Sutherland's Law
British TV drama series (1973–1976)
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Sutherland's Law is a television series made by BBC Scotland created by Lindsay Galloway, starring Iain Cutherbertson as John Sutherland, the Procurator Fiscal in the fictional Scottish town of Glendoran. A total of 46 episodes over 5 series were produced and broadcast between 1973 and 1976.[1]
| Sutherland's Law | |
|---|---|
| |
| Created by | Lindsay Galloway |
| Starring | Iain Cuthbertson |
| Theme music composer | Anthony Isaac |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of series | 5 |
| No. of episodes | 46 (17 missing) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 50 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC1 |
| Release | 6 June 1973 – 31 August 1976 |
Background
The series had originated as a stand-alone edition of the portmanteau programme Drama Playhouse in 1972 in which Derek Francis played Sutherland and was then commissioned as an ongoing series.[2] The producer was Frank Cox.[3]
The series was commisioned during a period when the BBC engaged in a five year plan for program development at BBC Scotland, with the emphasis on producing high cost productions made to a premium standard suitable for the national audience, while retaining its Scottish identity. This series was a result of this policy, and it became the first popular drama series produced by BBC Scotland that garnered national appeal, it eventually gathered up to audiences of 17 million viewers.[4]
Notable directors included Raymond Menmuir who directed three episodes, Geraint Morris, Michael E. Briant and Pennant Roberts who directed two episodes respectively, [5] and Douglas Camfield who directed episode 2 of series 2 "Caesar's Wife" transmitted on 22 May 1974 [6]
The exteriors for the series were filmed in Oban, Argyll. [2]
The signature tune was The Land of the Mountain and the Flood, by Hamish MacCunn.[7] Series creator Lindsay Galloway released a novel based on the series in 1974. [8]
Cast
- Iain Cutherbertson – (John Sutherland/... 1973-1976 / Series 1-5 / 46 episodes)
- Martin Cochrane – (David Drummond/... 1974-1976 / Series 2-5 / 33 episodes)
- Edith MacArthur – (Dr. Judith Roberts/... 1974-1976 / Series 2-5 / 24 episodes)
- Victor Carin – (Chief Insp. Menzies/... 1973-1976 / Series 1-5 / 20 episodes)
- Maev Alexander – (Christine Russell/... 1973-1974 / Series 1-2 / 19 episodes)
- Don McKillop – (Sergeant McKenzie/... 1973-1974 / Series 1-2 / 18 episodes)
- Harriet Buchan – (Gail Munro/... 1974-1975 / Series 2-3 / 17 episodes)
- Virginia Stark – (Helen Matheson/... 1975-1976 / Series 4-5 / 17 episodes)
- Gareth Thomas – (Alec Duthrie/... 1973 / Series 1 / 12 episodes)
- Moultrie Kelsall – (Sheriff Derwent/... 1973-1976 / Series 1-5 / 12 episodes)
- Xanthi Gardner – (Sheriff Clark/... 1973-1976 / Series 1-5 / 9 episodes)
- Sarah Collier – (Kate Cameron/... 1976 / Series 5 / 8 episodes)
List of Episodes
Series 1 (1973)
| No. overall | No. in Series | Title | Air Date | Directed By | Written By | Archival Status | Media |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "A Cry for Help" | 6 June 1973 | Roderick Graham | Martin Worth | Exists | PAL 2" colour videotape |
| 2 | 2 | "The Sea" | 13 June 1973 | ? | Anthony Coburn | Missing | n/a |
| 3 | 3 | "The Travelling People" | 20 June 1973 | Roderick Graham | Neil McCarty | Missing | n/a |
| 4 | 4 | "The Dutchies" | 27 June 1973 | Paul Ciappessoni | David Fisher | Missing | n/a |
| 5 | 5 | "The Running Man" | 4 July 1973 | Geraint Morris | Jack Gerson | Exists | PAL 2" colour videotape |
| 6 | 6 | "The Return" | 11 July 1973 | Paul Ciappessoni | John Foster | Exists | PAL 2" colour videotape |
| 7 | 7 | "The Ship" | 18 July 1973 | Brian Farnham | John Wiles | Exists | PAL 2" colour videotape |
| 8 | 8 | "The Runaway" | 1 August 1973 | Geraint Morris | George Byatt | Exists | PAL 2" colour videotape |
| 9 | 9 | "The Climb" | 8 August 1973 | Brian Farnham | Lindsay Galloway | Exists | PAL 2" colour videotape |
| 10 | 10 | "The Family" | 15 August 1973 | George Spenton-Foster | Tom Wright | Exists | 16mm t/r |
| 11 | 11 | "The House" | 22 August 1973 | Brian McIntosh | Lindsay Galloway | Exists | PAL 2" colour videotape |
| 12 | 12 | "The Prodigal" | 29 August 1973 | George Spenton-Foster | Alun Richards | Exists | PAL 2" colour videotape |
| 13 | 13 | "The Killing" | 5 September 1973 | Brian Farnham | John Gould | Exists | PAL 2" colour videotape |
Series 2 (1974)
| No. overall | No. in Series | Title | Air Date | Directed By | Written By | Archival Status | Media |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 1 | "The Thirteenth Man" | 15 May 1974 | Frank Cox | Lindsay Galloway | Missing | n/a |
