The Campbells

Scottish-Canadian television drama series

This article is about the television series. For the Scottish clan, see Clan Campbell.

The Campbells

DVD cover

Written by| Allan Prior
Directed by| George Bloomfield, Timothy Bond
Country of origin| United Kingdom
Canada
Original language| English
No. of series| 4
No. of episodes| 100
Production
Producer| John Delmage
Running time| 30 minutes
Production companies| Scottish Television
CTV
Original release
Network| ITV (UK)
CTV (Canada)
Release| April 4, 1986 (1986-04-04)

The Campbells is a period drama television drama series produced by Scottish Television, an affiliate of British television network ITV, and Canadian television network CTV which ran from 1986 to 1990. The series starred Malcolm Stoddard as James Campbell, a Scottish doctor living in 1830s Upper Canada with his three children, seventeen-year-old Neil (John Wildman), fourteen-year old Emma (Amber-Lea Weston) and eleven-year-old John (Eric Richards).[1] Cedric Smith played their neighbor, Captain Sims.

In Canada, it aired on CTV on Thursdays at 7:30 p.m.[1] and in the United States on CBN on Saturdays at 7:00 p.m.[2] The series also aired in the United Kingdom on ITV starting on 27 April 1986.[3][4]

## Premise

[edit]

The series begins in 1832 in Scotland,[5] during the Highland Clearances, when many families were evicted from their homes. This led to a surge in immigration to Canada.[1] Dr. James Campbell, a widower with three children, treated the broken leg of the son of a wealthy landowner but, after a servant woman applied unsterile home remedies to the leg, the boy died of infection. Dr. Campbell was blamed for the death, and he lost his livelihood.[6]

The Campbells heard of Canada's need for settlers and decide to start a new life in a new land.[7] Dr. Campbell sets up a medical practice, and the entire family take up farming.[1]

The series has been described as the "Canadian Little House on the Prairie"[8] but producer John Delmage stated that, while The Campbells might be similar to Little House, "we don’t have as much sugar."[6]

## Production

[edit]

The series was greenlit in 1985 with production stating in June of that year.[9] Most of the episodes were shot on location at a 50-acre farm owned by the Ontario Heritage Foundation,[4] and all clothing, furnishings, and the doctor's medical treatments, were historically accurate.[1]

The premiere episode was partly filmed in Scotland,[1] as were two episodes broadcast in 1989, when Dr. Campbell and his daughter, Emma, briefly return to their native country.[10]

## Cast

[edit]

* Malcolm Stoddard as Dr. James Campbell
* John Wildman as Neil Campbell
* Amber-Lea Weston as Emma Campbell
* Eric Richards as John Campbell
* Cedric Smith as Captain Thomas Sims
* Brigit Wilson as Harriet Sims
* Wendy Lyon as Rebecca Sims
* Barbara Kyle as Charlotte Logan

## Episodes

[edit]

### Season 1

[edit]

No.
overall  | No. in
season  | Title  | Directed by  | Written by  | Original air date

|
|
|
|
|

1| 1| "A Magic Medicine"| TBD| TBD| 1986 (1986)
2| 2| "A Great Decision"| TBD| TBD| 1986 (1986)
3| 3| "First Day"| TBD| TBD| 1986 (1986)
4| 4| "The Haunting"| TBD| TBD| 1986 (1986)
5| 5| "75 Miles from Nowhere"| TBD| TBD| 1986 (1986)
6| 6| "The Visitors"| TBD| TBD| 1986 (1986)
7| 7| "A Real Lady"| TBD| TBD| 1986 (1986)
8| 8| "Treasures of Jean Lafitte"| TBD| TBD| 1986 (1986)
9| 9| "Gift Horse"| TBD| TBD| 1986 (1986)
10| 10| "Vendetta"| TBD| TBD| 1986 (1986)
11| 11| "To Love and Protect"| TBD| TBD|  ()
12| 12| "Heaven Sent"| Timothy Bond| Suzette Couture|  ()
13| 13| "Rites of Passage"| George Bloomfield| Glenn Norman|  ()
14| 14| "Pig at Large"| TBD| TBD|  ()
15| 15| "Autumn and Smoke: Part 1"| TBD| TBD|  ()
16| 16| "Autumn and Smoke: Part 2"| TBD| TBD|  ()
17| 17| "Burning Cures"| TBD| TBD|  ()
18| 18| "Harvest Gold"| Joseph L. Scanlan| Suzette Couture|  ()
19| 19| "Free and Clear"| George Bloomfield| Peter Such|  ()
20| 20| "Declarations of Independence"| TBD| TBD|  ()
21| 21| "Child of Fortune"| George Bloomfield| Ken Gass|  ()
22| 22| "End of the River"| TBD| TBD|  ()

