Looks Unfamiliar: Mitch Benn – A Perfect Storm Of Goth

No Memory by Scarlet Fantastic (Arista, 1987) - listen to Mitch Benn 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 musician, comedian and writer Mitch Benn, who’s hoping to prove that he doesn’t have no memory of No Memory by Scarlet Fantastic, The Flipside Of Dominick Hide, The Deceivers, Eureka!, Lady Sovereign and Jentina’s feud and Mego Pocket Heroes. Along the way we’ll be revisiting the genre of Do We Have To Goth, recounting a slightly wrong version of the invention of crisps, trying to make out an individual audible guitar on any given eighties synth duo hit and assessing whether the overall quality of Jor-El action figures is dependent on how straight their legs are.

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

The Flipside Of Dominick Hide (BBC1, 1980) - listen to Mitch Benn and Tim Worthington talking about it in Looks Unfamiliar.

The Deceivers (BBC2, 1981) - listen to Mitch Benn and Tim Worthington talking about it in Looks Unfamiliar.

Eureka! (BBC1, 1982-86) - listen to Mitch Benn and Tim Worthington talking about it in Looks Unfamiliar.

About Mitch

Mitch Benn is a comedian, musician, journalist, author, actor and pretty much everything else along those lines you can think of. You can find Mitch’s website here and his Patreon here, and follow him on Bluesky at @mitchbenn.bsky.social.

Buy A Book!

There’s lots more about the The Deceivers and Eureka! and tons of other children’s shows that actually succeeded in making learning fun – and even more that didn’t – 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. If you want to throw in a slightly incorrect re-enactment of the invention of coffee too that would be very much a welcome bonus.

Further Listening

Mitch has appeared on Looks Unfamiliar talking about Nobody’s House, Don’t Stand So Close To Me ’86 by The Police, Cyborg and Muton, Orion, Two Stage Self-Assembly Ice Cream Cones and Get Stuffed here, 54321, Logan’s Run The Series, Matchbox Zoomy Balloonies, Action Man’s Atomic Man and Bullet Man, King Swamp and fifties nostalgia in the seventies here, Monday Morning 5.19 by Rialto, The Laughing Prisoner, Oh Baby by Rhianna, Pocketeers, O.T.T. and the original pre-Geoffrey incarnation of Rainbow here, Star Turn Challenge, evil Grange Hill teacher Mr. Hicks, Striker, Lines by The Planets, Night Raven and the rise of international celebrities acting in pop videos here, Stars by Hear’n’Aid, Into Infinity, The Humanoid, A Man Called Sloane, BusyBodies and The Kids Are Alright by The Pleasers here and Channel 4’s pre-launch trailers, Imagination by Belouis Some, Space Sentinels, Simon Dutton as The Saint, How To Be A Complete Bastard by Adrian Edmondson and Maskatron here.

Mitch has also appeared on Tim’s Marvel Cinematic Universe podcast It’s Good, Except It Sucks talking about Captain America: Civil War here.

Mitch also appears in The Best Of Looks Unfamiliar alongside Joanne Sheppard on Fax, Mitch Benn on The Deceivers, Mark Thompson on Your Party Needs You, Donna Rees on The Monty Python Matching Tie And Handkerchief, Georgy Jamieson on Go For Broke!, Steve Berry on MB Games’ Hangman, Tim Worthington on Outa-Space!, Ben Baker on Roland’s Yuletide Binge and Mic Wright on Solitary Fitness, which you can find here.