Adapting Verne's outdated source material for modern audiences is a mixed bag

We’ve officially crossed the halfway mark for All Creatures Great And Small Season 2. This is a rare episode where the human drama outweighs the animals with medical issues. Who ruined Tristan’s special day? Here’s what happened.

Having made it through India, our semi-fearless trio find themselves, finally, in Hong Kong, mostly not the worse for wear. Arriving at the bank, Purple Haze sets off to get enough cash to cover their hotel for the night, tickets to their next stop (Japan) and anything else they might need. And while M. Master Key and Ginge Nellie Bly are amused by how happy their buddy is to be back in a bank, where there are, after all, rules, regulations, and paperwork, they’re all in for a rude awakening. See, even though Purple Haze sent a telegram to his bank at home, asking them to forward along the needed funds, the teller claims no such note has come through.

Episode 3 starts off on a very somber note yet manages to end on a very sweet note. Through the ups and downs of the episode, people caring for one another through small annoyances, grief and the good times are what is at the core of why we love this show so much! Here’s what happened:

It’s episode four, and so if you for some reason thought the course of rail travel would suddenly run smooth, I don’t know what show YOU’VE been watching the last 3 weeks. Anyway, the squad is in India, and despite what Ginge Nellie Bly’s published works claim, the railway across that country is still not complete. Purple Haze is very put out.

Episode 2 of Season 2 revolves around the social event of the season: The Daffodil Ball. The event promises a night of dancing and drinking designed to raise money for repairing the church. Of course with dancing comes romantic drama! Here’s what happened before and during the ball:

I’m going to say this up top: given that our trio is heading straight for the Suez Canal, I am not going to be able to restrain myself from repeatedly mentioning that boat getting stuck there last year.

You asked for it.

All Creatures Great & Small kicks off the second season with a four-month time jump from Christmas, where we ended season 1, to after Easter. Spring in the Yorkshire Dales means lots of sheep giving birth to lambs. The stakes are life and death for the animals James, Tristan, and Siegfried attend to, but there’s still room to set up the overarching conflicts and plots for the season ahead.

Well, we’re back. Last week, our trio of adventurers made it out of Paris on a hot air balloon. Do they know how to pilot it? No! Do they have snacks for the road? No! Will they be able to land the thing? Time will tell.