous first date. Tristan decides that a blind date is all James needs to hone his courtship skills.

Directors: Peter Moffatt
Writer: Johnny Byrne
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Horse Sense
star
7.64
140 votes

#11 - Horse Sense

Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/8/1978

Life for a newly qualified vet like James Herriot is not at all easy. He travels all the way to Darrowby, Yorkshire to secure a job, but by the time his prospective employer, Siegfried Farnon, turns up for the interview, James has fallen asleep!

Directors: Terence Dudley
Writer: Brian Clark
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Breath of Life
star
7.60
80 votes

#12 - Breath of Life

Season 1 - Episode 13 - Aired 4/14/1978

Siegfried discovers that a gift given in good faith has brought the deadly foot-and-mouth disease to the dales, and James accidentally hits upon a "sleep cure" for Mrs. Flaxton's poodle.

Directors: Terence Dudley
Watch Now:Amazon
It Takes All Kinds
star
7.57
104 votes

#13 - It Takes All Kinds

Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 1/22/1978

Sigfried declares that the business is in shambles financially, and his solution is Miss Harbottle, a meticulous secretary who rules the cash box with an iron hand. Amid a relentless succession of new faces - many gruff, some eccentric - James meets the lovely Helen Alderson.

Writer: Johnny Byrne
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV