Looks Unfamiliar: Bob Fischer – The Thinking Man’s Custard Pie

Tucker's Luck (BBC2, 1983-85) - listen to Bob Fischer and Tim Worthington talking about it in Looks Unfamiliar.

Looks Unfamiliar is a podcast in which writer and occasional broadcaster Tim Worthington talks to a guest about some of the things that they remember that nobody else ever seems to.

Joining Tim this time is broadcaster and writer Bob Fischer, who’s roaming the streets doing vox pops asking if anyone remembers Grange Hill spinoff Tucker’s Luck, post-punk bin-clatterers Pookiesnackenburger, We Wanna Be Famous by Buster Gobsmack And Eats Filth who are not in any way the That’s Life! team in disguise as ‘punks’, game show contestants’ occupations being booed by the studio audience and the lost ancient art of the paper plate and shaving foam Custard Pie. Along the way we’ll be meeting a Trade Union Uncle Fester, listening to a Polite King Kurt, trying to avoid being scammed by a Sicilian Jeremy Corbyn and a Blue Diana Dors, watching Jack Rosenthal’s Play Your Cards Right, and debating whether Pearl Jam would have been improved by a well-timed plate of shaving foam in Eddie Vedder’s face.

If you enjoy Looks Unfamiliar, why not buy us a coffee here?

We Wanna Be Famous by Buster Gobsmack Eats Filth (BBC Records And Tapes, 1988) - listen to Bob Fischer and Tim Worthington talking about it in Looks Unfamiliar.

Pookie Beach Party by Pookiesnackenburger (Stiff, 1982) - listen to Bob Fischer and Tim Worthington talking about it in Looks Unfamiliar.

About Bob

Bob Fischer is a broadcaster and writer. You can find Bob’s website The Haunted Generation here and follow him on Bluesky at @bobfischer.bsky.social.

Buy A Book!

There’s lots more about Tucker’s Luck and tons of other shows that BBC2 and Channel 4 tried out in that not-quite official children’s television teenage slot opposite the news in The Golden Age Of Children’s TV, available in all good bookshops and from Waterstones here, Amazon here, from the Kindle Store here and directly from Black And White Publishing here.

You can find much more about We Wanna Be Famous and many more equally strange television spinoff records in Top Of The Box, the story behind every single released by BBC Records And Tapes. Top Of The Box is available in paperback here or from the Kindle Store here.

Alternately, if you’re just feeling generous, you can buy me a coffee here. Although if you’re Alan from Tucker’s Luck, you probably haven’t got enough ten pences for one.

Further Listening

Bob has also appeared on Looks Unfamiliar talking about The Tom O’Connor Roadshow, Giant Hogweed, Can’t Get A Ticket (For The World Cup) by Peter Dean, Glee Bars, J. Edward Oliver’s ‘Abolish Tuesdays’ and How To Be A Wally here and Eighties ‘Tabloid Celebrities’, Accidentally Kelly Street by Frente!, The Two Ronnies’ ‘Mileaway’, Rude Food, Suggs On Saturday and School Folk Songs here, and joining forces with Georgy Jamieson for a chat about some of the signs that Christmas was on the way that you just don’t get any more here and a similar chat about the drizzly joys of the Great British Summer here. You can also find Bob on The Golden Age Of Children’s TV talking about The Owl Service here.

Bob also appears in The Best Of Looks Unfamiliar alongside Georgy Jamieson on Indoor League, Nina Buckley on Murun Buchstansangur, Rose Ruane on Poochie, Bibi Lynch on Head Over Heels In Love by Kevin Keegan and Gabby Hutchinson Crouch on Wella Toners And Shaders, which you can find here.