The Onedin Line (1971)

Family saga at its most satisfying: Peter Gilmore's ruthless James Onedin builds a Liverpool shipping line from a single schooner, with the story running from 1860 to 1886 across 91 episodes. Real sailing ships at sea give it a scale few studio dramas of the time could manage. It is a commitment, and later series lose some of the bite of the early boardroom and dockside scheming. Start with series one and see whether Onedin's hard-headed charm hooks you; the Khachaturian theme certainly will.