The Lotus Eaters (TV series)

The Lotus Eaters
Opening titles
Genre	Drama
Created by	Michael J. Bird
Directed by	Cyril Coke Douglas Camfield David Cunliffe Viktors Ritelis
Starring	Ian Hendry Wanda Ventham Stefan Gryff Thorley Walters Maurice Denham Sylvia Coleridge
Theme music composer	Stavros Xarhakos
No. of series	2
No. of episodes	15
Production
Producer(s)	Anthony Read (Series One) Michael Glynn (Series Two)
Location(s)	Agios Nikolaos, Crete
Release
Original network	BBC2
Original release	23 April 1972 – 12 August 1973
Chronology
Followed by	Who Pays the Ferryman?

The Lotus Eaters is a BBC television drama made between 1972 and 1973.

The series, written by Michael J. Bird, dealt with the lives of various British expatriates living on the island of Crete and their reasons for being there.

Plot

The central characters were a married couple, Erik (Ian Hendry) and Ann Shepherd (Wanda Ventham), who ran a tavern called "Shepherd's Bar".

Ann is revealed in the first episode to be a sleeper agent of British Intelligence, Erik having been a broken-down drunk whom she was made to marry as part of her cover story. Other episodes dealt with the other expats who frequented the bar. The most intriguing character in both series is the Greek police captain, Michael Krasakis (Stefan Gryff). In the second series the British Intelligence aspect is developed, until a clash with Soviet and Chinese agents results in both Ann and Erik having to leave Crete. In the final scene, about to board a plane leaving Heraklion airport, they have a partial reconciliation, since each is the only person the other can trust.

Cast

Main cast:

• Ian Hendry as Erik Shepherd
• Wanda Ventham as Ann Shepherd
• Maurice Denham as Nestor Turton
• Stefan Gryff as Captain Michael Krasakis
• Anthony Stamboulieh as Nikos

Recurring cast - Series 1 only:

• James Kerry as Donald Culley (eps. 1, 3, 8-9)
• Thorley Walters as Major Edward Woolley (eps. 1-4)
• Sylvia Coleridge as Miriam Woolley (eps. 1-4)
• Julia Goodman as Kirsten McLuhan (eps. 1-2, 4-5, 7, 9)
• Martin Howells as Mark Potter (eps. 1-2, 4-5, 7, 9)
• Karan David as Katerina (eps. 1-6, 8-9)
• Carol Cleveland as Leigh Mervish (eps. 1-4, 7)
• Karl Held as Pip Mervish (eps. 1-4, 7)

Recurring cast - Series 2 only:

• Timothy Carlton as Gerard Mace
• John Horsley as Sir Hugh Russell (eps. 2-4)
• Paul Maxwell as Sam Webber (eps. 2-6)
• Susan Engel as Imogen Lundqvist (eps. 2-6)
• Frank Duncan as Cotton
• Godfrey James as Nicholson
• Ronald Howard as Dr. John Dartington (eps. 2-6)
• Calliope Petrohilos as Ariadne Mazonaki (eps. 2-6)

Production

The Lotus Eaters was filmed in the Cretan resort of Aghios Nikolaos and derived its title from the Lotus Eaters of Greek mythology, where those who ate the fruit of the Lotus tree lost the desire to return home.

The series was also the first of the Mediterranean-based dramas written by Michael J. Bird for the BBC. The others included Who Pays the Ferryman?, also set in Crete, The Aphrodite Inheritance, set in Cyprus, and The Dark Side of the Sun, set in Rhodes.

Theme Tune

The haunting Greek piece used as the series' theme is Ta Trena Pou Fyghan ("The Trains That Departed"), from the album Hellespont, composed by Stavros Xarchakos (Columbia SX.6135).

Episode list

Series 1

Series 2

External links

• The Lotus Eaters at BBC Programmes
  
• Michael J. Bird Tribute Site
• Official Website of Ian Hendry