Customer Reviews

Doctor Who - Happiness Patrol [VHS]

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

This has to be my FAVORITE Dr Who, with this doctor playing the role. The story and plot is unlike ANY other Doctor Who adventure, which adds to the enjoyment. The story seems strangely believeable when you consider other villins in our lifetime, how they started out and ended up being so ruthless and evil. Same applies here... Helen A who is the meglomaniac who begins to hunt down and kill all who attempt any form of sadness admits herself that she NEVER started out this way, but because of her own lack of love and self worth she degenerated into a monster who, along with the Candymay, terroirze the inhabitants of Terra Alpha, a human earth colony some few hundred years to our present. The Candyman is NASTY and ruthless I SOOOOO loved him as the villin and exectionier of Helen A. The music througout is very errie and sorta like Blade Runner in some ways. Dark corridors, errie music, all citizens on the edge of fate waiting their turn to give up and die gives you a whole different outlook on life and how quickly a good thing can turn evil. Definaetly... do not HEED the bad reviews on this one. I watched this episode several times because I enjoyed it so very much. Bye for now!

This show seems to be somewhat of a joke, but I enjoyed it anyway. It's not your traditional Doctor Who, but it's pretty good. It's a place where everybody is forced to act happy, even when they are not... sounds like my old job...Ha Ha! Just joking! Really this show is fun, get some popcorn and soda and enjoy it.

A lot of people despise this McCoy story, and not entirely without reason. The visuals are certainly lacking - the entire episode practically screams "I was made in the 80's!" and the costumes are garish even for the period in which it was made. Even the most diehard Who fans can't help but snicker at the Candyman and rampant pink glittery hair.

That said, as a story, these episodes work rather well, if you can pay attention to the plot instead of spending the whole time laughing at the silly wardrobes. The planet is run by an emotionally immature and highly repressed dictator named Helen A., who is intent on controlling every aspect of her environment, down to the very minds of the people inhabiting it. Like a popular spoiled girl playing head games with her friends, each character's last initial goes up or down the alphabet depending on how well they pander to Helen A's whims. Everyone is forced act "happy" day in and day out, and any display of sadness, anger or grief gets them labeled as "killjoys" and summarily executed. Helen A will tolerate no tears in *her* world.

The Doctor and his companion Ace arrive to investigate the numerous disappearances. It is not long before they discover the secrets of Helen A's regime and unravel her power over the planet. In the end, even this hard-hearted woman who claims that she only had the best in mind for her subjects and that love is "overrated" must come to terms with the less sunny side of the human experience and learn that to have real emotion, you must take the grief with the joy, or have neither at all.

I personally have had the misfortune of dealing with a few people much like Helen A. and I can assure you, they most certainly do exist.

This story might have worked better as an audio play, given the failure of the sets and costumes, but for those who bother see beyond the disappointing visuals, clever writing, rich characters and a memorable story can be found underneath.

Ok. There is a lot to say here, partly because of the story itself and partly because of some the poor comments by several reviewers.

First, the story itself: Terra Alpha, an Earth colony some time in the future, ruled by the fascist Helen A. She oversees a totalitarian government that demands that everyone be happy ... on pain of death by the Happiness Patrol or by the Kandyman. Kandyman is a robot actually made of candy. (Ok, it's symbolic. Give the producers artistic license on that one.)

Let's skip the summarization of the plot, you can get that in other reviews. This story is one which is trying to say something. Most Dr. Who stories are just entertainment but this one does try to make some points. My belief is that any such story shouldn't be judged by the sets or the costumes, etc. It should make you think and it should elicit some well thought out comments. This story does the job.

There are many people like Helen A, as one other reviewer commented. And there have been many governments like Helen A's. The Stalinist Soviet Union, Hitler's Germany, any Islamofascist regime, and perhaps Rome under Nero. Any government that uses the threat of death to attempt mind control fits the bill.

But as a further thought, there is a significant difference between a government that attempts mind control by passing laws that threaten death or imprisonment and government administrations which use their position to encourage and lead. There is nothing wrong with being a bit like Pollyanna, i.e. always trying to see the good in every circumstance and make the best out of a bad situation. I think Winston Churchill tried to do this with his speeches during WWII.

