All Creatures Great and Small Character Review: Siegfried Farnon

The schedule for the Character Review posts will be changing to Friday (or Saturday at the latest from now on).

*Warning: This post contains spoilers about the characters from the television show All Creatures Great and Small. Read at your own risk if you have not watched the show. There is something to be said about a well-written, human character. They leap off the page and speak to us as if they were right in front of us, as flesh and blood human beings, instead of fictional creations.

Every boss has their own unique eccentricities and personality. How their employees get along or don’t get along with said boss comes down to chemistry and understanding one another.

In the PBS/Masterpiece television series, All Creatures Great and Small (based on the book series of the same name), Siegfried Farnon (Samuel West) is the owner and proprietor of a veterinary practice in Yorkshire in the 1930s. Though he does well with the animals, humans are another story.

Siegfried is not shy about sharing his opinion, imperious, and quick to judge others. When James Herriot (Nicholas Ralph) arrives at his doorstep, applying for an assistant position, Siegfried is quick to dismiss James. But Mrs. Hall (Anna Madeley) convinces him to give James another chance.

Though he may seem like he is a little out there, Siegfried has a good heart. He cares deeply about his patients and loathes animal abuse of any sort. He does eventually come to respect James, but it takes some time. He also is a widower who has been taking care of his wild younger brother Tristan (Callum Woodhouse).

Siegfried wants his brother to succeed but doesn’t quite trust that he will. He even goes so far as to smudge Tristan’s grades, which does not go over well. After that blows over, he reveals to his brother that he was jealous of the easy relationship Tristan had with their late father.

In the romantic arena, he has not been focused on his work since his wife died. There was the possibility of a relationship with divorcee Diana Brompton (Dorothy Atkinson), but it fizzled out before it had the chance to begin. There is also a spark of something with Mrs. Hall, but it has yet to develop into anything worth talking about.

To sum it up: Siegfried is a character, to say the least. He is a challenge to both the reader and the people around him. He pushes buttons as only he can. But he is also a good man with a good heart who cares deeply for the people who care for him.

Which is why he is a memorable character.