Although this season of All Creatures Great and Small has received countless praises from fans and professional critics, there is one element on the show which should elicit critique, but few have noted. One person at last year’s Television Critics Association virtual meeting noted the show did not have any POC characters. My earlier advance review also noted the lack of diversity, but others mostly ignored it. The TCA presentation and early press screeners did not include the season finale and Christmas special; in that episode, the series takes those early criticisms to heart by including the Chapmans.
Before the last episode, the series has framed the concept of the “other” mainly in cultural terms or class differences. James Herriot (Nicholas Ralph) is Scottish and from a big city in stark contrast to rural and insular Yorkshire. The audience sees the farmers in the first few episodes questioning Herriot’s capabilities and requesting that his boss give a second opinion. In some of the cases, it’s obvious these second opinions are due to a distrust of Herriot as an outsider. It isn’t until Episode 5 after the Darrowby Fair fiasco that people finally consider Herriot a permanent resident.
George Pandhi (Kriss Dosanjh) is introduced in Episodes 1 and 2 as a rival vet to Herriot’s boss Siegfried Farnon (Samuel West). Although Dosanjh is South Asian, his character’s ethnicity isn’t mentioned beyond his last name (which may also explain the question from the press previews). Pandhi is a business rival who blends into the background as Siegfried tries to negotiate with difficult clients. Pandhi’s otherness is framed more along class lines as he has more of a connection with the elites such as Mrs. Pumphrey than Siegfried. On one hand, it is a good sign that Pandhi has been accepted into the community. On the other hand, his characterization fades out as Herriot and the Farnons take on additional clients.
This treatment is similar to the way the topic was approached in the All Creatures Great and Small memoir. On one occasion Herriot runs into a “fat Jewish man” in the marketplace, and he describes their friendly conversation. After that anecdote, the story switches back to Herriot recalling the various animal patients and their owners. As in the TV show, the bulk of the memoir is the careful documentation of how Herriot had to adjust to life in Yorkshire and gain the trust of the most close-minded farmers.
One anecdote towards the end of the book is more problematic than the rest. Herriot recounts the story of visiting a Romani family with a sick horse. He uses the slur g***** repeatedly (that term was the accepted terminology for the Romani at that time). Herriot ends up defeating possible accusations of antiziganism by treating the horse and its owners with the same respect he does for his other clients. Aside from these references, the majority of Herriot’s experiences involve describing how the farmers in the Dales took a long time to trust him because of his outsider status.
The Chapmans and their pregnant border collie Suzie represent a sizable shift towards featuring more non-white characters without sacrificing Herriot’s narrative, which centers the animals and the bond their owners have with them. In between James diagnosing that one of Suzie’s pups is blocking the birth canal, Anne and Bert reveal the struggle behind their enduring 30-year marriage. Although there were no legal impediments to their union, their love cost them employment and social standing in the community as racists refused to accept Anne as a permanent resident. Helen (Rachel Shenton) clearly sees Anne and Bert as equals, but likely some in Darrowby still haven’t come around to accepting the Chapmans.
The episode avoids the pitfalls of heavy handed storytelling by presenting the Chapman’s enduring marriage as a mirror for Helen to examine her relationship with Hugh. Anne’s (Cleo Sylvestre) motherly instincts also detect Herriot’s unrequited feelings for Helen and his determination not to cross any ethical lines. Like previous episodes, the finale uses the case of the week to highlight conflicts between the characters and their resolution. Suzie’s successful delivery of her puppies was the most important part of their scenes, with the personal details woven carefully in between.
Some may complain that the Chapmans’ storyline could be historically inaccurate, but it is in fact based on the family history of actress Cleo Sylvestre, who plays Anne. In an interview for the UK media outlet Radio Times, Sylvestre reveals her mother grew up in rural Yorkshire. Sylvestre submitted a full biography on her mother for the historical project documenting Black residents in Yorkshire before the Windrush Era migration.
Season 2 of All Creatures Great and Small should not only consider reframing the Romani family story if it is chosen for adaption but also to using the Chapmans as a model for adding additional people of color as supporting and main characters. Just because previous period dramas (including the 1970’s adaptation) did not show Black and other racial minorities in the 1930s’ UK, it does not mean they didn’t exist. Real history can fill in the gaps of fiction so modern audiences can find the overall story more enjoyable and relatable.
