First broadcast on FAB RADIO INTERNATIONAL at 19:00 on February 20th 2022

Regular listeners to the programme will already be aware of how big a fan of QUATERMASS I am. Honestly, just give me the slightest opportunity and I’ll find a way to steer the conversation back to NIGEL KNEALE’S classic 1950s creation at the drop of a guided meteorite, but, whilst I’ve talked quite a lot about the brilliant QUATERMASS AND THE PIT over the years, sometimes I’ve kind of neglected the other fully surviving serial, 1955’s QUATERMASS II starring JOHN ROBINSON in the title role, which feels like a mistake well worth rectifying, because it’s definitely not one to be overlooked, and given the small miracle of anything surviving in its entirety from the 1950s BBC output, I think this beautifully crafted and ambitiously epic tale of paranoia, conspiracy, human self-deception, and an alien invasion by stealth and guile all played out to the backdrop of a post-war Britain still held in the grip of rationing, conformity, and cold-war fears, deserves a lot more love and attention than it sometimes gets in relation to its perhaps smarter younger brother.

Luckily, it turns out that WARREN CUMMINGS is a bit of a fan of QUATERMASS II, as well, and he’s joined me in this edition of VISION ON SOUND to have a good old natter about this piece of mid-1950s TV treasure.

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.