The aquarium and nearby coastal waters of Vancouver provided the exotic backdrop for many of the show’s adventures, which often focused on the children but always involved the whole family. Plots usually presented some kind of peril or violence to the animals at the aquarium or surrounding area, and each week the strong and daring “Doc” Roberts would foil the greedy and selfish schemes of poachers, hunters, or developers who posed a threat to the animals and environment.

Danger Bay was fairly formulaic, filled with elements that were conventional to family series. It presented a strong father figure in Donnelly Rhodes and a motherly figure in Joyce, Dr. Robert’s girlfriend (played by Deborah Wakeham), and young viewers could identify with Jonah and Nicole. Moral and psychological tensions were also muted, reflecting the Disney producers’ reluctance to deal with controversial issues such as sex, drugs, or alcohol, as did the other contemporary Canadian teenage drama series, Degrassi Junior High. Instead, dramatic tension in Danger Bay usually involved a morality lesson related to subjects such as lying or cheating and were always resolved with help of patient fatherly advice. The series did, however, try to reflect a more sensitive attitude toward the environment, women (Joyce was a bush pilot), and visible minorities, but such issues very rarely drew any direct attention to the plots.

Danger Bay reflected the basic characteristics of wholesomeness and adventure. Its formulaic nature and rather innocent perspective led some Canadian critics to see it as an example of the “Disneyfication” of Canadian television drama, and it was sharply criticized for its timidity. Defenders of the series have argued that the show provided fast-paced action and fun for a young viewing audience. Nevertheless, as Canadian television drama historian Mary Jane Miller points out, it remains “a blend of action and fathering with lots of running, chasing, fixing, rescuing.” Danger Bay ended its run on Canadian television after six seasons in the spring of 1990, at the same time that another Canadian television drama series, Beachcombers, ended after 19 seasons on the CBC.