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The Best Episodes of The Onedin Line

Every episode of The Onedin Line ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of The Onedin Line!

Binge this in 3d 3h•Peaking at 8.9/10

The Onedin Line is a BBC television drama series which ran from 1971 to 1980. The series was created by Cyril Abraham. The series is set in Liverpool from 1860 to 1886 and deals with the

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
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    The Onedin Line Season 4 Episode 6 - Uncharted Island
    8.9/10(21 votes)

    #1 - Uncharted Island

    S4:E6

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  2. The Onedin Line Season 2 Episode 14 - Race for Power
    8.8/10(34 votes)

    #2 - Race for Power

    S2:E14

    No description available

    Director:Peter Graham Scott
    Writer:Cyril Abraham

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  3. The Onedin Line Season 5 Episode 10 - A Close Run Thing
    8.8/10(19 votes)

    #3 - A Close Run Thing

    S5:E10

    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 to overwhelm them, the plan being foiled by elderly Captain Jack and the marriage does go ahead. Daniel Fogarty has returned from Australia a rich man. He has begun a charity, the Albert Fund, and is knighted for his services. He marries Elizabeth at last but James's experience has prevented him from being their best man.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. The Onedin Line Season 3 Episode 13 - The Passenger
    8.6/10(20 votes)

    #4 - The Passenger

    S3:E13

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. The Onedin Line Season 5 Episode 4 - The Trade Winds
    8.6/10(15 votes)

    #5 - The Trade Winds

    S5:E4

    Having exposed Macauley's insurance scam James proposes to Letty, who accepts. Daniel also returns to Liverpool, now a very wealthy man. Robert considers opening a department store and travels with Captain Baines and Samuel to New York, where he is robbed and very nearly press-ganged. James takes on a voyage to import some sheep but it causes him to postpone the wedding and Letty, as a consequence, declares the engagement and wedding off.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. The Onedin Line Season 7 Episode 10 - Homeward Bound
    8.6/10(13 votes)

    #6 - Homeward Bound

    S7:E10

    The Doyles return to Liverpool and Samuel declares his love for Helen but Charlotte refuses to divorce him - whilst Sarah and Fergus spend time together. Elizabeth learns that Daniel is the new ambassador to Turkey, an appointment engineered by Marston's father so that she will be obliged to leave Liverpool and join her husband . Helped by Tom, for whom he has arranged a master's apprenticeship, James tracks down Burgess, who has stolen back the ship the 'Black Pearl'. However he lets him keep the ship and returns to Liverpool, finding his house full of children following a fire at Letty's orphanage.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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    The 20 WORST Episodes of The Onedin Line

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  7. The Onedin Line Season 2 Episode 2 - Pound and Pint
    8.5/10(27 votes)

    #7 - Pound and Pint

    S2:E2

    No description available

    Director:Ben Rea
    Writer:Cyril Abraham

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  8. The Onedin Line Season 5 Episode 3 - Coffin Ships
    8.5/10(16 votes)

    #8 - Coffin Ships

    S5:E3

    Five ships, all carrying iron plate, have foundered - people betting on the losses, including Mr. Dunwoody, Elizabeth's clerk, who buys the company house where Robert and Sarah live, forcing them to return to live over the shop. James accepts a cargo of iron plate and discovers the ship is being sabotaged by Kirk, a sailor in the pay of Macauley, who also sunk the other five. Whilst Elizabeth's son, William is only interested in commerce, Robert's boy, Samuel, is keen to go to sea. James returns to Liverpool and finds that Letty, tired of waiting for a marriage proposal, has gone.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. The Onedin Line Season 6 Episode 10 - The Fortune Hunters
    8.5/10(15 votes)

    #9 - The Fortune Hunters

    S6:E10

    Newly elected to Parliament Daniel joins with Elizabeth to prevent William from selling the Frazer Line to an apparent consortium, actually a front for Beaumont. To take his mind off his son's death James sails to Africa with Captain Baines to find diamonds but they end up adrift in an open boat for three months. Letty never doubts that he will come back and, on his return, he gives half of the Onedin Line to Samuel, who has married Charlotte just in time for the birth of her son.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. The Onedin Line Season 2 Episode 11 - Goodbye, Goodbye
    8.4/10(28 votes)

    #10 - Goodbye, Goodbye

    S2:E11

    No description available

    Director:David Cunliffe
    Writer:David Weir

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  11. The Onedin Line Season 3 Episode 7 - Law of the Fist
    8.4/10(18 votes)

    #11 - Law of the Fist

    S3:E7

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. The Onedin Line Season 4 Episode 3 - Not Wanted on Voyage
    8.4/10(18 votes)

    #12 - Not Wanted on Voyage

    S4:E3

    No description available

    Director:Gareth Davies
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. The Onedin Line Season 6 Episode 7 - Highly Explosive
    8.4/10(13 votes)

    #13 - Highly Explosive

    S6:E7

    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 marry her - although she has confided in Samuel that she believes they will wed. Samuel takes the news badly and, when he and James, sailing to Ireland, come across a deserted steamer full of high explosives, feels sufficiently reckless to help James put the cargo overboard, though they are successful and claim the salvage rights. William turns twenty-one and inherits his mother's share of the Frazer yard, which he intends to sell.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  14. The Onedin Line Season 6 Episode 8 - A Sea of Troubles
    8.4/10(12 votes)

