First broadcast on FAB RADIO INTERNATIONAL at 19:00 on August 29th 2021

There's a little bit of sunshine creeping into the dark corners of VISION ON SOUND HQ this week, as STEVE HATCHER returns to the show to talk about the MICHAEL J BIRD QUARTET. This is the popular collective term for the four series - THE LOTUS EATERS, WHO PAYS THE FERRYMAN, THE APHRODITE INHERITANCE, & THE DARK SIDE OF THE SUN - .written by this great television writer in the 1970s and 1980s, and which were all set in various sun-soaked corners of the Mediterranean, an element which no doubt pleased almost everyone involved in the making of them.

Alongside a general overview of Michael J Bird's television writing career, we discuss the four series as well as touching upon a fifth - MAELSTROM - in a wide-ranging, conversation that definitely makes for a packed and entertaining hour, which I hope you'll enjoy, which occasionally (and appropriately, given the subject matter) goes off in some quite unexpected directions.

PLEASE NOTE - For Copyright reasons, musical content sometimes has to be removed for the podcast edition. All the spoken word content remains (mostly) as it was in the broadcast version. Hopefully this won't spoil your enjoyment of the show.