''Quentin Durgens, M.P.'' is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

dramatic

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

, which aired on CBC Television from 1965 to 1969.''Quentin Durgens, M.P.''
at the

Museum of Broadcast Communications The Museum of Broadcast Communications (MBC) is an American museum, the stated mission of which is "to collect, preserve, and present historic and contemporary radio and television content as well as educate, inform and entertain through our archi ...

. It was one of the first hour-long drama series produced by the CBC, and helped to establish

Gordon Pinsent Gordon Edward Pinsent (born July 12, 1930) is a Canadian actor, writer, director, and singer. He is known for his roles in numerous productions, including ''Away from Her'', '' The Rowdyman'', '' John and the Missus'', ''A Gift to Last'', ''Due S ...

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, 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 A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

, succeeding his father in a by-election after his father's death in office. Durgens was a

backbench In Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no governmental office and is not a frontbench spokesperson in the Opposition, being instead simply a member of the " ...

member of the governing party in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

, 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 The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary fi ...

Production

Alan Macnaughton Alan Aylesworth Macnaughton, (July 30, 1903 – July 16, 1999) was a Canadian parliamentarian and Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada from 1963 to 1966. Macnaughton was born in Greater Napanee, Ontario, and educated at Upper Canada C ...

, the retiring Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada, and

David Vivian Currie David Vivian Currie, (July 8, 1912 – June 20, 1986) was a Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Early life Currie was born i ...

, the incumbent Sergeant-at-Arms, 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 ''Slattery's People'' is a 1964–65 American television series about local politics starring Richard Crenna as title character James Slattery, a state legislator, co-starring Ed Asner and Tol Avery, and featuring Carroll O'Connor and Warren Oat ...

'', an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

series about a state legislator which aired on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

in the 1964–65 season. The cast also included Suzanne Lévesque, Budd Knapp,

Cec Linder Cecil Yekuthial Linder (March 10, 1921 – April 10, 1992) was a Polish-born Canadian film and television actor. He was Jewish and managed to escape Poland before the Holocaust. In the 1950s and 1960s, he worked extensively in the United Kingdom, ...

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 Christopher John Wiggins (January 13, 1931 – February 19, 2017) was an English-born Canadian actor. Career He started out as a banker in his home country before he began his acting career in Canada, where he moved in 1952. Wiggins is probably ...

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