Who Pays the Ferryman?
| Who Pays the Ferryman? | |
|---|---|
|
Opening titles | |
| Genre | Drama |
| Created by | Michael J. Bird |
| Starring | |
| Theme music composer | Yannis Markopoulos |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 8 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | William Slater |
| Location(s) | Elounda, Crete |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | BBC2 |
| Original run | 7 November 1977 – 26 December 1977 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | The Lotus Eaters |
| Followed by | The Aphrodite Inheritance |
Who Pays the Ferryman? was a television series produced by the BBC in 1977. The title of the series refers to the ancient religious belief and mythology of Charon the ferryman to Hades. In ancient times it was the custom to place coins in or on the mouth of the deceased before cremation so that the deceased could pay the ferryman to go to Hades.
The eight-part series was written by Michael J. Bird.
Premise
An ex-soldier returns to Crete, to take stock after his boat-building business is bought out, thirty years after he had fought alongside the local resistance (andartes) during the Second World War. He finds the ghosts of the past waiting for him there, and those who would do him ill. The shadows of his past interrupt and threaten his present happiness.
Filming
The serial was filmed on location in and around Elounda and was responsible for the surge of tourism that descended on the area in the late 1970s. The serial was particularly memorable for its theme tune composed by Yannis Markopoulos, which became a hit in the UK. The soundtrack album and the book of the series continue to be popular with visitors to Crete.
Jack Hedley starred in the central role of Alan Haldane, whilst other notable cast members in the serial included Betty Arvaniti, Neil McCarthy, Stefan Gryff, Patience Collier, Jack Watson, Lalla Ward, Gareth Thomas, Patrick Magee, Marina Sirtis and Sally Knyvette.
Availability
The series is available on DVD in the Netherlands, and is to be released in the UK on 20 February 2012 by Eureka.
As of 19 August 2012 it is also available for Kindle.