Consciously designed to be an absolutely distinctive Canadian drama series, Quentin Durgens, M.P., contrasted the private struggles and controversies faced by politicians with the more sedate, pompous image presented by Parliament. Many of its plots were inspired by real-life issues and situations. Pornography, violence in minor-league hockey, gender discrimination, and questions of religious tolerance were topics addressed among its episodes. In all of them, however, the inner workings of power, with its backroom deals and interpersonal struggles, remained the backbone of the series.

The regular series of Quentin Durgens, M.P., began in December 1966 as a winter season replacement. It followed the popular series Wojeck in a Tuesday 9:00 P.M. time slot, and, like Wojeck, Quentin Durgens was hailed as an example of Canadian television, distinct and set apart from Hollywood drama. The show still carried its imprint as a serial with open narratives, unresolved psychological conflicts, and the freedom to construct stories around topical issues. Frequent allusions to actual social events and a great deal of subtext were interwoven in plots that juxtaposed rational and emotional behavior. The result made for what its director and producer David Gardner called an “ironic drama.” Documentary techniques grounded in the tradition of the National Film Board of Canada also added to the “behind-the-scene” feel of the series and reflected, according to Canadian television critic Morris Wolfe, a Canadian tradition of “telling it like it is.” Despite these claims, other Canadian television critics and historians such as Paul Rutherford have questioned the uniqueness of these “made-in-Canada” dramas, arguing instead that many of the characteristics attributed to Canadian drama series such as Wojeck, Quentin Durgens, M.P., and Cariboo Country were already to be found in some U.S. and, especially, British dramas.

Although Quentin Durgens, M.P., was part of a formidable lineup, it was never popular with Canadian viewers. With fewer funds and resources than Wojeck, the show had to be videotaped (on location and in the studio) for its initial two seasons. The flattened, taped images and sometimes awkward edits detracted from the documentary feel. Nor were its scripts consistently strong. Despite the increased support in its third season (after the end of Wojeck), when all 17 episodes were filmed and in color, Quentin Durgens failed to hold the large audiences Wojeck had won for the evening. Canadian viewers, it seemed, did not share the CBC’s and producers’ interest in developing a distinctive Canadian perspective. Parliamentary intrigues were not fascinating enough to attract a large following, and Quentin Durgens, M.P., simply lacked the excitement of cop shows.