The Onedin Line (1971–1980)

1. S01E01Season's bestThe Wind Blows FreeOctober 15, 1971 6.0
2. S01E02Plain SailingOctober 22, 1971 6.0
3. S01E03Other Points of the CompassOctober 29, 1971 6.0
4. S01E04High PriceNovember 5, 1971—
5. S01E05Catch as CanNovember 12, 1971—
6. S01E06SalvageNovember 19, 1971—
7. S01E07Passage to PernambucoNovember 26, 1971—
8. S01E08The HomecomingDecember 3, 1971—
9. S01E09When My Ship Comes HomeDecember 10, 1971—
10. S01E10A Very Important PassengerDecember 17, 1971—
11. S01E11MutinyDecember 24, 1971 6.0
12. S01E12Cry of the BlackbirdJanuary 7, 1972 6.0
13. S01E13Shadow of DoubtJanuary 14, 1972—
14. S01E14BlockadeJanuary 21, 1972 6.0
15. S01E15Winner Take AllJanuary 28, 1972 6.0

Season 1 ranked & reviewed

1. S02E01Season's bestThe Hard CaseSeptember 17, 1972 6.0
2. S02E02Pound and PintSeptember 24, 1972—
3. S02E03A Woman AloneOctober 1, 1972—
4. S02E04Fetch and CarryOctober 8, 1972 6.0
5. S02E05Yellow JackOctober 15, 1972—
6. S02E06SurvivorOctober 22, 1972—
7. S02E07Coffin ShipOctober 29, 1972—
8. S02E08'Frisco BoundNovember 12, 1972—
9. S02E09Beyond the Upper SeaNovember 19, 1972—
10. S02E10An Inch of CandleNovember 26, 1972 6.0Anne is Pregnant and is asked to buy a new house. James discovers an abandoned ship.
11. S02E11Goodbye, GoodbyeDecember 3, 1972—
12. S02E12Bloody WeekDecember 10, 1972—
13. S02E13The ChallengeDecember 17, 1972—
14. S02E14Race for PowerDecember 31, 1972—

Season 2 ranked & reviewed

1. S03E01The Ship DevilsOctober 21, 1973—
2. S03E02The StrangerOctober 28, 1973—
3. S03E03Echoes from AfarNovember 4, 1973—
4. S03E04Amazon CargoNovember 11, 1973—
5. S03E05Danger LevelNovember 18, 1973—
6. S03E06Black GoldNovember 25, 1973—
7. S03E07Law of the FistDecember 9, 1973—
8. S03E08Ice and FireDecember 16, 1973—
9. S03E09A Proposal of MarriageDecember 23, 1973—
10. S03E10Over the HorizonJanuary 6, 1974—
11. S03E11The Silver CaddyJanuary 13, 1974—
12. S03E12Port Out, Starboard HomeJanuary 20, 1974—
13. S03E13The PassengerJanuary 27, 1974—

Season 3 ranked & reviewed

1. S04E01Loss of the Helen MayApril 25, 1976—
2. S04E02A Cold Wind BlowingMay 2, 1976—
3. S04E03Not Wanted on VoyageMay 9, 1976—
4. S04E04UndercurrentMay 16, 1976—
5. S04E05QuarantineMay 23, 1976—
6. S04E06Uncharted IslandMay 30, 1976—
7. S04E07A Clear ConscienceJune 6, 1976—
8. S04E08ShipwreckJune 13, 1976—
9. S04E09The GambleJune 20, 1976—
10. S04E10Month of the AlbatrossJune 27, 1976—

Season 4 ranked & reviewed

1. S05E01When Troubles ComeJune 26, 1977—Five years have elapsed. Onedin is a prisoner in a settlement in South America from where he is rescued by Captain Baines, and they return t
2. S05E02RescueJuly 3, 1977—James Onedin returns to Liverpool, his ships laden with grain from Turkey. The sale of this will pay off the interest on the debt and start
3. S05E03Coffin ShipsJuly 10, 1977—Five ships, all carrying iron plate, have foundered - people betting on the losses, including Mr. Dunwoody, Elizabeth's clerk, who buys the
4. S05E04The Trade WindsJuly 17, 1977—Having exposed Macauley's insurance scam James proposes to Letty, who accepts. Daniel also returns to Liverpool, now a very wealthy man. Rob
5. S05E05The StowawayJuly 24, 1977—On the eve of his voyage to Montevideo Letty tells James she will marry him - in her own good time. She also gives William financial backing
6. S05E06Dead Man’s CargoJuly 31, 1977—Letty tells James she invested in William's steam engine project and he buys a flour mill in her name, sailing to Pennsylvania to buy loose
7. S05E07A Hard LifeAugust 7, 1977—William makes his peace with his parents but assures them that his interest in developing steam engines supersedes his desire to inherit the
8. S05E08The HostageAugust 14, 1977—James and Captain Baines sail to Palermo to pick up emigrants for America. Whilst James is ashore with his Sicilian agent Benito, several Ma
9. S05E09Uncharted WatersAugust 21, 1977—James is importing jute from Scotland and is not happy to learn that Letty's mill-workers are repairing old jute sacks, which, given that sh
10. S05E10A Close Run ThingAugust 28, 1977—James and Letty are to be married on board ship by Captain Baines but this nearly does not happen when a group of shanghaied sailors attempt

