VISION ON SOUND EPISODE 120 - TX JANUARY 22 2023 - ANTHOLOGIES

First broadcast on FAB RADIO INTERNATIONAL at 19:00 on January 22nd 2023

This week we welcome back our regular contributor PAUL CHANDLER, the SHY YETI himself, who’s found a few spare moments to once again venture into his imaginarium of televisual treats and share his choices for the section of the museum set aside specifically for the strange and quirky subset of television drama – and occasional comedy – that we think of as the ANTHOLOGY SERIES.

Now, of course, you might suggest that much of what we think of as being scripted television is some sort of anthology series, really. A series of serious television plays like PLAY FOR TODAY could be considered to be an anthology of sorts, as can any drama series that features a collection of characters but places them in a different situation to have to cope with each week.

Also, despite featuring the same lovable characters in every episode, many sitcoms place those characters in different situations week after week, often with "hilarious" consequences.

But the anthology series is something different really, despite often having a format in which the different weekly stories and scenarios, and different weekly cast of actors, are introduced by a familiar figure each week. These series were designed to tell different stories under a blanket identity, and were often terribly successful, perhaps simply because the audience knew that even if last week had presented a disappointing edition, maybe this week’s would be a lot better.

I suspect that it’s a format that I’ve subconsciously mimicked in the creation of this very show, hopefully with a similar outcome.

Anyway, over the course of the next hour, PAUL and I will touch upon series as diverse as ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS, THE TWILIGHT ZONE, NIGHT GALLERY, TALES OF UNEASE, BEASTS and, perhaps the most anthology of all anthologies, TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED, so I hope you’ll stick with us and enjoy what we had to say.

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.