Buccaneer
GenreAdventure
Created by
Starring
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes13
Production
ProducerGerard Glaister
Running time50 minutes
Original release
NetworkBBC1
Release27 April (1980-04-27) –
20 July 1980 (1980-07-20)

Buccaneer is a television series, made by the BBC from 1979 to 1980. Created by experienced television writer N. J. (Norman) Crisp, it was broadcast over 13 weeks from April to July 1980.

Buccaneer, dealing with a developing air freight business, starred Bryan Marshall, Mark Jones, Pamela Salem and Clifford Rose, and was produced by Gerard Glaister. John Brason, who had previously worked with Glaister on Secret Army, served as script editor.

The aircraft that 'starred' in the series was a Bristol Britannia of Redcoat Air Cargo, registration G-BRAC, which wore the markings of 'Redair', the name of the fictional airline in the series.

The first episode of Buccaneer concerned getting out of the fictional country of Ximbali; this just presaged real-life events when people fled from the former Rhodesia which had been renamed to the similar-sounding Zimbabwe. Amusingly, in view of later political developments, the lead character in Buccaneer, played by Bryan Marshall was named 'Tony Blair'. Buccaneer was also the first BBC drama series to be broadcast with Ceefax subtitles for the hearing impaired.

One reason for there being only one series (13 episodes) of Buccaneer was the fact that the Bristol Britannia G-BRAC was destroyed in a crash near Boston, Massachusetts, on 16 February 1980, shortly after the completion of filming, but just before transmission of the series. Of the eight people on board, seven were killed, and only one survived, albeit seriously injured.[1]

With the 'starring aircraft' destroyed in a crash, plans for a second series were abandoned. Buccaneer has not been released on video or DVD. It became overshadowed by ITV's better-remembered post-Second World War drama Airline, starring Roy Marsden, which was first broadcast in 1982.

Regular cast

Episodes

# Title Directed by Written by Designed by Original airdate
1"Reluctant Hero"Ken GrieveJ. B. FlackMyles Lang27 April 1980 (1980-04-27)
2"Albatross"Marc MillerJ. B. FlackStanley Morris4 May 1980 (1980-05-04)
3"Grounded"Andrew MorganN. J. CrispMyles Lang11 May 1980 (1980-05-11)
4"A Kind of Cuckoo"Ken GrieveN. J. CrispStanley Morris18 May 1980 (1980-05-18)
5"Let's Make a Killing"Marc MillerJohn BrasonMyles Lang25 May 1980 (1980-05-25)
6"The Thin End"Andrew MorganJohn BrasonStanley Morris1 June 1980 (1980-06-01)
7"Somebody's Telling Lies"Tristan de Vere ColeDavid CraneMary Spencer8 June 1980 (1980-06-08)
8"Private Arrangements"Marc MillerDavid CraneStanley Morris15 June 1980 (1980-06-15)
9"Intruders"Andrew MorganBen SteedMyles Lang22 June 1980 (1980-06-22)
10"Feet of Clay"Tristan de Vere ColeBen SteedStanley Morris29 June 1980 (1980-06-29)
11"Eldorado"Marc MillerN. J. CrispMyles Lang6 July 1980 (1980-07-06)
12"A No Go Item"Andrew MorganN. J. CrispStanley Morris13 July 1980 (1980-07-13)
13"Emergency"Tristan de Vere ColeN. J. CrispMary Spencer20 July 1980 (1980-07-20)

Notes

  1. ↑ United States National Transportation Safety Board (1981) [19 February 1981]. Aircraft Accident Report 3/1981. Report on the accident to Redcoat Air Cargo Ltd Bristol Britannia 2S3F G-BRAC at Billerica, Massachusetts, USA, 16 February 1980. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office. ISBN 0-11-513178-7. Retrieved 4 January 2012.


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