Voyage of the Scarlet Queen - Shore Leave and the Unhappy Wife

Published: April 10, 2009, 10:11 p.m.

Broadcast in the late 1940s, this adventure series centers around the travels of a tramp steamer called The Scarlet Queen to exotic ports of call in the Pacific. The show's use of the ship's log as a narrative device is reminiscent of Star Trek and may well be where Gene Roddenberry lifted the idea from. The stories themselves are a pleasing mix of swashbuckling Indiana Jones and hard-boiled detective, liberally seasoned with saltwater for flavoring. In this episode, the ship is chartered for a lucrative voyage, but before she can set sail, the first mate is accused of murder and it is up to the captain to prove his innocence.