Seaway

Pretty decent series from the mid-1960s that has apparently dropped off the face of the earth, most probably due to the fact it was filmed in black and white. The late Austin Willis, one of my all-time favorite actors, was brilliant in this one.

The prospect of having the Great Lakes accessible to immense Atlantic Ocean vessels was once thought unthinkable and put the Voyageurs and Coureurs De Bois out of business forever. This featured two special agents delving into the skulduggery of crime in the environs of the brand new St. Lawrence Seaway.

I had the good fortune to chat with Austin Willis a few months before his unfortunate passing and he spoke with great appreciation for his talented "Seaway" co-star Steven Young. This show should go down in history as one of the best made in Canada.

Made in Canada by England's ITC Network, this short lived TV drama series followed the daily investigations of two special agents who worked for the Ship Owners Association in Toronto.

Murder, kidnapping, international espionage and foiling the movement of stolen goods along the St.Lawrence Seaway usually served as the basis for story lines.

Good scripts, well directed and well played by all concerned.

Regularly featured American guest stars such as Ralph Bellamy, Vincent Gardenia and Sally Kellerman.

Has been running for years in late night and mid dawn time slots on the Nine Network in Australia.

Sometimes listed in old program guides from the 1970s as "On the Seaway ".

Wonderfully. Interesting sixties detective series forgotten by time.

I too have only became aware of this show in the last year courtesy of channel gem here downunder, The stories revolve around the keeping of smooth ship traffic along the St Laurance canal which - connects the great lakes of north America to the Atlantic ocean.

Most of the episode are quite interesting with twists in the tail and the plots are often not as predictable as a lot of series from this time period are.

The only major letdown with this series are the episodes made in colour ( or should that be color? ) with an American CIA character - to try and sell to the Yanks of course - They are rather average compared to the quality of other episodes.

The series confronts many issues of the time ( some still relevant ) with an honest and modern approach which is surprising considering when it was made, especially the episode - The Only Good Indian.

Overall if you like to travel back to another world in the 1960's with action and adventure it's not a bad choice.

I.

Seaway has been screening here in Australia across the summer of 2021-2022 on channel 9's GEM daily at noon. The quality of the shows is great, with interesting stories & great guest stars. The lead actor is particularly good & charismatic. I read that this show is Canadian, & rarely seen elsewhere. I think this show holds up very well due to the quality of the scripts & the acting.