Continuing the story of Jack Vincent (Oliver Tobias), Adventurer finds him a convicted felon aboard the prison ship HMS Success. Found guilty of murdering his rival, Arrow, Jack is being transported to a penal colony to serve out his sentence. The long and brutal voyage is overseen by the formidable Lieutenant Anderson (Paul Gittins), and Jack must navigate the dangers posed by his fellow prisoners, including the desperate Cassidy (Peter Hambleton) and the menacing Mason (Marshall Napier), to survive.
A New Zealand co-production, this follow-up to the successful historical drama Smuggler proved a critical and commercial disappointment. By removing its protagonist from the Cornish coastline that was central to the original’s appeal, the serial lost much of its character. The ship-bound setting, intended to create a claustrophobic drama, instead felt repetitive and constrained. The production failed to match the quality of its predecessor, and the narrative premise felt underdeveloped, never fully clarifying the circumstances of the crime that sets the plot in motion. The result was a brief, twice-weekly run that concluded the character’s story on a downbeat and unsuccessful note.
Broadcast: ITV, 12 Episodes, Twice-weekly, 25 July – 28 August 1987
Created by: Richard Carpenter, Paul Knight, Sidney Cole
Producer: Sidney Cole
Executive Producer: John McRae
Main Cast: Oliver Tobias (Jack Vincent), Paul Gittins (Lt Anderson), Peter Hambleton (Cassidy), Marshall Napier (Mason)
