1 9 6 3 – 1 9 6 6 (Canada)
104 x 30 minute episodes
Known also by the French title Les Cadets de la forêt, this children’s series was set in Ontario’s Great Outdoors, where a group of Junior Forest Rangers lived in a large Hudsons Bay fort in the (fictitious) town of Indian River.
Severe battles against the elements (mainly fire and water) shaped the plotline of most of the Forest Rangers episodes, but the junior rangers also regularly rescued people and thwarted villains with the aid of Sgt. Brian Scott of the RCMP and Chief Forest Ranger George Keeley.
Local Indian guide Joe Two Rivers usually went along too.
The series was produced by CBC in Canada. It was their first series to be produced in colour, and the first of a series of outdoor themed children’s series’ which would later include Adventures In Rainbow Country and The Beachcombers.
The series was well-cast – especially Ralph Endersby as city kid, Chub, who had been sent north for his moral health – and benefitted from stunning scenery.
Ranger George Keeley
Graydon Gould
Peter Keeley
Rex Hagon
Joe Two Rivers
Michael Zenon
Sergeant Scott
Gordon Pinsent
Uncle Raoul
Rolland Bédard
Chub Stanley
Ralph Endersby
Mike Forbes
Peter Tully
Kathy
Susan Conway
Gaby Laroche
Syme Jago
Ted Keeley
George Allan
Danny Bailey
Matthew Ferguson
Johnny O’Reilly
Michael Tully
