Looks Unfamiliar: Phil Norman – A Milkshake For Robert Elms

Over The Moon (BBC1, 1978) - listen to Phil Norman 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 writer Phil Norman, who’s swinging by the sweat room for some punishment with Pertwee in the hope of finding any trace of BBC junior science show Over The Moon, Amityville (The House On The Hill) by Lovebug Starski, I Am The Cheese by Robert Cormier, WFLA Milkshake, Children’s BBC game show Spy Trap, educational textbook Mediamind, The Black Tower, Soul Train by Swans Way and Paul And Peta Page’s ‘Hot Dogs’. Along the way we’ll be charting the rise and fall of ‘Frisps Chic’, assessing the commercial viability of a Hauntological Space Hopper, speculating on whether Derek Griffiths’ vocal extemporisations were a coded warning about AI, listening to Morrissey’s Classic Horror Impressions and trying to determine the difference between a Home Bargains Morph and Bloke Who Stands Next To The Genie.

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

Amityville (The House On The Hill) by Lovebug Starski (Epic, 1986) - listen to Phil Norman and Tim Worthington talking about it in Looks Unfamiliar.

I Am The Cheese by Robert Cormier (Pantheon, 1977) - listen to Phil Norman and Tim Worthington talking about it in Looks Unfamiliar.

WFLA - listen to Phil Norman and Tim Worthington talking about it in Looks Unfamiliar.

Spy Trap (BBC1, 1985) - listen to Phil Norman and Tim Worthington talking about it in Looks Unfamiliar.

Mediamind by Alec Allinson,, Beverly Allinson and John McInnes (Nelson, 1973) - listen to Phil Norman and Tim Worthington talking about it in Looks Unfamiliar.

Soul Train by Swans Way (Exit, 1984) - listen to Phil Norman and Tim Worthington talking about it in Looks Unfamiliar.

Obadiah Blank from Over The Moon (BBC1, 1978) - listen to Phil Norman and Tim Worthington talking about it in Looks Unfamiliar.

About Phil

Phil Norman is an animator and writer and the founder of TV Cream. Phil’s book A History Of Television In 100 Programmes is available from Waterstones here and you can follow him on Bluesky at @mrphilnorman.bsky.social and join his mailing list The Year Of Listing Dangerously here.

Buy A Book!

There’s lots more about Over The Moon, Spy Trap and tons of other children’s programmes that almost felt like they sort of expected you to do half the work for them 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.

If you’ve enjoyed this, you’ll enjoy Tim’s book Can’t Help Thinking About Me, a collection of columns and features with a personal twist. Can’t Help Thinking About Me 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. Unfortunately as there’s no ‘U’ in WFLA there’s not really any opportunity for a Looks Unfamiliar-related ‘wacky’ acronym but that’s a milkshake anyway.

Further Listening

You can also find Phil on Looks Unfamiliar talking about S-S-S-Single Bed by Fox, Leapfrog, The Country Life Christmas Box, Humrush by KMD, Body Contact, Oscar The Rabbit In Rubbidge, Erasmus Microman and Can Heironymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humpe And Find True Happiness? here, as well as Pipkins on The Golden Age Of Children’s TV here.