| The Dark Side of the Sun | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Drama |
| Created by | Michael J. Bird |
| Directed by | David Askey |
| Starring | Peter Egan Emily Richard Christopher Scoular Betty Arvaniti Patrick Mower |
| Theme music composer | Stavros Xarhakos |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 6 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Vere Lorrimer |
| Location(s) | Rhodes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | BBC1 |
| Original run | 13 September 1983 – 18 October 1983 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | The Aphrodite Inheritance |
| Followed by | Maelstrom |
The Dark Side of the Sun is a television serial written by Michael J. Bird and produced by the BBC in 1983.
The serial was the last in an unofficial quartet of serials written by Bird and set in the Mediterranean. The previous three were The Lotus Eaters, Who Pays the Ferryman? and The Aphrodite Inheritance.
The Dark Side of the Sun takes place on the Greek island of Rhodes. The story combines elements of supernatural Gothic romance with the contemporary conspiracy thriller. There are themes of telepathy and hypnosis, and a secret society, descended from the Knights Templar, holding clandestine meetings on the island.
The historical back-story is linked to the suppression of the Templars, and seems also loosely inspired by the overthrow of Foulques de Villaret, 25th Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller. His former stronghold at Lindos was one of the main filming locations. The Templar conspiracy theory element in the modern plot-line shows some influences from The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, which had been published the previous year.