I discovered the TV author Michael J Bird first through my partner recommending The Aphrodite Inheritance, then Who Pays the Ferryman (superb) and finally realising that The Dark Side of the Sun (very interesting) was a TV production of his I had seen as a teenager and had found made a vivid impression on me. The Lotus Eaters is Michael J Bird's first production: It is a little dated in attitudes but once you get used to the characters and central premise, like all of his other TV, I found this absolutely compelling. Whilst I agree with the lead reviewer on this page that the first series is somehow more gentle and easy to watch (it is 11 episodes or so) I take issue with the idea that Series 2 (which wraps up the central plot) is a disappointment caused by a "young director" (as far as I know Viktors Ritelis was a well thought of director and learned his trade with the great Douglas Camfield who directed a couple of episodes in Series 1). If Series 2 had never happened, viewers would have been left with an unresolved plot, and whilst different to Series 1, I found Series 2 to be very poignant and emotional as well as being dramatic, if a little less diverse, given its shorter 6-episode focus, and every single episode is written by the series creator, Michael J Bird - which perhaps makes it more "one note". All in all, a great, original, inventive, ground-breaking series: The fact that the alcoholic background of Ian Hendry's character somewhat reflects the actor in real life, adds an extra dimension of realism. Michael J Bird has a unique voice, and I have yet to see a production of his that fails to engage and entertain, which given this series was made in 1972-3, is no mean achievement. Some great familiar TV actors seen also from this period: Stefan Gryff and Maurice Denham giving particularly fine and interesting performances. In short, despite its flaws, I loved this series.
