Network: CTV Television Network
Broadcast Run: 1962 to 1970
Broadcast Medium: Television
Another of several daytime strips produced by Screen Gems Canada for syndication, People In Conflict used existing cases from counselling services files as the basis for pairs of people to bring their ad-libbed ‘personal conflicts’ before a panel of genuine professional experts for resolution. The couples were not professional actors, but were cast from the general public to give their ‘problems’ a greater air of authenticity.
The program was originally produced by Rai Purdy at BCTV in Vancouver, with William McCarthy as host. Panelists included H.A.D. Oliver, Q.C., Dr. Gordon Bryenton, social worker Rosemary Brown and Unitarian minister Dr. Philip Hewitt.
When BCTV were slow to install colour equipment, Screen Gems moved production to CFCF-TV, Montreal, where the host chair was taken over by Don McGowan. The series was one of the first to be offered as part of the fledgling CTV network’s daytime schedule in the fall of 1962, where it ran Monday to Friday from 3:00 to 3:30pm. It later moved to 2:30pm, where it stayed until it finally left the schedule in September 1970.
Written by Pip Wedge – July, 2002