    #14 - A Sea of Troubles

    S6:E8

    James learns of Charlotte's situation but refuses permission for her to marry William, whom he regards as worthless, and sends her out of Liverpool to have her child. He also encourages Daniel to stand against the greedy Beaumont as a councillor to thwart the banker's aim to take more land for himself if elected though Elizabeth is still unhappy about her husband's support for the ship canal. Captain Baines brings home a ship from South America, whose dying captain is an old enemy of his. Baines falls for the man's wife and considers buying the ship when her husband dies but James beats him to it.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. The Onedin Line Season 7 Episode 1 - Liverpool Bound
    8.4/10(14 votes)

    #15 - Liverpool Bound

    S7:E1

    Newly elected to Parliament Daniel joins with Elizabeth to prevent William from selling the Frazer Line to an apparent consortium, actually a front for Beaumont. To take his mind off his son's death James sails to Africa with Captain Baines to find diamonds but they end up adrift in an open boat for three months. Letty never doubts that he will come back and, on his return, he gives half of the Onedin Line to Samuel, who has married Charlotte just in time for the birth of her son.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  16. The Onedin Line Season 8 Episode 1 - A Royal Return
    8.4/10(14 votes)

    #16 - A Royal Return

    S8:E1

    Letty has died from diphtheria caught from one of her orphans and Elizabeth has returned from Turkey to ensure the orphanage remains open. Sarah is on a Cook's tour of the world, Samuel has his own ships, bought from selling the shares William left his son Robert, as well as becoming the youngest chairman of the chamber of commerce. He divorces Charlotte and is awarded custody of the children but agrees to repay the shares in the little boy's account.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. The Onedin Line Season 8 Episode 9 - A Long Way Home
    8.4/10(15 votes)

    #17 - A Long Way Home

    S8:E9

    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 cargo. Against his orders Margarita accompanies him. She is pregnant and eventually gives birth to a son. James is overjoyed. Elizabeth, on the other hand, receives distressing news. Daniel's ship has sunk returning to England and he has drowned, making her a widow for a second time.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. The Onedin Line Season 2 Episode 8 - 'Frisco Bound
    8.3/10(32 votes)

    #18 - 'Frisco Bound

    S2:E8

    No description available

    Director:David Cunliffe
    Writer:Allan Prior

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  19. The Onedin Line Season 2 Episode 10 - An Inch of Candle
    8.3/10(28 votes)

    #19 - An Inch of Candle

    S2:E10

    Anne is Pregnant and is asked to buy a new house. James discovers an abandoned ship.

    Director:Gerald Blake
    Writer:Martin Worth

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  20. The Onedin Line Season 3 Episode 11 - The Silver Caddy
    8.3/10(19 votes)

    #20 - The Silver Caddy

    S3:E11

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. The Onedin Line Season 4 Episode 7 - A Clear Conscience
    8.3/10(18 votes)

    #21 - A Clear Conscience

    S4:E7

    No description available

    Director:Michael Hayes
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. The Onedin Line Season 5 Episode 5 - The Stowaway
    8.3/10(15 votes)

    #22 - The Stowaway

    S5:E5

    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 for his engineering schemes. Samuel meanwhile stows away on James's ship and, when caught, James sees that he is harshly treated to put him off sea-faring but the boy will not be deterred and travels on to South America, where James makes a profitable deal.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  23. The Onedin Line Season 5 Episode 9 - Uncharted Waters
    8.3/10(13 votes)

    #23 - Uncharted Waters

    S5:E9

    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 she believes in a fair wage, is under-cutting him. They argue and she is injured but, to make atonement, he takes her on his next voyage. Daniel impresses with his generosity by buying Sarah a venue for a seaman's mission but he and Elizabeth are united in their desire to stop William seeing Charlotte. They plan to send him to London but he calls their bluff.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  24. The Onedin Line Season 6 Episode 3 - Double Dealers
    8.3/10(16 votes)

    #24 - Double Dealers

    S6:E3

    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 catalogue for his store, though Letty drives a harder bargain than he had imagined. William is shocked to learn that the 'Indian Queen', a Frazer ship which he chartered to a Mr. Lillie without his parents knowing, was deliberately sunk ,with loss of life ,for the insurance money. James has his suspicions but, even with the use of a diver, cannot proved that the cargo was never loaded.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  25. The Onedin Line Season 7 Episode 2 - The Homecoming
    8.3/10(12 votes)

    #25 - The Homecoming

    S7:E2

    Leaving Letty feeling adrift in their new, large country house James sails to Belfast, persuading cash-strapped Captain Seth Burgess to cut him into his steamship line. William returns from two years abroad and instantly detects the cool atmosphere between his parents. Samuel and Charlotte make it clear to him that they want nothing to do with him but feel remorseful after William dies, saving a group of children from being trampled by a runaway horse and cart. His death also goes some way to reconciling his parents.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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Best Episodes Summary

"Uncharted Island" is the best rated episode of "The Onedin Line". It scored 8.9/10 based on 21 votes. Directed by Unknown and written by Unknown, it aired on 5/30/1976. This episode scored 0.1 points higher than the second highest rated, "Race for Power".