Season 5 ranked & reviewed

1. S06E01No Smoke Without FireJuly 16, 1978—Fearing unrest in South Africa Daniel asks James to bring home a large amount of gold from the country - unofficially. James naturally wants
2. S06E02Collision CourseJuly 23, 1978—William takes a Frazer ship out in fog and gets it in a collision with one of the Onedin ships. It is arranged that the elderly, weak Captai
3. S06E03Double DealersJuly 30, 1978—Samuel does not let sentiment cloud his father's death, proposing to Letty that her mill-workers make bed linen which he will sell through a
4. S06E04Stand by to Go AboutAugust 6, 1978—Daniel is anxious to break the Liverpool to Manchester railway's transport monopoly of the Merseyside docks and rail board. Elizabeth sugges
5. S06E05The Upright ManAugust 13, 1978—James and Sir Daniel combine to thwart William in his bid to buy the five ships belonging to elderly Captain Murchieson on behalf of devious
6. S06E06The Reverend’s DaughterAugust 20, 1978—Elizabeth clashes with Daniel over his support for the Manchester Ship Canal, which she fears will weaken Liverpool as a port. Her anger is
7. S06E07Highly ExplosiveAugust 27, 1978—Letty tells James that she is pregnant and Charlotte gives William the same news. He is stunned and, as he does not love her, refuses to mar
8. S06E08A Sea of TroublesSeptember 3, 1978—James learns of Charlotte's situation but refuses permission for her to marry William, whom he regards as worthless, and sends her out of Li
9. S06E09Men of HonourSeptember 10, 1978—As the council election approaches, Elizabeth, equally disapproving of her husband's interest in the Manchester Ship Canal and his rival Bea
10. S06E10The Fortune HuntersSeptember 17, 1978—Newly elected to Parliament Daniel joins with Elizabeth to prevent William from selling the Frazer Line to an apparent consortium, actually

Season 6 ranked & reviewed

1. S07E01Liverpool BoundJuly 22, 1979—Newly elected to Parliament Daniel joins with Elizabeth to prevent William from selling the Frazer Line to an apparent consortium, actually
2. S07E02The HomecomingJuly 29, 1979—Leaving Letty feeling adrift in their new, large country house James sails to Belfast, persuading cash-strapped Captain Seth Burgess to cut
3. S07E03The Paddy WestersAugust 5, 1979—William's death causes a rift between Charlotte and Samuel, not helped when they learn that William left his son twenty thousand pounds. Set
4. S07E04Dirty CargoAugust 12, 1979—Whilst Charlotte becomes bored with life with Samuel, James learns that Elizabeth is sailing to South Africa with a mysterious and dangerous
5. S07E05To Honour and ObeyAugust 19, 1979—James takes Mr. Da Silva and his cargo of lemons to the Azores but crew members Harris and McDade bully cabin boy Tom into helping them rob
6. S07E06Running FreeAugust 26, 1979—Seth Burgess obtains a contract to take China clay to Jamaica but whilst James is transporting it Burgess elopes with Charlotte and her Oned
7. S07E07The SuitorSeptember 2, 1979—Whilst Charles Marston goes into partnership with Elizabeth to build a South American railway Sarah accepts a marriage proposal from steambo
8. S07E08Storm CloudsSeptember 9, 1979—Letty faces opposition to establishing her orphanage from bigots who feel it will lower the tone of the area. Despite herself Elizabeth find
9. S07E09Outward BoundSeptember 16, 1979—James pursues Charlotte and Burgess to Cyprus where he exposes the young captain's interest in his daughter as being purely mercenary, persu
10. S07E10Homeward BoundSeptember 23, 1979—The Doyles return to Liverpool and Samuel declares his love for Helen but Charlotte refuses to divorce him - whilst Sarah and Fergus spend t

Season 7 ranked & reviewed

1. S08E01A Royal ReturnAugust 31, 1980—Letty has died from diphtheria caught from one of her orphans and Elizabeth has returned from Turkey to ensure the orphanage remains open. S
2. S08E02RevengeSeptember 7, 1980—Still in Bulgaria having dropped off the disguised, fugitive Prince Alexander Onedin and Captain Baines are captured by Tsarists, a fifty th
3. S08E03Blood TiesSeptember 14, 1980—An ancient cannon Captain Baines believes to have belonged to Henry Morgan and spirited Margarita, daughter of South American president Juar
4. S08E04The HoneymoonSeptember 21, 1980—James marries Margarita and they sail to Sumatra to establish trade in the East Indies, staying with Dutch ship-owning brothers Max and Theo
5. S08E05Jonah’s LuckSeptember 28, 1980—Defying the superstition that it is bad luck to set sail on a Friday, James travels to Africa and outwits a local witch doctor to establish
6. S08E06The Price of PrideOctober 5, 1980—Captain Baines leaves the Onedin Line and, with Tom aboard, collects his first cargo as owner of the 'Sea Spray'. James suffers as some clie
7. S08E07VengeanceOctober 12, 1980—Devastated by Tom's death, Captain Baines blames Onedin for hectoring the boy into running away and joining the 'Sea Spray'. With no ship of
8. S08E08Guilty - In All InnocenceOctober 19, 1980—Charlotte is reunited with her father after visiting him in jail. Margarita and Samuel pursue the man suspected of planting the necklace on
9. S08E09A Long Way HomeOctober 26, 1980—Max Van Der Rheede is imprisoned and James is free. He beats Samuel to the contract of transporting nitrate and sets sail with his first car

Season 8 ranked & reviewed