TV Review – ‘Semper Progrediens’ (All Creatures Great and Small) (2020-21)

Hello everyone! 🙂

Welcome to ‘Bradley’s Basement’ blog and I’m Tim Bradley!

I greatly enjoyed watching the second episode of Series 2 of the new ‘All Creatures Great and Small’ series. I even found the second episode of Series 2 better than the first one. I recognised some familiar faces featured in this episode and I do like how James and Helen’s love story is developing. 🙂

In the episode, the Daffodil Ball is about to happen. I’m not sure if there’s a Welsh connection involved with it being called the Daffodil Ball. If James were in Wales instead of Yorkshire, it would make sense. Heck, it’d be far more fitting for Christopher Timothy’s James Herriot since he’s a Welshman.

Anyway, each member of the Skeldale practice is caught between their duties to their patients and their potential dates. Nicholas Ralph as James is frustrated when Samuel West as Siegfried takes Callum Woodhouse as Tristan with him on his rounds whilst he does all the hard work in the surgery.

It’s also interesting to see how James is in receipt of the tantalising job offer with the Glasgow practice, which was established in the previous episode. James’ mother seems keen for him to take the job instead of being a vet in Skeldale. Surely James should be making that decision himself here.

I like how James shares his indecision about whether to accept the Glasgow job offer or not to Anna Madeley as Mrs. Hall. She also helps James in sharing some of the workload in the Skeldale surgery whilst Siegfried and Tristan are out on rounds. Mrs. Hall is also aware of James’ feelings for Helen. 🙂

The only thing that can keep James in Yorkshire is a possible romantic relationship with Helen. I liked the scene where Helen (who assumed James wanted to see her according to Tristan) is invited to join him at the Daffodil Ball. Even though we don’t see it, Helen takes one of the tickets from James.

I enjoyed the scenes between Siegfried and Tristan when they’re going about on their rounds. Siegfried is given the impression by Tristan that he’s becoming too diffident and past it, which was very amusing to hear. The bickering between Siegfried and Tristan in the car is a joy to watch in this. 🙂

Like I said, there are some familiar faces I recognised in this episode. There’s Dorothy Atkinson as Diana Brompton who gives out the invitations to the Daffodil Ball at Skeldale. Dorothy Atkinson was in Series 2 of ‘Call the Midwife’, where she played Jane Sutton. I knew I recognised her somewhere.

There is mention made of the woman that Siegfried liked in Series 1 and the 2020 Christmas Special called Dorothy. I wonder if we’re going to see her again sometime soon. I instantly recognised James Fleet (from ‘The Vicar of Dibley’) as Colonel Merrick, a demanding client whom Siegfried attends to in this.

I couldn’t help laughing out loud when Colonel Merrick’s cow was unblocked by James and Siegfried. The cow’s stomach burst spectacularly, splattering all over Merrick, James and Siegfried. Even James and Siegfried’s new white overalls got ruined. It was unexpected, yet a welcome comedic moment. 🙂

I was equally delighted to see Ella Bruccoleri as Anabel Dinsdale, along with Mark Noble as her father Henry Dinsdale in the episode. Ella Bruccoleri regularly plays Sister Frances in ‘Call the Midwife’. It was a surprise to see her in this episode and without the habit for a change. She likes Tristan here. 🙂

Tristan seems to have his way with women in this episode, especially when she meets up with Anabel at the Daffodil Ball. I do wonder what’s become of Maggie, the barmaid at the Drover’s from Series 1, since she and Tristan were getting on well in that season. I hope we’ll see her again soon. 😐

Mrs. Hall also seems to be enamoured by a new client – Will Thorp as Gerald Hammond. Wait a minute! Will Thorp as in Toby Zed from the ‘Doctor Who’ story ‘The Impossible Planet’/’The Satan Pit’? Wow! He looks so different in this ‘All Creatures’ episode compared to that ‘Doctor Who’ story.

I hope this isn’t the last we’ll see of Gerald Hammond as Mrs. Hall seems to like him. The dog Jess also seems to like Gerald’s dog Rock, I believe. It’s also ironic that there happens to be one dog at Skeldale House whereas in the original TV series, Siegfried had plenty of dogs to look after in the home.

I enjoyed the romance developed between James and Helen in the episode where they danced together. Helen seemed to be happy when she was dancing with James. Even after James left Helen to dance with someone else, she visited him the next day, thanking him for inviting her to the dance.

I probably shouldn’t say this, but the romance between James and Helen is better in the new series compared to the original. And don’t get me wrong, I like the romance between James and Helen in the original series fine enough, but there wasn’t a reason given on why Helen fell in love with James. 😐

Here, you can see why Helen would fall in love with James, as he helps to make her feel better after she was feeling guilty and didn’t get out much following the aborted wedding in the 2020 Christmas Special. There’s even the moment where Helen gives James a kiss on the cheek before she leaves. 🙂

I must admit, I was actually expecting James and Helen to go into a full-on kiss towards the end of the episode. It felt like it was going to happen. Maybe it’s too soon by this point. I’m hoping that James and Helen will be together by the end of Series 2 and James will stay in the Yorkshire Dales. 🙂

‘Semper Progrediens’, the second episode of Series 2 of the new ‘All Creatures Great and Small’ series is a very satisfying episode to watch. I’m hopeful for good things for James in the rest of Series 2, especially in his relationship with Helen, and I’m hoping the same for the rest of the Skeldale family.

By the way, will we see the new Mrs. Pumphrey (played by Patricia Hodge) along with Tricki-Woo in the next episode of the new ‘All Creatures Great and Small’ series? 😐

Stay tuned for my review on the third episode of Series 2 of the new ‘All Creatures Great and Small’ TV series called ‘We Can But Hope’ for my blog next week.

Thanks for reading!

Bye for now!

Tim. 🙂

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