| 15 | 2 | "Caesar's Wife" | 22 May 1974 | Douglas Camfield | Lindsay Galloway | Missing | n/a |
| 16 | 3 | "The Condemned" | 29 May 1974 | Pennant Roberts | Jack Gerson | Missing | n/a |
| 17 | 4 | "The Break" | 5 June 1974 | Martin Patrick Friend | Lindsay Galloway | Missing | n/a |
| 18 | 5 | "The Retreat" | 12 June 1974 | Pennant Roberts | Lindsay Galloway | Missing | n/a |
| 19 | 6 | "The Winner" | 10 July 1974 | Paul Ciappessoni | Arthur Jones | Missing | n/a |
| 20 | 7 | "The Partnership" | 17 July 1974 | Martin Patrick Friend | Anthony Read | Missing | n/a |
| 21 | 8 | "The Evidence" | 24 July 1974 | Gilchrist Calder | Allan Prior | Missing | n/a |
Series 3 (1974)
| No. overall | No. in Series | Title | Air Date | Directed By | Written By | Archival Status | Media |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 | 1 | "Just a Little Death" | 3 September 1974 | Gilchrist Calder | Neil McCarty | Missing | n/a |
| 23 | 2 | "Matters of Trust" | 10 September 1974 | Pennant Roberts | Ian Curteis | Missing | n/a |
| 24 | 3 | "The Device" | 17 September 1974 | Terence Williams | Ian Curteis | Missing | n/a |
| 25 | 4 | "Who Cares?" | 24 September 1974 | Frank Cox | Lindsay Galloway | Missing | n/a |
| 26 | 5 | "Pay Off" | 1 October 1974 | Pennant Roberts | Lindsay Galloway | Missing | n/a |
Series 4 (1975)
| No. overall | No. in Series | Title | Air Date | Directed By | Written By | Archival Status | Media |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 | 1 | "In the Deep End" | 27 May 1975 | Don Leaver | Lindsay Galloway | Exists | PAL 2" colour videotape |
| 28 | 2 | "A Slight Case of Matrimony" | 3 June 1975 | Michael E. Briant | Jack Gerson | Exists | PAL 2" colour videotape |
| 29 | 3 | "No Second Chance" | 10 June 1975 | Don Leaver | Lindsay Galloway | Exists | PAL 2" colour videotape |
| 30 | 4 | "A Murmur of Malice" | 17 June 1975 | Michael E. Briant | Robert Banks Stewart | Exists | PAL 2" colour videotape |
| 31 | 5 | "The Italian Debt" | 24 June 1975 | Raymond Menmuir | Tom Wright | Exists | PAL 2" colour videotape |
| 32 | 6 | "A Lady of Considerable Talent" | 1 July 1975 | Raymond Menmuir | Lindsay Galloway | Exists | PAL 2" colour videotape |
| 33 | 7 | "Creatures in a Private Zoo" | 8 July 1975 | Andrew Morgan | Jack Gerson | Exists | PAL 2" colour videotape |
| 34 | 8 | "A Good Place for Murder" | 15 July 1975 | Martyn Friend | Lindsay Galloway | Missing | n/a |
| 35 | 9 | "A Matter of Self Defence" | 22 July 1975 | Ben Rea | Robert Banks Stewart | Exists | PAL 2" colour videotape |
| 36 | 10 | "The Rag Doll" | 29 July 1975 | Martyn Friend | Lindsay Galloway | Exists | PAL 2" colour videotape |
| 37 | 11 | "The End of the Good Times" | 5 August 1975 | Ben Rea | Jack Gerson | Exists | PAL 2" colour videotape |
| 38 | 12 | "The Fixer" | 12 August 1975 | Raymond Menmuir | Lindsay Galloway | Exists | PAL 2" colour videotape |
Series 5 (1976)
| No. overall | No. in Series | Title | Air Date | Directed By | Written By | Archival Status | Media |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 39 | 1 | "Jacob's Ladder" | 6 July 1976 | Paul Ciappessoni | Lindsay Galloway | Exists | PAL 2" colour videotape |
| 40 | 2 | "Blind Jump" | 13 July 1976 | Paul Ciappessoni | Robert Banks Stewart | Exists | PAL 2" colour videotape |
| 41 | 3 | "Small Print" | 20 July 1976 | Jonathan Alwyn | Lindsay Galloway | Exists | PAL 2" colour videotape |
| 42 | 4 | "The Eye of Chameleon" | 3 August 1976 | Roger Tucker | Jack Gerson | Exists | PAL 2" colour videotape |
| 43 | 5 | "Murphy" | 10 August 1976 | John Bruce | Lindsay Galloway | Exists | PAL 2" colour videotape |
| 44 | 6 | "Next Year... In Jerusalem" | 17 August 1976 | Jonathan Alwyn | Jack Gerson | Exists | PAL 2" colour videotape |
| 45 | 7 | "The Hot Water Boat" | 24 August 1976 | John Bruce | Robert Banks Stewart | Exists | PAL 2" colour videotape |
| 46 | 8 | "Shades of Black" | 31 August 1976 | Roger Tucker | Lindsay Galloway | Exists | PAL 2" colour videotape |
Archival Status
Out of the 46 episodes that were produced, only 28 survive as original PAL 2" colour videotape masters, while a further episode "The Family" from Series 1 exists as a b&w 16mm telerecording. 17 episodes are currently missing from the archives, this includes 3 episodes from Series 1, a single episode from Series 4 and all of Series 2 and 3 respectively.[9]
Home media
The DVD of selected episodes from Sutherland's Law Series 1 was released on Region 2 by Acorn Media UK in the UK on 1 June 2009.[10]
