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 (26)
1. The Visitation
Aired 9 March 1969 • 50 min
Miss Seymour is the headmistress of a boarding school for the daughters of gentlemen. She has strong ideas about discipline and ladylike behaviour and her teaching methods are Victorian to say the least. During a rehearsal for a school play one of the girls falls off the stage and dislocates her shoulder. Dr. Finlay is sent for, and though he is greatly liked by the girls Miss Seymour has doubts about his influence on them.
2. The Honours List
Aired 16 March 1969 • 50 min
There is justice in the world - at least Janet and Dr. Finlay think so - when it is announced that Dr. Cameron is to receive the Hamilton Society Award, given to the medical practitioner who has best served his profession in the last five years.
3. The Times We Live In
Aired 23 March 1969 • 50 min
Young and attractive Clare Simmons, who is the pianist at the local cinema, is on her way home from work. As she quickly walks along a deserted lane she becomes aware of someone following her...
4. Pastures New
Aired 30 March 1969 • 50 min
Mistress Niven, the local gossip and an unqualified nurse, is about to run into serious trouble with Dr. Finlay for endangering the life of a child by treating him unofficially and diagnosing incorrectly. Because there is no way Finlay can resort to law he sends Janet with a very scathing letter, which unfortunately never gets delivered.
5. The Greatest Of These Is Charity
Aired 6 April 1969 • 50 min
When the Reverend John Scott becomes the target for abuse and calls for his dismissal by the townsfolk, old friend Dr. Cameron takes a personal interest. True, Scott had failed to turn up at christenings and funerals, and at one point had all but slandered the whole congregation, but as incident piled upon incident it became obvious to Cameron that there was a major health problem involved.
6. A Man Of Parts
Aired 13 April 1969 • 50 min
In 1931, as today, outbreaks of violence were a disturbing social problem. Finlay sees it as a direct result of inadequate and poor housing, and when it is decided to preserve a Roman fort newly discovered on a site earmarked for council houses he is angry, to say the least.
7. A Dove In The Nest
Aired 20 April 1969 • 50 min
When a qualified District Nurse arrives in Tannochbrae, Mistress Niven realises her own job may be in jeopardy and does her best to get rid of her rival.
8. Big Ben
Aired 27 April 1969 • 50 min
One of the major issues of today is discrimination and when the wife of a dwarf is involved in an accident it is soon evident that even in Tannochbrae it is nothing new.
9. The Barrier
Aired 4 May 1969 • 50 min
Janet is behaving a little out of character, showing irritation over even the slightest triviality. Unfortunately Cameron is too preoccupied with a patient, and when Finlay eventually points out that something may be wrong physically it is almost too late to do anything.
10. The Rat Race
Aired 11 May 1969 • 50 min
In 1931, as today, one could not help being politically conscious and Dr. Finlay is no exception - as Janet and Dr. Cameron find out.
11. Put Your Cross Here
Aired 18 May 1969 • 50 min
Dr. Finlay is a candidate in the forthcoming by-election. With only a few weeks to go his canvass returns show he is making little impact on the electorate. But when Cameron sends a helper his way it becomes increasingly obvious that he will not only save his deposit but also give his three opponents a run for their money.
12. The Stick Of The Rocket
Aired 25 May 1969 • 50 min
After his defeat in the by-election Dr. Finlay is not his usual self. It may be that he is just run down, but when he insults a wealthy hypochondriac and is rude to Dr. Snoddie, Dr. Cameron begins to realise there is more to it than that.
13. Fresh Worlds
Aired 1 June 1969 • 50 min
Dr. Finlay receives an offer of an appointment at a London clinic, initially for a one month trial period, and as things are a little strained at Arden House Cameron considers it best for everyone that he accepts. But no-one foresees that at a party Finlay will meet an old 'friend'.
14. Conquest
Aired 8 June 1969 • 50 min
As the days go by at his new post in a London clinic things run pretty smoothly until Finlay disagrees with Dr. Maddock over the treatment of a patient who seems to be in a state of physical and mental decay.
15. The Facts Of Life
Aired 15 June 1969 • 50 min
Dr. Finlay has received an offer to become medical superintendent of a fashionable London nursing home. At first Dr. Cameron and Janet are not unduly worried, but when they learn that Barbara Pritchard has taken the first steps towards a divorce they realise that this could be the end.
16. Single Or Return
Aired 22 June 1969 • 50 min
Among the passengers on the London to Perth midday express is Dr. Finlay. Like several of his travelling companions he has a personal problem, which is eventually solved by a turn of events during the journey.
17. Oak, Mahogany Or Walnut
Aired 29 June 1969 • 50 min
When Tannochbrae's undertaker James Gibson finds convincing evidence that he himself is shortly to join the clients who have gone before his attitude towards the subject of death undergoes a radical change.
18. The Call
Aired 6 July 1969 • 50 min
Dr. Finlay, like most medical men, has no time for faith healers. But when one of them, Andrew Telfer, arrives in Tannochbrae and cures one of his patients Finlay begins to have second thoughts - especially when the cure is confirmed by a specialist.
19. Lack Of Communication
Aired 13 July 1969 • 50 min
Silence reigns supreme in Arden House. Neither doctor is talking to the other and it is left to Janet to try and bring them together. Not an easy task when she has no idea what caused the silence between them in the first place, though Mistress Niven has.
20. Monstrous Regiment
Aired 20 July 1969 • 50 min
For a long time Dr. Snoddie has been trying to find a way of getting rid of his assistant Dr. Coutts. When he finds that she has been contravening regulations by handing out advice on a controversial subject it looks as though the perfect opportunity has arrived.
21. Blood and State
Aired 27 July 1969 • 50 min
Sgt. Gilbey is on holiday and unfortunately his replacement Sgt. renfrew is a stickler for regulations. When he finds Dr. Finlay's car causing an obstruction he all but books him. Finlay storms back to Arden House...
22. Action, Dr. Cameron
Aired 3 August 1969 • 50 min
A medical documentary film is being made in Tannochbrae. This causes a great deal of excitement locally, and when Cameron is invited to appear before the cameras he is delighted.
23. The Will To Live
Aired 10 August 1969 • 50 min
When Janet takes a holiday in the Hebrides the partners at Arden House find themselves having to take care of domestic problems as well as medical ones.
24. The Evangelist
Aired 17 August 1969 • 50 min
The arrival of Brother Jonas Jackson, a touring hell-fire and brimstone evangelist has immediate repercussions in Tannochbrae - some comic, some very much less so.
25. The Cheap Departed
Aired 24 August 1969 • 50 min
When Dr. Cameron is followed on his rounds by a perpetually smiling young man he is puzzled. But the young man's motives become clear when Cameron learns that the lad is the son of a North Country couple who have recently inherited the local undertaker's business.
26. Opportunity And Inclination
Aired 31 August 1969 • 50 min
When Peggy Davidson, the wife of a wealthy newspaper owner, returns to Tannochbrae Dr. Cameron is deeply concerned. When she was last in the area she attempted suicide. Relations with her husband are still strained and he fears she will make another attempt.