First broadcast on FAB RADIO INTERNATIONAL at 19:00 on January 8th 2023

I like to think that some of the very best editions of VISION ON SOUND have come about when I just have a chat with fans of television about what it is that they like about the television programmes that they love.

At the same time, some of our more regular listeners might recognise just how much I enjoy talking to writers, or talking about those writers who actually sit down and write, or sat down and wrote, the kind of television programmes that we admire and appreciate in these shows.

So this week’s show very much returns us to both of these things, really, in that we are going to be talking with a television fan about two of the television writers that caused him to venture out into the big wide world to discover just a little more about them amongst enthusiastic crowds of like-minded people.

During the last quarter of 2022, our old friend on this show, STEVE HATCHER, was tangentially involved with the organisation of, and also attended, two events that celebrated the lives and works of two of television’s great writers.

The first of these took place at the RIVERSIDE STUDIOS in LONDON on October the 2nd last year, after being delayed for several years due to terrible things happening in the world, and was an event called TERRANCE DICKS, A CELEBRATION. It was organised, not unsurprisingly to celebrate the life of that writer much beloved by whole generations of DOCTOR WHO fans for the prolific number of novelisations he wrote based upon the television stories that were largely unavailable to them at the time, but also for his work on the show in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when he was the script editor on the programme, as well as being one of its most respected contributors.

Although Terrance Dicks’ career in television involved far more than just DOCTOR WHO, this is mostly what he is remembered for, despite his many other children’s books, and other television shows to which he contributed.

His death in 2019 was felt by many of his readers, and fans of his work alike, and he is much missed by all those who knew him, and many who never met him, but enjoyed his words.  Perhaps his greatest legacy, however, was in passing on his love of reading and writing to the generations that followed him, and the fact that this event could be happening at all is a testament to the high regard in which he is still held.

The second event took place at STEVE’s more familiar territory of THE QUAD on November the 19th as part of DERBY FILM FESTIVAL, and was the NIGEL KNEALE: A CENTENARY CELEBRATION, which was another one-day event dedicated to the life of a much admired television writer who probably needs little introduction to regular listeners to VISION ON SOUND.

But at least it means I get my almost obligatory mention of QUATERMASS into the show fairly early this week.

Mind you, there was much more to NIGEL KNEALE than just QUATERMASS of course, and several events were organised last year to mark the centenary of the birth of this extraordinary storyteller.

And whilst STEVE is by no means wanting to take more than his fair share of credit for his part in greasing the wheels that might just have helped both of these events run as smoothly as they apparently did, he did get to attend both, so it’s very good of him to take the time to share his experiences with us, and share just a little bit of his own enthusiasm and admiration for both the people behind such events, and for the two writers being appreciated.

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.