Previous episodes can be found immediately after broadcast via https://anchor.fm/visiononsound and the details of content and links to individual episodes are listed below.
VISION ON SOUND EPISODE ONE - TX OCTOBER 11 2020
In the first edition of VISION ON SOUND we visit THE STREETS OF SAN FRANCISCO, I talk about my own memories of growing up watching television in the 1970s, I interview ANDY PRIESTNER about writing DVD notes and guide books about classic TV series like SURVIVORS, SECRET ARMY, and TENKO, and there's a brief tribute to Diana Rigg.
VISION ON SOUND EPISODE TWO - TX OCTOBER 18 2020
In the second edition of VISION ON SOUND I have a studio guest as my pal SANDY McGREGOR and I talk about remakes and reimaginings of TV series. In the process we discuss DALEKS INVASION EARTH 2150AD (a reimagining of DOCTOR WHO), MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, STAR TREK, and THE SINGING DETECTIVE, amongst others.
I also interview MARTIN UNSWORTH, the assistant editor of STARBURST MAGAZINE, about the 1970s feature film versions of all those sitcoms of the time.
VISION ON SOUND EPISODE THREE - TX OCTOBER 25 2020
In the third edition of VISION ON SOUND plans have changed from those announced at the end of episode two as, instead of discussing DYSTOPIAN TV (see NEXT WEEK for more of that delight) my studio guest SANDY McGREGOR returns to continue our talk about remakes and reimaginings of TV series. In the process we move from WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE LIKELY LADS? and CALLAN through CHARLES ENDELL ESQUIRE to THE MAGIC ROUNDABOUT and more.
We also talk to WARREN CUMMINGS (no relation), who did our Diana Rigg tribute back in episode one, about his memories of growing up watching TV in the seventies.
VISION ON SOUND EPISODE FOUR - TX NOVEMBER 1 2020
In the fourth edition of VISION ON SOUND, the topic we are discussing is DYSTOPIAN TV and one or two dark visions of the future.
We briefly revisit the 1979 QUATERMASS serial, before spending some time In conversation with ANDY PRIESTNER, who literally co-wrote the book on SURVIVORS, and there's a previously unheard extract from my remakes and reimaginings chat with SANDY McGREGOR which seemed more appropriate to use in this edition as we discussed the remake of SURVIVORS.
WARREN CUMMINGS also returns to talk about his unique take on what might be considered to be dystopian vision.
VISION ON SOUND EPISODE FIVE - TX NOVEMBER 8 2020
In the fifth edition of VISION ON SOUND, SANDY McGREGOR returns to the studio to talk with me about politics, which, as we all know, is never discussed in polite society, so instead we talk about politically themed television programmes.
It's a long, wide-ranging chat covering programmes such as THE WEST WING, HOUSE OF CARDS, YES, MINISTER, THE THICK OF IT (about which I have to apologise on air for several startling errors which seems highly appropriate given the topic), and VEEP, amongst others, and, as ever, we run out of time to delve into any of them as deeply as we'd like to, but we hope it gives you an enjoyable hour of listening.
VISION ON SOUND EPISODE SIX - TX NOVEMBER 15 2020
In the sixth edition of VISION ON SOUND, I have a long ZOOM chat with STEVE HATCHER of the Derbyshire WHOOVERS about running a fan group, working with BIG FINISH to produce the annual BIG FINISH DAY, and his several television-related writing projects..
In something of a smorgasbord of an episode, LISA and ANDREW from the ROUND THE ARCHIVES PODCAST share some thoughts on RAINBOW, and listeners will finally, FINALLY, get to hear that long-promised other half of the interview with MARTIN UNSWORTH from STARBURST MAGAZINE, the first part of which featured in EPISODE TWO of VISION ON SOUND.
VISION ON SOUND EPISODE SEVEN - TX NOVEMBER 22 2020
The seventh edition of VISION ON SOUND features a short interview with Andy Priestner (from the "World Enough And Time" podcast), part of a quite long interview with Hayden Gribble (from the "Diddly Dum" podcast), and about twenty minutes from an extremely long interview with Toby Hadoke (from loads of things I'm sure you already know far more than me about).
This now means that the "In case nobody agrees to be interviewed so not Doctor Who at all" themed Alternative Episode Seven (in which Sandy & I burble on in the Fab Radio International studio with little in the way of a planned programme) will now become Episode Eight.
Far, far more of those interviews with Hayden and Toby will be featured in future episodes, so stay tuned.
VISION ON SOUND EPISODE EIGHT - TX NOVEMBER 29 2020
In the eighth edition of VISION ON SOUND, because I'd been away on a mini-break, SANDY and I headed into the studio with little prepared and without much clue as to what we were going to talk about.
No change there then.
