Warship (TV Series) - Warship Assessed in Retrospect

Warship Assessed in Retrospect

Writing in 2006, historian Professor S.P. MacKenzie judged that:

"Warship had succeeded where Making Waves failed because those involved – the multi-talented Ian Mackintosh above all – managed to create varied and interesting characters and plots in which RN frigates and other vessels served as useful backdrops for the action. Warship, in short, helped the Royal Navy through a combination of competent writing, acting and direction rather more than through using its equipment as a showcase. (...) Mackintosh and those around him knew how to draw in the viewer with stories that were both contemporary and interesting.” (Broadcasting the New Navy: the BBC-TV Series Warship (1973-1977), p.119)

After Warship, Ian Mackintosh wrote the equally successful ITV drama series The Sandbaggers, described in the New York Times on 12 October 2003, by Terrence Rafferty, as "the best spy series in television history".

"Making Waves" was a 2004 series made by ITV, and intended to be in the same vein as "Warship". It proved less successful, and only three episodes were shown out of the six that were made.