‘All Creatures Great & Small’ Season 6's Moving "Our Hearts Are Full"
... whatever shall be, that has to be the thing on which we all agree: keep the fires burning always.
As usual, the Season 6 finale of All Creatures Great & Small acts as the penultimate installment for U.S. viewing, but it's still a moving, tear-jerker of an hour. It’s August of 1945, the war is still not over, but Tristan Farnon and Charlotte Beauvoir are enjoying a picnic on the lawn of the Beauvoir mansion, with champagne on ice and a record player. At any moment, Tristan may be called back to duty, and their letter-writing competency will be tested.
James Herriot makes a visit to his father-in-law’s farm, where a cow has a problem, and Richard Alderson is grumpier than usual. He has become disenchanted with his new phone, now disconnected, even though it’s his only contact with his two daughters in London. Unfortunately, his number is one digit off the local railway station, and after many wrong calls, he’s labeled the phone as a “bloody nuisance.” James examines a pregnant cow, expected to calve any day, and advises him that all is well.
Siegfried announces to Tristan and Mrs. Hall that he’s scheduled to visit Butch Fielding (Walt Bedford), whose Shire horse has a hoof problem. The horse, Weissmuller, is gigantic, with feet the size of dinner plates, so it’s a two-man job. Butch is famous (or infamous) for his limited vocabulary – aye, aar, oh – and Tristan confidently bets ten shillings he can get him to participate in a real conversation before jumping right in, asking if the horse’s name was inspired by Tarzan actor Johnny Weissmuller, beating his chest to make the point. Butch is unresponsive.