### Season 2

[edit]

No.
overall  | No. in
season  | Title  | Directed by  | Written by  | Original air date

|
|
|
|
|

23| 1| "An Eye for an Eye"| Don Haldane| Michael Mercer| May 29, 1988 (1988-05-29)
24| 2| "A Blessing in Disguise"| Unknown| Unknown| June 5, 1988 (1988-06-05)
25| 3| "Of Fathers and Sons"| Unknown| Unknown| June 12, 1988 (1988-06-12)
26| 4| "The Runaway"| Unknown| Unknown| June 19, 1988 (1988-06-19)
27| 5| "Judgement from the Heart"| Unknown| Unknown| June 26, 1988 (1988-06-26)
28| 6| "Unwelcomed Suitor"| TBD| TBD|  ()
29| 7| "Women's Work"| Unknown| Unknown| July 10, 1988 (1988-07-10)
30| 8| "Bingham's Gold"| Unknown| Unknown| July 17, 1988 (1988-07-17)
31| 9| "Star Light, Star Bright"| Peter Rowe| Glenn Norman| July 24, 1988 (1988-07-24)
32| 10| "Last Time Around"| Don McCutcheon| Paul Aitken & Peter Mitchell| July 31, 1988 (1988-07-31)
33| 11| "The Rifle Company"| Unknown| Unknown| August 7, 1988 (1988-08-07)
34| 12| "Sins of the Fathers"| TBD| TBD|  ()
35| 13| "The Last Performance"| Peter Rowe| M. Charles Cohen|  ()
36| 14| "Sweetest Song"| TBD| TBD|  ()
37| 15| "Blinded by Love"| TBD| TBD|  ()
38| 16| "Desperate Remedy"| TBD| TBD|  ()
39| 17| "Dr. Colt of Calcutta"| TBD| TBD|  ()
40| 18| "A Matter of Distinction"| Peter Rowe| Glenn Norman|  ()
41| 19| "Kith and Kin"| Steve DiMarco| Rob Forsyth|  ()
42| 20| "Living Legends"| TBD| TBD|  ()
43| 21| "Room at the Inn"| TBD| TBD|  ()
44| 22| "The Legacy"| TBD| TBD|  ()
45| 23| "Cabin Fever"| TBD| TBD|  ()
46| 24| "Miss Quincy"| F. Harvey Frost| Michael Mercer|  ()
47| 25| "Rough Justice"| TBD| TBD|  ()
48| 26| "The Siege"| TBD| TBD|  ()
49| 27| "Mr. Stevenson"| Ken Girotti| Peter Mitchell|  ()
50| 28| "Homeward Bound"| TBD| TBD|  ()
51| 29| "Lady Helen's Love"| TBD| TBD|  ()
52| 30| "The Sentence of the Court"| TBD| TBD|  ()

### Season 3

[edit]

No.
overall  | No. in
season  | Title  | Directed by  | Written by  | Original air date

|
|
|
|
|

53| 1| "Partners"| Sturla Gunnarsson| Suzette Couture|  ()
54| 2| "Stand and Deliver"| Allan Kroeker| Michael Mercer|  ()
55| 3| "Gateway to the World"| Ken Girotti| Scott Barrie|  ()
56| 4| "And in the Spring"| TBD| TBD|  ()
57| 5| "Dreams Stay with You"| TBD| TBD|  ()
58| 6| "Peter Was a Saint"| Timothy Bond| Michael Mercer|  ()
59| 7| "Face of a Stranger"| F. Harvey Frost| Bill Gough|  ()
60| 8| "When the Bough Breaks"| TBD| TBD|  ()
61| 9| "The Eyes of Angels"| TBD| TBD|  ()
62| 10| "The Reluctant Candidate"| Don Shebib| Tony Aspler|  ()
63| 11| "Something's Rotten"| TBD| TBD|  ()
64| 12| "Fortunes of War"| Don Shebib| Paul Ledoux|  ()
65| 13| "Partners"| TBD| TBD|  ()
66| 14| "Welcome Strangers"| TBD| TBD|  ()
67| 15| "The Dragonslayers"| Larry Kent| Suzette Couture|  ()
68| 16| "Back to School"| Steve DiMarco| Paul Aitken & Peter Mitchell|  ()
69| 17| "A Proposal of Marriage"| Paul Shapiro| Paul Ledoux|  ()
70| 18| "The Raid"| TBD| TBD|  ()
71| 19| "Partners"| TBD| TBD|  ()
72| 20| "Mirrors of the Soul"| TBD| TBD|  ()
73| 21| "Partners"| TBD| TBD|  ()
74| 22| "A Time for Goodbyes"| Don McCutcheon| Scott Barrie|  ()
75| 23| "The Firebrand"| TBD| TBD|  ()
76| 24| "Comfort and Joy"| Paul Shapiro| Peter Mitchell & Paul Aitken|  ()
77| 25| "Old Ways and New"| TBD| TBD|  ()
78| 26| "Truth Will Out"| Jim McCann| Julia Jones|  ()

