''The Lotus Eaters'' is a
BBC television drama first broadcast in 1972 and 1973.
The series, written by
Michael J. Bird
Michael J. Bird (31 October 1928, in London – 11 May 2001, in Great Shelford, Cambridgeshire) was an English writer.
In addition to several novels, he is best remembered for his television drama series for the BBC, usually set in the Mediterra ...
, dealt with the lives of British
expats living on the island of
Crete
Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...
, and their reasons for being there.
Plot
The central characters were a married couple, Erik (
Ian Hendry
Ian Mackendrick Hendry (13 January 1931 – 24 December 1984) was a British actor. He worked on several British TV series of the 1960s and 1970s, including the lead in the first series of '' The Avengers'' and '' The Lotus Eaters'', and played ...
) 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
A sleeper agent, also called sleeper cell, is a spy who is placed in a target country or organization not to undertake an immediate mission but to act as a potential asset if activated. Even if unactivated, the "sleeper agent" is still an asset ...
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
Stefan Gryff (5 May 1938 - 3 June 2017) was a Poland, Polish-Australian actor. He specialised in playing Poles, Russians, Greeks and other Mediterranean types.
Gryff studied law at the University of Sydney and during his studies appeared in seve ...
). 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
Heraklion or Iraklion ( ; el, Ηράκλειο, , ) is the largest city and the administrative capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in Greece with a population of 211,370 (Urban A ...
airport, they have a partial reconciliation, since each is the only person the other can trust.
Cast
Main cast:
*
Ian Hendry
Ian Mackendrick Hendry (13 January 1931 – 24 December 1984) was a British actor. He worked on several British TV series of the 1960s and 1970s, including the lead in the first series of '' The Avengers'' and '' The Lotus Eaters'', and played ...
as Erik Shepherd
*
Wanda Ventham as Ann Shepherd
*
Maurice Denham as Nestor Turton
*
Stefan Gryff
Stefan Gryff (5 May 1938 - 3 June 2017) was a Poland, Polish-Australian actor. He specialised in playing Poles, Russians, Greeks and other Mediterranean types.
Gryff studied law at the University of Sydney and during his studies appeared in seve ...
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
Sylvia Coleridge (10 December 1909 – 31 May 1986) was a British stage, film, radio and television actress. She was married to Albert George Fiddes-Watt and their daughter Kate, born 1943, is also an actress as ''Kate Coleridge.''
Birth
Coler ...
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
Carl Held (born September 19, 1931), sometimes credited as Karl Held and Christopher Held, is an American actor who has worked extensively in both American and British television.
Career
Held is best known for his role as Garth in the 1980s s ...
as Philip "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
Location scenes in ''The Lotus Eaters'' were filmed in the Cretan resort of
Aghios Nikolaos and derived its title from the
lotus-eaters
In Greek mythology, the lotus-eaters ( grc-gre, λωτοφάγοι, lōtophágoi) were a race of people living on an island dominated by the lotus tree, a plant whose botanical identity is uncertain. The lotus fruits and flowers were the primary ...
of
Greek mythology
A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...
, where those who ate the fruit of the
lotus tree
The lotus tree ( grc-gre, λωτός, ''lōtós'') is a plant that is referred to in stories from Greek and Roman mythology.
The lotus tree is mentioned in Homer's ''Odyssey'' as bearing a fruit that caused a pleasant drowsiness, and which was sai ...
lost the desire to return home.
The series was also the first of the
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...
-based dramas written by Michael J Bird for the BBC. The others included ''
Who Pays the Ferryman?'', also set in Crete; ''
The Aphrodite Inheritance
''The Aphrodite Inheritance'' is a BBC television series broadcast in 1979.
The eight-part serial, written by Michael J. Bird, followed his previous successful Mediterranean-set series '' The Lotus Eaters'' and ''Who Pays the Ferryman?''. Where ...
'', set in
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
; and ''
The Dark Side of the Sun'', set in
Rhodes
Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the So ...
.
The series' theme is "Ta Trena Pou Fyghan" (''Τα Τραίνα Που Φύγαν" = "The Trains That Departed''), from the album ''Hellespont'', composed by
Stavros Xarchakos.
Columbia – 2j 054-70011 / SX.6135 / DNZ.10865
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Episode details
;Series 1: