The Onedin Line (1971–1980)

James Onedin marries Anne Webster in order to get his hands on a ship. However the marriage turns out to be one of true love. James is ruthless in his attempt to get a shipping line started... See full summary »

Creator:

Cyril Abraham

Stars:

Peter Gilmore, Jessica Benton, Howard Lang

4 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Peter Gilmore	...	James Onedin (91 episodes, 1971-1980)
Jessica Benton	...	Elizabeth Frazer (91 episodes, 1971-1980)
Howard Lang	...	Captain Baines (91 episodes, 1971-1980)
Mary Webster	...	Sarah Onedin (50 episodes, 1971-1979)
Brian Rawlinson	...	Robert Onedin (41 episodes, 1971-1978)

Storyline

James Onedin marries Anne Webster in order to get his hands on a ship. However the marriage turns out to be one of true love. James is ruthless in his attempt to get a shipping line started in Liverpool of the 1860s.

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Plot Keywords:

liverpool | ship | shipping | shipping line | ocean | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Romance

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 October 1971 (UK)

Also Known As:

Az Onedin család

Filming Locations:

Bayard's Cove, Dartmouth, Devon, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

50 min 50 min (91 episodes)

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The show was praised for its locations and use of genuine historical vessels. Along with day-to-day drama, romance, and business dealings, the series also tackled social and economic issues of the time, such as slavery.

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Connections

Referenced in Postcards: Episode #9.10 (2007)

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Soundtracks

Opening music from Khachaturian: Spartacus-Suite

User Reviews

Wonderful stories of a bygone era

I watched this series as a youngster and loved them all, glued to the, black and white TV and later, wow, in color (don't be mistaken all is in color, it just took long for we had a color TV). Now having bought all the series as soon as they came out I watched them all again. And, again. They are just wonderful stories, all 8 seasons long. Characters develop, are somewhat predictable, but highly entertaining. It was all made with low budgets and of course that shows. You will catch inaccuracies like for instance way to big master cabins on small ships, ships that are pictured trying to make you believe the 2nd ship is different but look carefully, it's not, it's the same ship, storms, well, storms are mere light breezes, and so on. Mostly studio indoors acting. But all of that does not matter really. I depicts a life from an era most people can't imagine how life was. Rich got richer, poor stayed poor. Nice costumes, entertaining events. So very British, so very BBC, so very 70's made. But all over a wonderful tribute to life at sea, life of those staying behind, struggling ship owners, cheating ship owners. A period drama like no other. Look at it, it lasted all of 8 seasons and it really ends in season 8, a real end, not just a series that was stopped making without an end. I would highly recommend it, but you have to like period drama's, not mind the inaccuracies and low budgets, and if you don't mind all of that you will be entertained.