Comedy
Government Cheese
Apple TV+’s Government Cheese is described, by some, as a family show. And while it is about a family, it’s not one yours will probably want to watch.
If you’ve ever dreamt of dropping everything and running away to the English countryside, veterinarian James Herriot can relate. Instead of finding work in the bustling streets of his home city of Glasgow, he heads to the quaint hamlet of Darrowby, deep in the rolling hills of northern England.
It’s certainly a quieter life. But, as James discovers, “quiet” doesn’t always mean “easy.”
Along with the pets and farm animals he’s called on to treat, James forms relationships with Darrowby’s many whimsical residents. There’s Siegfried, the village’s eccentric veterinarian who hires James as his assistant, and Mrs. Hall, the kindhearted housekeeper dealing with her husband’s estrangement. And, of course, there’s Helen, a farmer’s daughter whose engagement is rather shaken up by James’ arrival.
Set in late 1930s and early 40s England, All Creatures Great and Small invites viewers into the quaint, quiet, wholesomely mundane world of Darrowby. Driven by an unbreakable zeal to better the lives of others—both human and animal—James becomes further and further entangled in the trials and triumphs of those around him, and finds that as he does so, he leaves the fast-paced world of Glasgow further and further behind.
Darrowby isn’t just a physical escape from hectic, everyday life for James; it provides relief from the noise of today’s TV landscape for the show’s viewers as well. Life-or-death stakes take a back seat for less earth-shattering dilemmas. Will Duke the dog overcome his sickness? Will James confess his feelings for Helen before she marries her wealthy beau? (The answer to that, in subsequent seasons, proves to be yes. The two get hitched in Season Three.) No, the world certainly isn’t in any danger here, but there’s something refreshing about that. With the constant bustle of modern life (and modern entertainment), sometimes it’s nice to sit back and wonder how the vets will deal with accidentally ordering too much gauze.
All Creatures also provides relief from adverse content. Sure, there’s a few hiccups to take note of here; characters smoke pipes and occasionally have a pint too many at the pub, and there’s some rare profanity present. Sensitive viewers might also take issue with some of James’ veterinary encounters. Many of the animals he treats are in some level of pain or discomfort; we never see anything extremely graphic, but animal-loving audiences may find some instances a bit emotionally distressing.
All things considered, however, the series is admirable in its dedication to wholesome, family-friendly fare.
If, like James, you’re in the mood for an escape from modern life—and you’d like to spend an hour or so without reaching for the fast-forward button on your remote—pick up your veterinarian’s bag and join him on his rounds through All Creatures Great and Small’s charming country world.
It’s 1940, and World War II looms even over Darrowby. James attempts to care for a hostile young boy’s ailing dog, and Mrs. Hall makes a difficult decision regarding her marriage. Siegfried, still struggling with his brother’s deployment to the front lines, helps a lonely farmer solve an issue with his sheep.
The episode takes place over Easter weekend, and a subplot involves Siegfried’s battle with giving up pipe smoking for Lent. James’ wife, Helen, has hidden his tobacco somewhere in the house, and he makes several attempts to search for it while insisting he could give it up whenever he wants. “I’ll give up someday,” he finally resolves after lighting up a pipe on Easter Sunday (the entire situation is played for laughs). Mr. Slavens, a farmer whose sheep Siegfried is called to treat, also smokes a pipe.
When Siegfried gets on her nerves, Helen jokes that “whiskey is the only thing keeping me from murdering him.”
Mrs. Hall, Siegfried’s housekeeper, decides to divorce her husband, who abandoned her years ago due to his struggles with PTSD. She wrestles with the idea of breaking her vows of marriage before God, but she is encouraged to continue by Siegfried. A partial factor in her decision to pursue a divorce is a farmer named Gerald, who seems to have romantic intentions towards her; Mrs. Hall refuses to let anything happen while she’s still married, but the two spend some innocent time together.
James takes off his shirt before getting into bed. Siegfried reads a letter from his brother that includes a cartoon of Hitler in comedic, heart-patterned underwear.
Wesley, an impoverished boy with a sick dog, smashes an egg on James’ car window and throws rocks at wooden ducks (part of a local children’s competition). He later punches James in the face for attempting to treat his dog, giving the vet a bloody nose; the impact is sudden and jarring for the viewer. James tells Helen that Wesley looked like he “wanted to disembowel me with a rusty fork.”
Wesley’s dog Duke has a serious illness and is shown with pus around his eyes. James uses a needle to inject him with medicine.
The s-word is used once (in the British form of “sh-te”). “P-ss” is also heard once, and the British curse “bloody” is used twice, once as in “bloody h—.” The Lord’s name is used twice (“Oh, God” and “honest to God.”)
Lauren Cook is serving as a 2021 summer intern for the Parenting and Youth department at Focus on the Family. She is studying film and screenwriting at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. You can get her talking for hours about anything from Star Wars to her family to how Inception was the best movie of the 2010s. But more than anything, she’s passionate about showing how every form of art in some way reflects the Gospel. Coffee is a close second.
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