Brian Pettifer
This Man Craig (1966)
Season 1
This Man Craig was a TV drama series produced by BBC Scotland and screened over 52 episodes in 1966 and 1967. It was set in a secondary school in the fictional Scottish town of Strathaird. Episodes were filmed at Glasgow’s Bellahouston Academy and Glenwood School. The series dealt with the everyday issues affecting both staff and pupils at Strathaird School, and in particular the titular character, idealistic science teacher and housemaster Ian Craig. The first series was shown over 26 episodes between January 7 1966 and July 1 1966. The second series was shown over 26 episodes between September 17 1966 and March 21 1967. Only one episode is known to be still in existence in the BBC archives. The opening sequence showed him driving over the Forth Road Bridge, which at the time was newly built and a Scottish cultural icon.
Released Jan. 7, 1966
Episode 42 min
None+
Network: BBC One
Country: United Kingdom
Languages:
English
S1E1 - With Luv from Rosie
Robertson, the Headmaster, gives Craig the unpleasant task of stopping an older woman teacher from using the strap on her pupils.
Jan. 7, 1966, midnight
S1E2 - Patterson
When a boy is shoved down a flight of stairs and knocked out it falls to Craig to prove what everyone already knows - that the deed was done by the school 'hard case', Kenny Patterson.
Jan. 14, 1966, midnight
S1E3 - The Search
The death of a loved one is hard to accept at any age. For thirteen year old Hamish it is the beginning of a night of terror.
Jan. 21, 1966, midnight
S1E4 - A Wise Father
Obsession can corrupt a man. Allied to jealousy it threatens to destroy Alec McGregor's whole way of life.
Jan. 28, 1966, midnight
S1E5 - Dougie
The most popular boy at Strathaird School should have no problems, but Dougie Seaton has plenty. As a natural leader he does what he likes: shirks lessons, not pay his debts and lead others into trouble. Craig has the task of dragging the boy back to reality.
Feb. 4, 1966, midnight
S1E6 - Girl in a Thousand
Through her outrageous schemes for bending school discipline, Chris Elliott clashes head-on with Ian Craig and the rest of the teaching staff.
Feb. 11, 1966, midnight
S1E7 - Three's Company
The small American community at Strathaird becomes the focus of a 'Yanks - Go Home' campaign.
Feb. 18, 1966, midnight
S1E8 - Live Like a Man
Davy Murchie is a late developer, though hitherto he has been as much of a 'rough diamond' as the rest of Lower Four. Now, at fourteen, he is showing a passion for mathematics, coupled with a brilliant ability. He is confused and his family and friends don't understand what has happened to him. The only person who can help him is his Maths teacher, Miss Dougall.
Feb. 25, 1966, midnight
S1E9 - A Lower Deep
On the face of it Mr. Griffin seems a fine acquisition to the teaching staff. But before he can settle down he clashes violently with a bright boy called Innes. His savage reaction to the boy makes Ian Craig doubt his suitability.
March 4, 1966, midnight
S1E10 - Sticks and Stones
When Keith Mitchell keeps having one cold after another, Ian Craig's suspicions that he is playing truant are well founded - but the reasons go deeper than he suspects.
March 11, 1966, midnight
S1E11 - Big Fall
The death of one of the pupils creates an atmosphere of suspicion and distrust at Strathaird School.
March 18, 1966, midnight
S1E12 - The Bike
Angus Galbraith works a neglected farm. Because his poverty is masked by pride he rejects as charity Craig's efforts to provide his son with a bicycle.
March 25, 1966, midnight
S1E13 - Time For Protest
Craig is in trouble after accepting an invitation to speak at a political meeting.
April 1, 1966, midnight
S1E14 - The Key to it All
A probationer teacher cannot control a difficult class. How far has the school the right to protect her from publicity?
April 8, 1966, midnight
S1E15 - Tall, Fat and Ugly
Wallace Welton is bullied by the other boys, given a nickname and generally knocked around.
April 15, 1966, midnight
S1E16 - A Rough Passage
Charles Houston, an undergraduate, comes to Strathaird as a temporary teacher. He is given a rough passage before he learns how to translate his idealist theories into practice.
April 22, 1966, midnight
S1E17 - The Expedition
April 29, 1966, midnight
S1E18 - The Romantic
Sixteen-year-old Jane Brewer has a row with her history teacher which brings her to the notice of Ian Craig, her Housemaster. He treats her sympathetically, but in doing so becomes the victim of a crush.
May 6, 1966, midnight
S1E19 - Certain Standards
Brenda Graham returns to Strathaird as housekeeper at the Big House, once her family home. Extravagant and condescending, she insists on maintaining 'certain standards'.
May 13, 1966, midnight
S1E20 - Two Thousand a Year
Alec McKinlay, a miner's son, is one of Craig's brighter pupils. Opposition to his going to University comes from an expected source - and an unexpected one.
May 20, 1966, midnight
S1E21 - A Question of Biology
Sally Scott is both precocious and vulnerable, hiding her shyness behind a facade of extrovert gaiety. One day when she writes a poem she is surprised to find that it shocks Ian Craig. His show of puritan disapproval makes Sally withdraw into a shell of resentment.
May 27, 1966, midnight
S1E22 - Mates
Francis Cook, nicknamed 'Wee Bonkers' by his classmates because of his bookishness and old-fashioned manner, is moved to another form. Here he teams up with Fisher, one of the School's wilder spirits, with surprising results.
June 3, 1966, midnight
S1E23 - The Rubbing Rag
June 10, 1966, midnight
S1E24 - Whose Pigeon?
Robin Kyle runs off to the Highlands. Who is responsible for his disappearance? His Parents? The garage where he has been sent on an educational scheme? Or the School itself?
June 17, 1966, midnight
S1E25 - The Golden Key to Knowledge
Arriving quietly in Strathaird, Ivor Fallon, an apparently charming man, singles out a woman teacher as his natural victim for a particularly ruthless venture.
June 24, 1966, midnight
S1E26 - Old Flame
Kenneth Woodburn is preparing a glossy tourist film in Scotland. An old flame of Margaret Craig, he stirs up not only the school, but Craig's family life as well.
July 1, 1966, midnight
Network: BBC One
Episode Runtime: 42 min.
Season Runtime: 42 min.
Released: Jan. 7, 1966
Last Air Date: March 21, 1967, midnight
Status: Ended
Certification: NR
Rate this show
Add {Movie} to static lists