''Adventures in Rainbow Country'' was 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 ...

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- ...

in the 1970-71 TV season. Reruns were later shown on the American children's cable channel

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

during the early 1980s. A half hour family drama, the show starred

Lois Maxwell Lois Ruth Maxwell (born Lois Ruth Hooker; 14 February 1927 – 29 September 2007) was a Canadian actress who portrayed Miss Moneypenny in the first fourteen Eon-produced ''James Bond'' films (1962–1985). She was the first actress to play the ...

(of James Bond fame) as Nancy Williams, a widow raising her children Billy (Stephen Cottier) and Hannah (Susan Conway) in rural

Northern Ontario Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on part of the Superior Geological Prov ...

Setting

The show was filmed in 1969 around Whitefish Falls, which is near Espanola,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, Canada. Many scenes were also shot at Birch Island and on

Manitoulin Island Manitoulin Island is an island in Lake Huron, located within the borders of the Canadian province of Ontario, in the bioregion known as Laurentia. With an area of , it is the largest lake island in the world, large enough that it has over 100 ...

Production and broadcasts

The show was very popular in Canada and technically never cancelled or axed. No further episodes were produced after the first season. There were 26 episodes produced in total. The series was also broadcast in the 70s in Australia on the ABC. It has continued to air in repeats, both in Canada and internationally – in Canada, the show had been seen on

DejaView DejaView is a Canadian English language specialty television channel owned by Corus Entertainment. It primarily airs television shows from the 1970s to 2010s. History In November 2000, Global Television Network Inc. (then owned by Canwest) was g ...

and

Silver Screen Classics Silver Screen Classics is a Canadian English language Category B specialty channel owned by Channel Zero Inc. Silver Screen Classics broadcasts films primarily from the 1930s to the 1960s; including feature films, silent films, serials, shorts, an ...

. In

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

it aired on ITV, In Australia, the series is screened on

GEM A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, or semiprecious stone) is a piece of mineral crystal which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments. However, certain rocks (such as lapis lazuli, opal, a ...

Cast

* Stephen Cottier as Billy Williams * Buckley Petawabano as Pete Gawa, Billy's

Ojibwa The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...

friend * Susan Conway as Hannah Williams * Albert Millaire as Roger Lemieux, photographer/journalist * Wally Koster as Dennis McGubgub, bush pilot * Alan Mills as Dougal MacGregor, tugboat skipper *

as Nancy Williams

Guest appearances

Actors who made appearances on the show included

Donald Harron Donald Hugh Harron, (September 19, 1924 – January 17, 2015) was a Canadian comedian, actor, director, journalist, author, playwright, and composer. Harron is best remembered by American audiences as a member of the cast of the long-running co ...

, Ken James,

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 ...

Austin Willis Alexander Austin Willis, (30 September 1917 – 4 April 2004) was a Canadian actor and television host. Biography Austin was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia to parents Alexander Samuel and Emma Graham (Pushie) Willis. His older brother, J. Fran ...

Peter Donat Peter Donat (born Pierre Collingwood Donat; January 20, 1928 – September 10, 2018) was a Canadian-American actor. Early life Pierre Collingwood Donat was born in Kentville, Nova Scotia, Canada, the son of Marie (née Bardet) and Philip Ernst ...

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 Sou ...

Margot Kidder Margaret Ruth Kidder (October 17, 1948 – May 13, 2018), known professionally as Margot Kidder, was a Canadian-American actress whose career spanned five decades. Her accolades include three Canadian Screen Award for Best Actress, Canadia ...

, Len Birman, Percy Rodrigues, Duke Redbird,

Jean-Louis Roux Jean-Louis Roux, (May 18, 1923 – November 28, 2013) was a Canadian politician, entertainer and playwright who was briefly the 26th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec. Biography Born in Montreal, Quebec, he originally studied medicine at the Univer ...

Murray Westgate Murray Westgate (April 16, 1918 – August 27, 2018) was a Canadian actor. He is best known for his longtime role as a television pitchman in Canadian commercials for Esso on ''Hockey Night in Canada'' in the 1950s and 1960s, and also for his role ...

, Anthony Kramreither and Eric Christmas.

Episodes

# "La Chute" (20 September 1970) # "The Tower" (27 September 1970) # "The Frank Williams' File" (4 October 1970) # "Skydiver" (11 October 1970) # "The Kid from Spanish Harlem" (18 October 1970) # "Panic in the Bush" (25 October 1970) # "Long Tough Race" (1 November 1970) # "The Town That Died" (8 November 1970) # "The Eye of the Needle" (15 November 1970) # "Girl on a Tightrope" (22 November 1970) # "The Return of Eli Roqcue" (29 November 1970) # "Roar of the Hornet" (6 December 1970) # "Lac du Diable" (13 December 1970) # "The Muskies Are Losing Their Teeth" (20 December 1970) # "Milk Run" (27 December 1970) # "A Wall of Silence" (3 January 1971) # "Where the Rice Grows Wild" (10 January 1971) # "Bird Watchers" (17 January 1971) # "The Boy Who Loved Animals" (24 January 1971) # "Mystery at Whaleback Bay" (31 January 1971) # "Night Caller" (7 February 1971) # "Lake on Blue Mountain" (14 February 1971) # "Stolen Tugboat" (7 March 1971) # "The Hermit" (14 March 1971) # "Pursuit Along the Aux Sauble" (21 March 1971) # "Dreamer's Rock" (28 March 1971)

Legacy

The

Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario (official name; the city continues to be known simply as Sudbury for most purposes) ** Sudbury (electoral district), one of the city's federal e ...

and Manitoulin Districts are to this day known as the ''Rainbow Country'' tourist region, as a result of this series. A cast, crew and fan reunion event took place in Whitefish Falls from 11 to 14 August 2006.Fan Site with links to reunion photos
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References

External links

Adventures in Rainbow Country Fan SiteQueen's University Directory of CBC Television Series
via archive.org) *{{IMDb title, 0063861, Adventures in Rainbow Country
Episode guide at TVarchive.caAn episode for viewing
1970 Canadian television series debuts 1971 Canadian television series endings 1970s Canadian drama television series CBC Television original programming Northern Ontario in fiction Television shows set in Ontario Television shows filmed in Ontario