And yet... Despite this unpromising start, we managed to chat for the entire hour about some of SANDY'S "Desert Island TV" in a conversation that covered THE BOYS FROM THE BLACKSTUFF, PLAY FOR TODAY, THE WORLD AT WAR, DAD'S ARMY, FATHER TED, STOCKPORT COUNTY, and, erm, VACUUMING COMPLETELY NUDE IN PARADISE (!!!)
VISION ON SOUND EPISODE NINE - TX DECEMBER 06 2020
In the ninth edition of VISION ON SOUND, I share more leftovers from both of those long interviews I did for our DOCTOR WHO themed edition a couple of weeks ago that our running time didn't allow.
So, there's more TOBY HADOKE which starts off from where we left off with a bit of a natter about English Cricket and listening to TMS, but don't worry, we get back to more telly stuff fairly rapidly, as well as more HAYDEN GRIBBLE (from the DIDDLY DUM PODCAST), as well as a little natter I had with LISA & ANDREW about the career of the recently late, always great GEOFFREY PALMER.
VISION ON SOUND EPISODE TEN - TX DECEMBER 13 2020
In the tenth edition of VISION ON SOUND, because of lockdown restrictions, SANDY and I tried to do our usual thing via a telephone link and it all kind of worked out swimmingly.
Mostly.
After I share a few musings on THE MACHINE STOPS, SANDY and I have one of our natters which starts with ROADKILL and by way of some musings upon modern ways of viewing television shows, ITV drama, we end up in Sandy's STAR TREK dreams. We also discuss the genius of the 22 minute episode format, WESTWORLD, LoveFilm, THE PRISONER, and the television Westerns of the 1960s.
VISION ON SOUND EPISODE ELEVEN - TX DECEMBER 20 2020
The eleventh edition of VISION ON SOUND attempts to be a vaguely festive edition, so I start off in a strangely poetic mood, rather grumpily examine the American Television version of the festive seasonal episode of long-running dramas in my opening monologue, and then SANDY joins me for a long chat that attempts to be an in-depth examination of BLACKADDER'S CHRISTMAS CAROL, but soon veers off into all manner of other Christmas Television thoughts and never quite gets back there. Some of this chatter had to be nipped out for the broadcast edition, but I've included the "uncut" version in the podcast edition ("You lucky, lucky people...") to give you the Christmas gift of BONUS CONTENT.
https://anchor.fm/visiononsound/episodes/VISION-ON-SOUND-EPISODE-ELEVEN---TX-DECEMBER-20-2020-emsblq
VISION ON SOUND EPISODE TWELVE - TX DECEMBER 27 2020
Things are a little quiet round at FAB RADIO TOWERS in the day after Boxing Day, and so, as I spent yesterday deep inside the cellars churning a few of out many storage boxes around, it seemed like as good an opportunity for me to simply talk about QUATERMASS for a while. So, if you grab a leftover mince pie, and perhaps something tasty from the drinks trolley, you can snuggle up within earshot of your radiogram, and have a nice cosy listen.
Happily, there is some method in VISION ON SOUND's madness here, as this also gives me a good excuse to share with you that oft-promised (but until now undelivered) last extract from that long conversation I had with TOBY HADOKE back in October in which we, well, nattered for quite a while about QUATERMASS in all of its forms, which I hope you will find as fascinating as I did.
https://anchor.fm/visiononsound/episodes/VISION-ON-SOUND-EPISODE-TWELVE---TX-DECEMBER-27-2020-en0acr
VISION ON SOUND EPISODE THIRTEEN - TX JANUARY 3 2021
SANDY McGREGOR and I have a natter that reflects briefly on watching TV during the Festive Season before moving on to the main topic of the day which involves us reflecting - in no particular order and with no sense of precedence - upon the sad passing of several of the iconic TV performers who we lost over the course of the year just ended. So we cover - perhaps with an astonishing lack of detail - an eclectic list of names such as Terry Jones, Tim Brooke-Taylor, Roy Hudd, Sean Connery, Nicholas Parsons, Michael Angelis, John Sessions, Jill Gascoigne, Heather Couper, Honor Blackman, Diana Rigg, Geoffrey Palmer, Bobby Ball, Eddie Large, Earl Cameron, Derek Fowldes, and Dave Prowse.
https://anchor.fm/visiononsound/episodes/VISION-ON-SOUND-EPISODE-THIRTEEN---TX-JANUARY-3-2021-enpgpu
VISION ON SOUND EPISODE FOURTEEN - TX JANUARY 10 2021
This episode is made up of one long interview with the writer PAUL EBBS in which he talks about the life of a writer generally, television in general, and he also shares a lot of his advice and theories on structure and writing realistic characters. As well as all that, he spends some time sharing some of his experiences - the good, the bad, and the ugly - of writing for television on such shows as DOCTORS, CASUALTY, and EASTENDERS.
We also talk about his new work of fiction, the book TREE FACE AND THE CRIPPLE of which he is very proud and which he'd love you to read - this may have you thinking you've tuned in to BOOK OF THE WEEK, but, heck, if we do want to take VISION ON SOUND in such an entertaining direction from time-to-time, I don't see why we shouldn't.
