Adventurer

1 9 8 7 (UK)
12 x 30 minute episodes

This Thames TV series continued the exploits of Jack Vincent (Oliver Tobias), first seen in the popular Smuggler series.

This time around, we joined Jack on board the prison ship HMS Success, presumably being transported to a prison colony as a result of being found guilty of murdering Arrow (in the final episode of Smuggler), but this was never fully explained.

The ship’s captain was Jack’s brother-in-law, Lt Harry Anderson (Paul Gittins). The two men had quarrelled violently in the past over Anderson’s treatment of Vincent’s sister, and now Anderson subjected him to particularly harsh and humiliating treatment.

Staging a successful mutiny, Jack cast Anderson and those loyal to him adrift and planned to sail to America, but the Success was shipwrecked.

Vincent and Anderson both survived, with Anderson vowing to pursue Jack until he could see him hanged at Execution Dock.

So began a fight for survival for Vincent and his crew, complete with hostile natives, unscrupulous sea traders, crazed prophets and buried treasure.

Sadly, the series – filmed on location in New Zealand (with assistance from TV New Zealand) – failed to recapture the production values of the earlier series, and the programme was less than successful.

Jack Vincent
Oliver Tobias
Pat Cassidy
Peter Hambleton
Lt Harry Anderson
Paul Gittins
Mason
Marshall Napier
Maru
Temuera Morrison
Towers
Peter Bland
Li
Peter Chin
Flack
Norman Forsey
Hoskins
Carl Bland
Tressler
Matthew Evans