This television series had me gripped back in the 70s, when it was first broadcast. It was a time of big serious topics in long documentary series made and broadcast by BBC television. The emphasis was on the subject and not the ‘celebrity’ fronting it. The presenter was chosen carefully; the person chosen had to have the right degree of gravitas and be a first class communicator.
In the case of this, their showcase look at world religions, the presenter needed to be a seeker rather than an expert. Ronald Eyre was an excellent choice. He was a theatre director who took on the search in the spirit of enquiry.
Each film studied a religion as it was practiced in a particular part of the world; Hinduism was viewed from an Indian perspective as you would expect but the film about Protestant Christianity was made in USA.
The series was broadcast in 1977. It comes from a time when television makers treated audiences with respect and intelligence. I am sure that, now, we would have to have a minor celebrity being amazed by the religions of the world.
‘The Long Search’ is in my hinterland. What’s in yours?