### Season 4

[edit]

No.
overall  | No. in
season  | Title  | Directed by  | Written by  | Original air date

|
|
|
|
|

79| 1| "Becky"| Steve DiMarco| Suzette Couture|  ()
80| 2| "See No Evil"| Allan Kroeker| Michael Mercer|  ()
81| 3| "The Shiners"| Sturla Gunnarsson| Paul Ledoux|  ()
82| 4| "Many Happy Returns"| Carlo Liconti| Story by : Scott Barrie & Catherine Disher & Daphne Ballon
Teleplay by : Scott Barrie|  ()
83| 5| "The Sky Is the Limit"| TBD| TBD|  ()
84| 6| "A Medal for Valour"| Don McCutcheon| Scott Barrie|  ()
85| 7| "The Elusive Mr. Smith"| TBD| TBD|  ()
86| 8| "The Hunting Party"| TBD| TBD|  ()
87| 9| "Souls of Like Mind"| René Bonnière| Jana Veverka & Tony Robertson|  ()
88| 10| "A Man of Means"| Carlo Liconti| Story by : Jeffrey Cohen & Steve Lucas
Teleplay by : Steve Lucas|  ()
89| 11| "The Miller's Son"| Don Shebib| Story by : Christine Cornish and Peter Mitchell & Paul Aitken
Teleplay by : Peter Mitchell & Paul Aitken|  ()
90| 12| "Down to the Sea"| Don McCutcheon| Rob Forsyth|  ()
91| 13| "Duty Bound"| TBD| TBD|  ()
92| 14| "Anniversary Waltz"| F. Harvey Frost| Scott Barrie|  ()
93| 15| "Disguises"| Otta Hanus| Michael Mercer|  ()
94| 16| "The Fine Art of Horsetrading"| TBD| TBD|  ()
95| 17| "Boys' Brigade"| Steve DiMarco| Peter Mitchell & Paul Aitken|  ()
96| 18| "Ancient Wounds"| Don Shebib| Michael Mercer|  ()
97| 19| "From Chimborazo to Canton"| Ken Girotti| Michael Mercer|  ()
98| 20| "Flying the Coop"| Steve DiMarco| Paul Ledoux|  ()
99| 21| "Bringing Up Thomas"| Malcolm Stoddard| Suzette Couture|  ()
100| 22| "Tales of the Canadas"| Steve DiMarco| Susan Snooks & Scott Barrie|  ()

## Media availability

[edit]

In 1996 GoodTimes Entertainment released a two volume VHS set of selected episodes entitled Adventures On the Prairie With The Campbells.[11] On June 23, 2015, Timeless Media Group released The Campbells - The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1.[12]

## References

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1. ^ a b c d e f Janice Kennedy, You don’t have to be Scottish to enjoy The Campbells' family adventure series, The Gazette (Montreal, Quebec, Canada), September 6, 1986, page 140
2. ^ Saturday Evening Television, News-Press (Fort Myers, Florida), May 25, 1986, Page 159
3. ^ Weekender Viewing Guide (Scottish), The Glasgow Herald, April 26, 1986, page 20
4. ^ a b Pioneer adventure has a bit of everything, The Ottawa Citizen (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada), September 11, 1986, page 48
5. ^ Rick Forchuk, Wildman praises scripts for The Campbells, The Leader-Post (Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada), October 10, 1986, page 116
6. ^ a b TV With Rick Forchuk, The Winnipeg Sun (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada), February 6, 1986, page 26
7. ^ Vincent Terrace, Broadcast in the U.S.: Foreign TV Series Brought to America, pages 27 - 28, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2021
8. ^ Bob Remington, Much Ado as Campbell weds, Edmonton Journal (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada), October 20, 1988, page 42
9. ^ https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=WrZAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=r6UMAAAAIBAJ&pg=1981,5255781 The Glasgow Herald - 23 May 1985 P11
10. ^ Entertainment Clips, Namaimo Daily News (Namaimo, British Columbia, Canada), February 12, 1988, page 32
11. ^ Classified Advertisements (VHS Cassettes), The Times Leader (Wilkes-Barrre, PA), June 5, 2009, page 6C
12. ^ All 4 Seasons of the 1986 Series Coming to DVD in 'The Complete Series' Archived 2015-03-08 at the Wayback Machine

## External links

[edit]

* Television portal
* Canada portal

* BFI
* The Campbells at IMDb

*[No.]: Number