For once I am not using my Who icon, because I want to flag up an interim stop on the path of reception: Roger Zelazny's Lord of Light, which also features body-shifting colonists elevating themselves as gods. Zelazny uses the Indian deities rather than the Classical pantheon, but it has the same effect, of making their elevated status clear, and offering a plausible explanation for why nobody is questioning or challenging them. It's clear that Clements has Zelazny in mind - Kalkin is one of the characters in Immortal Beloved and also one of the names of the protagonist of Lord of Light; also of course Zelazny's other great early book was This Immortal which is another root for the play's title (I don't recall much resonance with Beethoven who is the normal reference point for the phrase). This also makes even more sense of Clements' choice of ancient Greek culture which is (still!) more familiar to the average BBC7 listener or Big Finish purchaser than the Hindu mythos.

Of the first season of Lucie stories, I thought this was the best. If you are considering sampling others, I think the two-parters at the beginning (Blood of the Daleks) and end (Human Resources) were also good but you can skip the rest of the first season. My favourites from the rest of Lucie's run so far are The Zygon Who Fell To Earth (with Tarrant from Blake's Seven and Tim Brooke-Taylor) and The Cannibalists with Phil Jupitus; the former depends a bit on having heard the rather less impressive Horror of Glam Rock (with Stephen Gately of Boyzone) but the latter is a standalone.