About this season
Dr Finlay's Casebook is a BBC television series that was broadcast from 1962 until 1971. Based on A. J. Cronin's novella Country Doctor, the storylines centred on a general medical practice in the fictional Scottish town of Tannochbrae during the late 1920s.
Episodes (40)
1. A Time For Laughing
Aired 5 September 1963 • 50 min
Meg McBain, the stock-breeder's wife, gives birth to a son. But who is the father? Is it McBain, or could it be the carefree Irish tinker Tim O'Shea?
2. Clean Sweep
Aired 12 September 1963 • 50 min
The 'dirty Fergusons' live like pigs and seem happy to do so. But by doing so they offend against Alan Finlay's strict sense of sanitary propriety. On the other hand Mrs. Elgin and her aged sister live in an atmosphere of pathological cleanliness, and they become Dr. Cameron's reluctant concern.
3. The Heat Of The Moment
Aired 19 September 1963 • 50 min
4. Cup, Hands Or Cards
Aired 26 September 1963 • 50 min
Dr. Cameron is concerned at the sudden increase in the number of women coming to the surgery with serious diseases. Soon he begins to wonder if a newcomer to Tannochbrae could have anything to do with it. With the aid of Janet and Dr. Finlay he sets out to investigate.
5. A Time For Discretion
Aired 4 October 1963 • 50 min
6. Alice, Where Art Thou?
Aired 11 October 1963 • 50 min
7. Ride In a Wheelchair
Aired 18 October 1963 • 50 min
8. A Questionable Practice
Aired 25 October 1963 • 50 min
9. Odds On Johnny
Aired 1 November 1963 • 50 min
10. The Face Saver
Aired 8 November 1963 • 50 min
Young Elsie comes out in spots, and for Alan Finlay the root cause is quite clear. It must be the unsatisfactory emotional atmosphere in Elsie's family. Dr. Cameron disagrees, insisting it is something she ate. But whatever their cause these little red marks look like putting a severe strain on the partnership.
11. Room For Doubt
Aired 15 November 1963 • 50 min
12. Possessed Of Devils
Aired 6 December 1963 • 50 min
13. Cry Wolf
Aired 13 December 1963 • 50 min
14. The Deep End
Aired 20 December 1963 • 50 min
To the grocers of Tannochbrae George Harris is simply a commercial traveller who sells biscuits. But to Debbie Wilson he is an unpleasant reminder of the past. When she tries to commit suicide Dr. Cameron, with the help of Janet, tries to unravel the mystery surrounding Harris.
15. The Polygraph
Aired 27 December 1963 • 50 min
16. A Present From Father
Aired 5 January 1964 • 50 min
It's Hogmanay in Tannochbrae. The two doctors at Arden House are busy and have also taken over Dr. Snoddie's practice while the latter is away visiting his sister. Dr. Finlay is called in by Robert Ferguson, one of Snoddie's wealthiest patients, who has been taken ill at his family's annual New Year gathering.
17. A Test Of Intelligence
Aired 12 January 1964 • 50 min
18. Charlie Is My Darlin'
Aired 19 January 1964 • 50 min
19. My Late Dear Husband
Aired 26 January 1964 • 50 min
Braeside is Tannochbrae's most select residential hotel for elderly gentlefolk. The unexpected arrival of Colonel Cayley, former Indian administrator, threatens to upset the whole delicate social balance of the hotel.
20. The Whit Hunter
Aired 2 February 1964 • 50 min
21. The Whole Truth
Aired 9 February 1964 • 50 min
When Denny Drummond loses his eyesight in a rock-blasting accident it appears that the local quarry company is to blame. His mother and father start legal proceedings to claim damages. Then Dr. Finlay discovers something that could alter the outcome of the case... if he tells the whole truth.
22. A Shot In The Arm
Aired 16 February 1964 • 50 min
Dr. Cameron is called out urgently to find his patient, Roderick McDougall, unconscious on the floor. He is baffled as to the cause. One curious aspect of the case is that McDougall seems to fall ill only on Tuesdays. Eventually Cameron thinks he has solved the puzzle, but as he proceeds with the case he finds himself in conflict not only with Dr. Snoddie, but with his partner Dr. Finlay as well.
23. A Matter Of Proof
Aired 23 February 1964 • 50 min
Tannochbrae's librarian, Thomas Fordyce, has problems of a very personal nature, complicated by an assistant at the library who tipples and a wife who is a member of the Standfast Brethren.
24. A Call From Cogger
Aired 1 March 1964 • 50 min
Urged on by Dr. Cameron, Dr. Finlay joins the golf club and meets a club member whose chronic hypochondria is matched only by his anxiety for free medical advice.
25. A Man May Drink
Aired 8 March 1964 • 50 min
Local tenant farmer Graham Mackenzie, once considered to be an intelligent and pleasant man, has now taken to drink, to the obvious distress of his wife Nan.
26. The Big Fight
Aired 15 March 1964 • 50 min
Ben Hogan, out of work for a very long time, is offered a job as a sparring partner in a fairground boxing booth - much to Alan Finlay's disapproval, for the doctor has strong views about this sport.
27. Stranger In Town
Aired 22 March 1964 • 50 min
28. The Yellow Streak
Aired 29 March 1964 • 50 min
When a baby is abandoned outside Arden House it provokes typically different reactions in the household. For Janet the poor wee mite is an unexpected guest; for Dr. Cameron it is something of a nuisance and for Dr. Finlay it is a problem demanding a solution.
29. Without The City
Aired 5 April 1964 • 50 min
30. The Aristocrats
Aired 12 April 1964 • 50 min
31. The Spirit Of Dr. McGregor
Aired 26 April 1964 • 50 min
Dr Finlay's ideas for smartening up the décor of Arden House include the removal of a picture of Dr McGregor, the late founder of the practice, to the attic. Dr Cameron and Janet are uneasy, but Dr Finlay sneers at suggestions that the old doctor can influence the present from beyond the grave.
32. Mortal Sin
Aired 3 May 1964 • 50 min
33. The Hallelujah Stakes
Aired 10 May 1964 • 50 min
As it is elsewhere in Scotland in the 1920's, the war between the 'wets' and the 'drys' is a hard-fought affair. The local leader of the 'wets' is Dougie Mumford, a tough veteran of the Black Watch: the 'drys' are led by doughty little widow Annie Feenan. When she comes into the local pub selling 'War Cry' the insults begin to fly.
34. Short Of A Miracle
Aired 17 May 1964 • 50 min
Doctors Finlay and Cameron are not burying their heads in the sand when it comes to new techniques, but they reserve their enthusiasm over the success of a certain Dr. Stephens. They have good reasons to make them sceptical and suspicious.
35. The True Lochiel
Aired 24 May 1964 • 50 min
36. The Old Indomitable
Aired 31 May 1964 • 50 min
37. The Red Herring
Aired 7 June 1964 • 50 min
A suspected case of salmonella leads Dr. Snoddie, as local Medical Officer of Health, to seal up a well used by a number of local residents. Dr. Finlay protests at the delay in clearing and reopening the well. But when distinguished specialist Sir James Greig visits Arden House for dinner and is struck down by a severe attack of food poisoning the search for the answer to the problem is widened considerably.
38. The Confrontation
Aired 14 June 1964 • 50 min
39. Dear Doctor
Aired 21 June 1964 • 50 min
40. The Doctor Cried
Aired 28 June 1964 • 50 min
Dr. Finlay is sorely troubled by a situation that runs out of control. Two boys inquisitively exploring his car, the disappearance of an opthalmoscope - and Finlay finds himself powerless to stop an apparently cruel legal process.