Interest lagging in “The Lotus Eaters”

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33665, 15 October 1974, Page 4

Interest lagging in “The Lotus Eaters”

Michael Bird, who wrote “The Lotus Eaters,” might well have a gripping climax in store for viewers who follow this serialised drama. But it is unlikely that all of them will agree that the end justified the means.

The background of intrigue has become more than a little wearisome. Mace (Timothy Carlton) has still to advance from square one; Godfrey James, miscast in the role of the intelligence agent, Nicholson, continues to mark time; and the sinis-ter-looking police captain with the heart of gold (Stefan Gryff) has become irritating because of the implication that he is one jump ahead of everyone else. Even the appeal generated by lan Hendry and Wanda i Ventham has begun to wear I thin. Hendry, once noted for i his ability to depict blind i rage forcefully, no longer ' commands attention when he drops an expletive. And now that poor MauTice Denham has been writyen out of the programme in

brutal fashion, the last vestige of humour in "The Lotus Eaters” has disappeared. It is probable that Bird and his producer realised that the pace was beginning to drop, and that there was a need to pad things along until the final showdown. What other explanation is there for such bizarre scenes as Miss Ventham’s dream fantasy, Denham’s protracted death scene, and the slow motion fight between Hendry and Miss Ventham?

The first series of the programme was acceptable, but the sequel appears to be gripped by torpor. It is as if the production crew and cast are all succumbing to the lure of relaxed Mediterranean living. * * * Similar criticism cannot be levelled at another Sunday series filmed on location, “The Search For The Nile.” It continues to present a crisp and authoritative story, and maintains a fine balance between the action in Africa and the intrigue in England. The tribal scenes along the Nile are an outstanding: feature of this programme..

An excellent portrayal of Dr i Livingstone by Michael 'Gough enhanced the appeal of the latest episode. The air of Victorian restraint has been splendidly maintained throughout the series, and this reflects credit on Christopher Railing, the producer-direct-or. * * * Viewers either - love or loathe “Monty Python’s Flying Circus,” but those in the latter category must surely acknowledge the considerable talents of the lofty John Cleese. His silly walk sketch and his female impersonation were first class, and his written material is outrageously funny. The manner in which Terry Gilliam’s surrealistic cartoons are incorporated in the scheme of things is an artistic achievement, if nothing else. » * #

Solid sensible reporting by Findlay McCulloch helped to make the “Country Calendar” backgrounder on the Shah of Iran’s New Zealand visit a notable success. This was a well researched and presented programme, devoid of trivia.

As such, it spelt out a vital lesson to “Review,” which set itself a difficult task and rarely came to grips with it. The subject was houses which exist in the imagination of the next generation. It was a pointless exercise because of the way it was approached. The “magic house” ideas of primary schoolchildren were constantly overridden by wordy quotations on man and his environment, delivered in stentorian tones. — J.K.B.

CHTV3 2.00 p.m.: News, weather (C) 2.05: This Afternoon. Magazine. 2.38: Kate. Drama (C) 3.39: Country Calendar (C) (Repeat) 3.50: My Three Sons. Comedy (C) 4.17: France Panorama. Magazine. 4.27: Playschool (C). 5.02: Yogi’s Gang. Cartoon (C). 5.25: News (C). 5.27: Pop Slot. (C) 5.34: Survival (C) (Final). 6.04: The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Comedy (C) 6.34: Food Without Fuss. 6.50: Column Comment. 7.00: Network news. 7.22: Weather, The South Tonight. 7.47: Coronation Street. 8.19: M.A.S.H. Comedy. (C) 8.50: Newsbrief (C). 8.52: Nationwide. Current affairs. 9.12: Frost Over New Zealand — The occult. (C) 10.10: Love Story — “Never Too Late” (C) 11.08: Late news, weather.

NATIONAL LINK (Including SY A Christchurch (690 kilohertz); 2YA Wellington (573 kilohertz); 4YA Dunedin (750 kilohertz); end 3YZ Grevmouth (950 kilo hertz.) 7 p.m.: N.Z.B.C. Sports News. Golf: New Zealand Championships at Manukau. 7.30: On Stage New Zealand. A showcase of local artists introduced by Peter Brian. 8.30: Weather and News. Checkpoint: News Topics. 9.0: Many a Slip. Panel game. 9.30: The Pied Piper of Fantasyland. 10.0: Jazz Tonight. Terry Crayford Trio of Wellington. 10.30: News, Comment, Weather. 10.45: Adventure in New Zealand, by Edward Jerningham Wakefield. 11.0: 8.8. C. News, Commentary. 11.15: YAs (continuous).

3YC, CHRISTCHURCH (960 kilohertz) 7 p.m.: Vaughan Williams: On Wenlock Edge. 7.28: Gounod: Little Symphony for Winds in B flat—Netherlands Wind Ensemble under Edo de Waart. 7.45: Letter from

[America, by Alistair Cooke. 8.0: Spring Festival from Prague. 9.7: In the Studio. Phyllis Mander (soprano), Bryan Sayer (piano). Milhaud: Jewish Poems (N.Z.8.C.). 9.31: Poetry. 10.0: Rimsky-Korsakov: Symphony No. 1 in E minor. Op. 1— Moscow Radio SymphonyOrchestra under Boris Khaikin. 10.28: Ravel: Piano Trio in A minor — Trio di Trieste. (Close down at 11.0) 3ZB, CHRISTCHURCH (1100 kilohertz) 7.25 p.m.: Top of the Top 40. 7.30: John Reid. 8.02: Motoring with Robbie. 9.05: Easy Listening. 3ZM, CHRISTCHURCH 8 p.m.: Chris Muirhead. 3XA, RADIO AVON (1290 kilohertz)

News on the half-hour 6 a.m.-9 a.m., hourly thereafter. In-depth bulletin 12.30 p.m. 5.30 a.m.: Wayne Douglas with Breakfast Club. 9 a.m.: Jon Campbell and morning music. Noon: Mike Richardson and afternoon music.