Tuesday 16 December 2014

38 Vision On


First  watched : Uncertain

Vision  On , which  returned  for  its  latest  series  on  Wednesday  22 April  1970  was  always  the  oddest  of  the  recurring  shows, a  programme  aimed  at  a  small  minority  of  children  that  managed  to  hold  an  audience  of  millions.

Vision  On  was  targeted  at  deaf  children so  there  was  a  minimum  amount  of  speech  and  even  sparer  use  of  captions  and  subtitles  as  these  would  slow  down  the  pace. The  main  presenter was  curly-haired  Pat  Keysell  ( the  only  one  who  spoke ) an  experienced  signer   who  would  introduce  a  rough  theme  for  the  programme. Beyond  that  almost  anything  went  so  Vision  On  was  a  heady  mix  of   slapstick,  art , animation , mime, music  ( necessarily )  and  odd  bits  of  film  that  defied  any  categorisation. Her  chief  honchos  at  the  time  I  was  watching  were  skilled  artist  and  animator  Tony  Hart   ( who'd  nevertheless  join  in  the  sketches )  and  mime  artist  and  future  Dr  Who  Sylvester  McCoy  (wearing  a  silly  moustache ).

The  frenetic  pace  only  really  slowed  for  the  "Gallery"  section  where  artwork  sent  in  by  children  was  displayed  to  the  maddening  lounge  pop  sound  of  Wayne  Hill's  "Left  Bank  Two" . Keysell  always  promised  a  prize  for  the  work  that  was  selected  but  never  specified  what  it  was.

I  usually  found  enough  in  it  to  enjoy  without  it  ever  becoming  a  favourite.

It  ran  from  1964  to  1976  when  the  producers  decided  to  call  it  a  day  because  ideas  were  running  thin. Tony  Hart  remained  on  screen  in  spin-off  series, McCoy  eventually  got  the  keys  to  the  TARDIS   and  Keysell  continued  working   with  various  ventures  to  help  the  disabled , occasionally  reappearing  on  TV  as  part  of  her  latest  project. She  died  in  2009  aged  83.  


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