This CBC series ran from 1979 to 1982 and starred Douglas Campbell as Inspector Alistair Cameron, the provincial detective. This is a periodic series set around 1890. Although the inspector resides in Toronto, his jurisdiction extends outside the city and covers the rest of the province. Although he is neither as cerebral nor as innovative as Sherlock Holmes, the Great Detective is reminiscent of him due to his similar societal context and limited technology. This means that Cameron relies on deduction rather than force or advanced techniques and is therefore a family show. There is little violence and the Victorian setting ensures little or no foul language and no explicit scenes or innuendo. According to the memoirs of Ontario's first real detective, Cameron doesn't investigate mundane murders and the like. Rather, he is only called upon in special cases, his authority coming directly from the Prime Minister. He is assisted in most episodes by his friend and colleague, Dr. Chisholm, a forensic pathologist called upon to autopsy many victims. His work often provides the evidence that allows Cameron to solve the mystery and make an arrest. Although their relationship is very similar to that of Holmes and Dr. Watson, unlike that couple, the friendship between the two provides some comic relief here. There are other regular characters who appear in certain episodes, such as the inspector's housekeeper, Mrs. Lutz. In the first episodes, he is sometimes assisted by Constable Dodge, who makes his last appearance when he takes up position in a country village. The inspector's young teenage niece, Prudence, also features in a few episodes, until she is sent to boarding school. His assistant in many cases is Sergeant Striker, who plays a much larger role than any of these other minor characters, appearing in a number of episodes. Although his acting isn't the best, there is something very likeable about the sergeant.
The series was moderately popular and ran for several years; people who like the more recent /"Murdoch Mysteries/", another CBC offering, will generally enjoy this series as well. The audiovisual quality isn't the best since these are from VHS tapes recorded in the mid-1980s. While I'm sorry for any inconvenience this may cause, I don't think the series is available anywhere else in a better form . I will post about 15 of the 35 episodes; for more information and different episodes, see my playlist or the playlist on the steffsstuff channel.
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