| The Dark Side of the Sun |
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Novelisation |
Published by Granada in 1983, copies of the novelisation of the series, by Michael Bird and Hugh Miller, are still in circulation. A search on the net sites of ABE.BOOKS or ALIBRIS for "Michael J Bird" will usually throw up a copy somewhere for a couple of £s. Copies also come up from time to time on e-Bay. Search e-Bay. Because of the nature of the story it merits an entry on the excellent UK Sci-Fi TV Book website and on the equally impressive Haunted TV web site. |
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A Sequel? We know that Michael Bird hoped that The Dark Side of the Sun would run to a second series. He may even have started plotting it, but nothing I have found in his remaining papers gives any clue as to how it would have gone. Dr Marianne Gilchrist, historian and art historian, has always liked the series. Marianne says she was at St Andrews studying mediæval history when she first saw it. "The series became something of a cult" she says. "A mock-baronial wing of our hall somewhat resembled the Scottish castle in the last episode; also some of my friends in another hall spotted the fact that the owners of an adjacent house had a light coloured Mercedes …" Having finally got to see the series again twenty years later, Marianne felt inspired to write her own sequel, which she called "Survivors". She says: "The key for me was that look exchanged between Ismini and Raoul immediately after she had wounded him. Hm, I thought, what is going on?! I'd watched the series a couple of times with friends and with my father, and it seemed to all of us that there was a very obvious affinity there that was never explored ..." Initially Marianne was posting the story on the fanfiction.net web site in installments, but she has now kindly provided me with a copy of the complete tale. It can be downloaded using the link alongside. Naturally it is nothing like the sequel Bird had planned. Marianne says: "I cannot pretend it is anything other than a bit strange: Gothic with occasional detours into 1930s-ish romantic-comedy point-scoring between the pair." But it is fun to meet up again with the characters after all this time. Marianne is actively involved with fanfiction.net and she says she has asked them to create an 'M J Bird Serials' category in their TV Shows section. "Perhaps it might bring more Bird-ficcers out of the woodwork," she adds. |
Download SURVIVORS
(Illustrated version) (A much larger file) You will need Adobe® Acrobat Reader to view it. Acrobat Reader is free software that lets you view and print Adobe PDF files. |
| Michael J Bird Tribute Website |
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