All Creatures Great & Small: Tricki & Friends

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Primary cast and key crew members of All Creatures Great & Small (2020), a series about veterinary services in a farming community in mid-twentieth century Yorkshire, discuss one of if not the key component of the series, namely the animals involved. Those animals range from large domesticated farm animals, to wild animals, to family pets, each animal species which has its own quirks and foibles, with differences even between individual animals within a species. Storylines where a specific animal is key are discussed, most specifically the importance of the relationship between the animal in question and its owner or handler. It seems to be a prerequisite for anyone working on the show to own a pet, those interviewed talking about their own pets, especially those that are fixtures on set, albeit off-screen. And a trip is made to the animal training farm, where the trainers, wranglers, and actors are seen interacting with the animals, the actors so that they and the animals can get socialized with each other before the cameras start rolling. Within these discussions, particular focus is paid to arguably the most famous animal character on the show, the pampered Pekingnese Tricki Woo, and his wealthy, eccentric owner, Mrs. Pumphrey. And in a bit of levity, the actors portraying veterinarians are quizzed if they remember remedies their characters prescribed for various animal ailments, and the interviewees are asked which veterinarian character they would turn to if their own pet required health care services.