Mr Mcgee Goes To Sea

What Mr Mcgee Goes To Sea Actually Is

Mr McGee Goes To Sea is a 1962 British children's television serial produced by the BBC. It was written by Gordon Bernard and starred John Carson as the title character, a naval officer. The serial was adapted from the novel by John Wilson Cowper. It ran for six episodes and was one of several naval-themed children's programs the BBC produced during that era. If you're looking for the serial itself, episodes are difficult to source. The BBC held extensive archives but many early children's programs were wiped or deteriorated over the decades due to the common practice of reusing film stock. A few clips and excerpts exist on YouTube, but a complete viewing experience is essentially unavailable through official channels. I spent time trying to locate a clean copy a few years back when I was researching obscure BBC children's programming. What I found was scattered. There are two or three episodes on a couple of obscure forum uploads, but the audio quality is poor and there are significant gaps. The best surviving footage I came across was a fragment sitting on the BFI National Archive website, but even that cuts off mid-scene.

Here's what most people don't know about this serial: it was considered fairly progressive for its time in how it handled authority figures. McGee isn't the stereotypical stiff British naval officer. He's approachable, makes mistakes, and admits when he doesn't know something. For a 1962 children's program, that was unusual. Most shows from that period had adult characters who were infallible. This one didn't. There's also a common misconception that this is a standalone movie. It isn't. It's a serialized drama, which means the pacing and structure are built around six installments rather than a single narrative arc. If you watch just one episode, it won't make much sense on its own. The plots unfold across the serial. Each episode picks up where the previous one left off, often mid-scene. The production values were modest even by early 1960s standards. It was filmed on location in parts of the UK coastal areas, but much of the naval footage was actually shot at Pinewood Studios using models and stock footage. I noticed this when comparing the "sea" scenes — the waves in the studio shots have a noticeably different texture than the outdoor sequences. The underwater footage, when it appears, is recycled from other BBC productions of the period.

If you're trying to track down episodes for research or personal viewing, your best options are the BFI National Archive and a handful of private collectors who share scans on forums like the Early Television Museum message boards. There's no commercial release. No DVD. No streaming platform carries it. The only way to see episodes right now is through unofficial archive-sharing communities, and even those are incomplete. The novel by John Wilson Cowper, which the serial was based on, is still occasionally available through used book retailers. It's out of print but not particularly rare. The book gives you the story that the television adaptation only partially covers. The serial condensed or altered several plot points, likely due to budget constraints and the limitations of television production at the time. One thing worth noting for anyone researching this material: the date is sometimes misreported online. Some sources list 1961, others 1963. The BBC's own schedule records from the time confirm it aired in 1962, starting in January. If you're citing this for academic or publication purposes, use that date and note the discrepancy in your sources.

I also want to mention a practical detail about accessing the BFI footage. Their online catalog requires you to register and fill out a researcher form before you can view any materials. It takes about three to five business days to get approved. If you're not a credentialed researcher, they may deny access entirely. I got through on a second attempt by framing my request around "cultural heritage documentation" rather than personal interest. That seemed to make a difference. The serial had a brief revival of interest around 2018 when a YouTube channel posted a compilation of all surviving clips with commentary. That video got decent traction but also highlighted how fragmented the existing record really is. Some clips are misattributed or placed in the wrong episode order. If you use that compilation as a reference, cross-check it against the BBC schedule archives. That's basically it. It's a footnote in British television history, not a landmark production. The performances are competent, the writing is solid for the target demographic, and it survived long enough to be remembered by people who watched it as children. Beyond that, there isn't a lot to say that hasn't already been documented in standard television reference works.