First broadcast on FAB RADIO INTERNATIONAL at 19:00 on July 4th 2021


In a very early edition of VISION ON SOUND, we discussed DYSTOPIAN TELEVISION and our guest in another episode got in touch to point out that we hadn't addressed the sub-genre of POLITICAL DYSTOPIAS. To rectify this omission, episode thirty nine of VISION ON SOUND finds STEVE HATCHER returning to talk about POLITICAL DYSTOPIAS ON TELEVISION.


After we touch upon the BBC's 1954 version of George Orwell's NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR, and the alternative history sub-genre of "What would have happened if..." with AN ENGLISHMAN'S CASTLE, we mostly look in detail at three series: THE GUARDIANS, THE DONATI CONSPIRACY (and its linked sequel STATE OF EMERGENCY), and 1990, as well as putting a certain amount of these productions in the political context of the times in which they were made, and we do mention other shows like A VERY BRITISH COUP.


For reasons of timing (and not because I'd been "got at" by the Powers That Be) the conversation had to be cut to length to fit our time slot. This means that a longer cut of this episode (which runs about twenty minutes longer) will also be available hereabouts should you wish to hear it.


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.