VISION ON SOUND

PAUL CHANDLER, THE SHY YETI lloks at THE LUCY SHOW and HERE'S LUCY.

First broadcast on FAB RADIO INTERNATIONAL at 19:00 on May 3rd 2026.

As a lot of you may already know from one or two of his previous appearances on VISION ON SOUND, our friend PAUL CHANDLER, THE SHY YETI himself, is a big fan of the kind of archive television that features women in prominent roles, holding their own against the prevailing masculine dominance that featured in most of the television of the time. PAUL has come on to the show to talk about the more female-oriented dramas and comedies that were being made at the time, featuring women who were far more than just the sidekicks, housewives and mothers that society often demanded that they portray, and somehow managed to break the moulds, constraints and expectations that America and the world insisted women should meekly conform to.

One of the many names that he has enjoyed talking about is LUCILLE BALL, who was something of a powerhouse in American television not least because of her six-year stint on the sitcom I LOVE LUCY in the 1950s. Such was her star power that she became a legendary television producer with DESILU PRODUCTIONS which went on to produce three of the most iconic drama series of the 1960s, THE UNTOUCHABLES, STAR TREK and MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, two of which are still proving to be just as popular today as they were back in the 1960s.

PAUL has recently been watching two of LUCILLE BALL’s later sitcom successes and wanted to discuss what he had seen of them with me today. These were the ground-breaking THE LUCY SHOW from the mid-1960s, and HERE’S LUCY which followed it. Both of these shows ran for six seasons, and were just as popular when she chose to end them as they always had been, with the latter holding its own alongside other iconic series such as THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW and BEWITCHED in the cauldron of female emancipation that brewed in the early 1970s.

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.

STEVE HATCHER on OUR FRIENDS IN THE NORTH (part two of two).

First broadcast on FAB RADIO INTERNATIONAL at 19:00 on April 26th 2026.

OUR FRIENDS IN THE NORTH was an epic drama series produced by the BBC in 1996. Written by PETER FLANNERY and based upon his own stage play, it consisted of nine 63 to 75 minute episodes, each of which charted events in a particular year in the lives of four friends from Tyneside as they survived the ups and downs of their complex, interconnected, and political experiences across three turbulent decades from 1964 to 1995.

Often heart-breaking, but also occasionally life-affirming, it’s been argued that this series does a lot to confirm some suspicions that it’s grim up north, but it starred (and arguably made stars of) CHRISTOPHER ECCLESTON, GINA McKEE, MARK STRONG and DANIEL CRAIG as NICKY, MARY, TOSKER and GEORDIE respectively, and weaved tales of corruption in local government and the police force, as well as documenting the effects of civil turmoil and several destructive political choices, and how they affected the lives of these four particular northern friends as they grew older.

Also featuring a host of notable actors, and featuring star turns from PETER VAUGHN and FREDA DOWIE as NICKY’S troubled parents, this production cost £8 MILLION to make which famously consumed half of the entire drama budget of BBC2 for the year.

Earlier this year STEVE HATCHER had been eagerly devouring this series and posting his thoughts about it on FACEBOOK, and offered to talk about the series with me for VISION ON SOUND. Naturally, this gave us a lot to talk about, and we over-ran somewhat, so this week we’ll be talking about the second half of the story, as well as the radio remake from 2022 which attempted to bring the story up to date.

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.

STEVE HATCHER on OUR FRIENDS IN THE NORTH (part one of two).

First broadcast on FAB RADIO INTERNATIONAL at 19:00 on April 19th 2026.

OUR FRIENDS IN THE NORTH was an epic drama series produced by the BBC in 1996. Written by PETER FLANNERY and based upon his own stage play, it consisted of nine 63 to 75 minute episodes, each of which charted events in a particular year in the lives of four friends from Tyneside as they survived the ups and downs of their complex, interconnected, and political experiences across three turbulent decades from 1964 to 1995.

Often heart-breaking, but also occasionally life-affirming, it’s been argued that this series does a lot to confirm some suspicions that it’s grim up north, but it starred (and arguably made stars of) CHRISTOPHER ECCLESTON, GINA McKEE, MARK STRONG and DANIEL CRAIG as NICKY, MARY, TOSKER and GEORDIE respectively, and weaved tales of corruption in local government and the police force, as well as documenting the effects of civil turmoil and several destructive political choices, and how they affected the lives of these four particular northern friends as they grew older.

Also featuring a host of notable actors, and featuring star turns from PETER VAUGHN and FREDA DOWIE as NICKY’S troubled parents, this production cost £8 MILLION to make which famously consumed half of the entire drama budget of BBC2 for the year.

Earlier this year STEVE HATCHER had been eagerly devouring this series and posting his thoughts about it on FACEBOOK, and offered to talk about the series with me for VISION ON SOUND. Naturally, this gave us a lot to talk about, and we over-ran somewhat, so this week we’ll be talking about the first half of the story, and next week we’ll come back and do it all again to cover the second part, as well as the radio remake from 2022 which attempted to bring the story up to date.

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.

WARREN CUMMINGS joins me to talk all about the strange and peculiar history of BBC2, Hullaballoo and Custard.

First broadcast on FAB RADIO INTERNATIONAL at 19:00 on April 12th 2026.

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.

PAUL CHANDLER, THE SHY YETI himself talks about his memories of watching TOP OF THE POPS

First broadcast on FAB RADIO INTERNATIONAL at 19:00 on April 5th 2026.

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.