VISION ON SOUND EPISODE FIFTEEN - TX JANUARY 17 2021
The main guest this week is LISA PARKER who is one half of the team behind the popular ROUND THE ARCHIVES archive television podcast, which is one of the reasons VISION ON SOUND exists at all. As she is here mostly to discuss her television memories, SANDY and I have a brief chat about our more recent viewing which involves modern historical dramas like THE CROWN, THE QUEEN'S GAMBIT and THE TRIAL OF CHRISTINE KEELER.
In her interview, LISA talks about topics as diverse as her life as a young DOCTOR WHO FAN, spotting the difference between video and film on screen, FRAGGLE ROCK, THE BOX OF DELIGHTS, A CHRISTMAS CAROL, childrens TV, horror films, TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED, THE GENERATION GAME and Z CARS, as well as lots of other adventures in the life of a young telly viewer at the dawn of the VHS age.
https://anchor.fm/visiononsound/episodes/VISION-ON-SOUND-EPISODE-FIFTEEN---TX-JANUARY-17-2021-eohegg
VISION ON SOUND EPISODE SIXTEEN - TX JANUARY 24 2021
It's an episode of two halves this week in which SANDY and I have a natter about SCANDI NOIR, prompted by watching THE VALHALLA MURDERS recently, but we touch upon series like WALLANDER, THE BRIDGE, and THE KILLING, as well as many others.
After this, the second half features a new contributor to the show, but he's someone I'm hoping will become a VISION ON SOUND regular. PAUL CHANDLER (a.k.a. THE SHY YETI, prolific creator and host of THE SHY LIFE PODCAST) talks about his earliest television memories.
https://anchor.fm/visiononsound/episodes/VISION-ON-SOUND-EPISODE-SIXTEEN---TX-JANUARY-24-2021-eomoqc
VISION ON SOUND EPISODE SEVENTEEN - TX JANUARY 31 2021
First broadcast on FAB RADIO INTERNATIONAL at 19:00 on January 31st 2021
Sometimes, television can actually be a force for good, and so it means that it's actually a bit of a charity event on VISION ON SOUND this week as our main guest is MATTHEW RIMMER who is the creator, editor, and driving force behind the TIMESCOPE publications which have been produced in aid of the disability support charity SCOPE. In our interview he talks about producing both the first edition of TIMESCOPE last summer, and its festive follow up TWICE UPON A TIMESCOPE as an attempt to make something positive result from the various COVID-19 lockdowns of 2020, and, in doing so, managed to demonstrate the kind of good things that fans of any television show can and do achieve when they are inspired to do so.
In the preamble, SANDY and I have a brief chat about charity events on television such as LIVE AID and COMIC RELIEF.
VISION ON SOUND EPISODE EIGHTEEN - TX FEBRUARY 7 2021
PAUL CHANDLER, THE SHY YETI from THE SHY LIFE PODCAST returns to natter about TV comedy and, to a lesser extent, horror shows, in a conversation briefly covering his recent viewing including DEATH TO 2020, SWEET HOME, POSE, THE OFFICE (US), GHOSTS, PAUL MERTON, and HANCOCK'S HALF HOUR.
Then HAYDEN GRIBBLE from the DIDDLY DUM PODCAST returns for his Earliest Memories chat which covers shows as diverse as I, CLAUDIUS, THE SIMPSONS, the BBC's early evening CULT TV strand, and US TV, as well as almost inevitably returning to DOCTOR WHO and the recent animated recreations of missing episodes, and the Blu-Ray releases.
VISION ON SOUND EPISODE NINETEEN - TX FEBRUARY 14 2021 - GUARDIAN TOP 50 TV SHOWS OF 2020
Regular co-host SANDY McGREGOR returns with a suggestion that we might talk about THE FIFTY BEST SHOWS OF 2020 as published in THE GUARDIAN newspaper towards the end of last year and so, after I make a few brief reflections on the need to make lists generally, that's what we do.
It turns out that, as a fan of older television usually watched on shiny discs, I've not seen an awful lot of the best of that year's new television, but it still makes - I hope - for an interesting conversation, and certainly leaves me with another huge list of stuff to watch.
VISION ON SOUND EPISODE TWENTY - TX FEBRUARY 21 2021 - RENTAGHOST
We try a whole new recoding technique for this edition of VISION ON SOUND in the sense that we bring together LISA & ANDREW from the ROUND THE ARCHIVES podcast and PAUL CHANDLER, THE SHY YETI from THE SHY LIFE podcast for a three-way online streamed meeting to talk - at least initially - about the children's television classic RENTAGHOST, before moving on to discuss children's television in general, and then the conversation moves on to the trials and tribulations of watching and enjoying archive TV in general.
Well, when you don't consider yourself an expert of a particular aspect of television, it's best to get in touch with some people who actually do know what they're talking about, and I think it makes for an interesting hour to tickle your earholes.
