‘The Onedin Line’ returns in fourth series

Press, 9 April 1977, Page 13

‘The Onedin Line’ returns in fourth series

From the era of billowing sails, full petticoats and “true romance” comes a fourth series of the successful British series “The Onedin Line.” The vividly pictorial series has now been sold to some 27 countries, ranging from Australia to Albania and including the United States. It is even rumoured that Yugoslavia’s President Tito manipulated the transmission time of the series to suit his schedule. “The Onedin Line” reopens in the mid-1870s when the industrial revolution is bringing changes on the high seas as well as on land. James Onedin, still trying to expand his shipping interests, finds that merchants are demanding the swifter transport provided by steam. His principal rival in this cut-and-thrust world is his own sister Elizabeth, who inherits the control of the Frazer line.

It soon becomes clear that she has inherited more than just a shipping line —she proves herself to be the equal in ruthlessness of her brother James.

Episode one of “The Onedin Line” is entitled “Loss of the Helen May” and tells of what happens after a petroleum-carrying ship sinks in fog, and the effect James Onedin and James Frazer have upon

the verdict of the court of enquiry. “The Onedin Line,” starring Peter Gilmore, Jessica Benton, Brian Rawlinson, Mary Webster and John Phillips, will begin on TVI on Tuesday.