''Quentin Durgens, M.P.'' is a Canadian dramatic television series, which aired on

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...

from 1965 to 1969.''Quentin Durgens, M.P.''
at the Museum of Broadcast Communications. It was one of the first hour-long drama series produced by the CBC, and helped to establish Gordon Pinsent as a major star in Canada. Created by George Robertson,"Writer created TV series Quentin Durgens M.P.". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', November 11, 2000. the series first aired in 1965 under the title ''Mr. Member of Parliament'', as a short-run series within the CBC's drama anthology ''The Serial''."Durgens, TV MP". ''

'', October 6, 1965. It was spun off into a standalone series and retitled ''Quentin Durgens, M.P.'' in its second season."QUENTIN DURGENS MP". ''

'', December 3, 1966.

Plot

Set in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, Ontario and the fictional community of Moose Falls, the series starred Pinsent as Quentin Durgens, an idealistic young lawyer who wins election as a Member of Parliament, succeeding his father in a by-election after his father's death in office. Durgens was a backbench member of the governing party in the House of Commons, but had a maverick streak and aspired to do the right thing even if it wasn't politically expedient. Some of the storylines within the series were fictionalized depictions of real-life events in Canadian politics, and the series incorporated some documentary filmmaking techniques inspired by the National Film Board.

Production

Alan Macnaughton, the retiring

Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada The speaker of the House of Commons (french: président de la Chambre des communes) is the presiding officer of the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. A member of Parliament (MP), they are elected at the beginning of each new parliament b ...

, and David Vivian Currie, the incumbent

Sergeant-at-Arms A serjeant-at-arms, or sergeant-at-arms, is an officer appointed by a deliberative body, usually a legislature, to keep order during its meetings. The word "serjeant" is derived from the Latin ''serviens'', which means "servant". Historically, s ...

, served as script consultants to ensure that Canadian political process was accurately depicted. The series was frequently compared in the Canadian press to '' Slattery's People'', an American series about a state legislator which aired on CBS in the 1964–65 season. The cast also included Suzanne Lévesque,

Budd Knapp Budd may refer to: People * Budd (given name) * Budd (surname) Places * Budd Coast, Wilkes Land, Antarctica * Budd Creek, California * Budd Peak (Enderby Land), Antarctica * Budd Peak (Heard Island), Indian Ocean ** Budd Pass * Budd Inlet, a ...

, Cec Linder,

Ovila Légaré Ovila Légaré (21 July 1901 - 19 February 1978) was a French-Canadian actor and singer from Quebec. Life Légaré was born in Montreal on 21 July 1901, and died there on 19 February 1978. Career He was a folklorist, singer, actor, script-writer ...

and Chris Wiggins.

Notes

References

External links

* 1960s Canadian drama television series CBC Television original programming 1965 Canadian television series debuts 1969 Canadian television series endings 1960s political television series Durgens, Quentin Canadian political drama television series Television shows set in Ottawa {{Canada-drama-tv-prog-stub