This brings me to some of the "off the mark" comments made in some reviews. Whereas I DO think the producers probably were trying to parody Margaret Thatcher and her speeches by using Helen A's "loving speeches", but I don't agree that they were successful in the attempt. And this is because Thatcher was NOT a Helen A. The main ingredient of a Helen A is threat of death with the attempt at mind control. Neither Reagan nor Thatcher did that in any way, shape, or form. It comes down to the proper role of a leader to try to encourage and uplift as opposed to one who tries to FORCE you to a set of beliefs! The Hitlers, the Stalins, the Mao's, the Helen A's and others of their ilk want mind control via the barrel of a gun.

So instead of condemning Margaret Thatcher, this episode is useful in making one think on the differences between her and a Helen A.

An earth colony where happiness is enforced on penalty of death? A colony where drab clothes, slow music, all poems (except limericks), and walking alone in the rain without an umbrella are capital crimes? A dictator in deep crimson dress, matching hair, who has a false, insincere smile, who begins and finishes each announcement with "Happiness will prevail"? A robot who looks like giant pieces of candy stuck together, who is to Willy Wonka what Darth Vader is to Anakin Skywalker and who makes sweets that are "so delicious, that sometimes... the human physiology is not equipped to bear the pleasure?" A colony where lift music comes out from city speakers? A death squad of young ladies in pink pony-tailed wigs, pink blouse and miniskirted uniforms wielding strawberry-red rifles?

Well, that last is the Happiness Patrol, the name of this 25th season story, and all those things I listed is what you'll find on Terra Alpha. Enter the Doctor and Ace, set on putting an end to the established order after hearing disturbing rumors, replacing sickly muzak with "the sound of empires toppling." The Doctor is aided by Earl Sigma, a fifth year post med psychology student who plays a nice blues harmonica.

Lesley Dunlop (Zoe in May To December) plays Susan Q, a blues loving member of the Happiness Patrol who befriends Ace. She tells her: "I did wake up one morning, and suddenly something was very clear. I couldn't go on smiling, smiling while my friends disappeared, wearing this uniform, smiling and pretending to be something I'm not, and pretend I'm happy. Better to let it end. Better to just relax and let it happen. I woke up one morning and I realized it was all over." Her sympathetic portrayal of Susan Q merits having a few bars of CCR's "Susie Q" played in her honor.

In contrast, there's the fanatical Priscilla P, a former HP commando demoted to waiting zone duty. When a prisoner is electrocuted, she responds with puns, all of which enrages Ace. "I think he got a buzz out of that" and "Rather a shocking experience." Ace tells the Doctor, "I want to make them very very unhappy", to which he tells her, "Don't worry, Ace. We will." And they do.

The best moment of this story is the Doctor's confrontation of two snipers, one of whom threatens to shoot him point blank range. Here's the best part of the exchange.

Doctor: "Pull a trigger, end a life. Simple isn't it?"

Sniper: "Yes!"

Doctor: "Makes sense, doesn't it?"

Sniper: "Yes!"

Doctor: "A life killing life?"
Sniper2: "Who are you?"

Doctor: "Shut up. (back to first sniper) Why don't you do it then? Look me in the eye, pull the trigger, end my life?"

Sniper: "No."

Doctor: "Why not?"

Sniper: "I can't."

Doctor: "Why not?"

Sniper: "I don't know."

Doctor: "You don't, do you? Throw away your gun!"

The main moral here is that as the Doctor tells dictator Helen A, a cariacature of Margaret Thatcher, that "Happiness is nothing unless it exists side by side with sadness." Or, as he tells Susan Q, "There are no other colours without the blues." As census taker Trevor Sigma says when he hears Earl's harmonica, "That's nice... a pleasant melancholy."

The debit of this story is the claustrophobic studio settings. And one thinks that the go-cart can go faster than it does! The Pipe People are clearly bad replicas of Yoda, except they are human-sized. It's basically a very creative and interesting concept realized only two-thirds effectively onscreen, but apart from those debits, when you see this story and smile, "I want to see those teeth."

...and if you don't like it, give it another chance. And if you still don't like it, I'm not sure what the problem is. This story is magic and works on many levels. It's great for kids or adults. It's adventure and it's political allegory. It's gray and it's pink. It's funny and it's deathly serious. Okay, enough...

But seriously, it's classic Who. And like many of the seventh Doctor adventures (Paradise Towers, Delta and the Bannermen), it's about saving one small colony with a set group of people, not about saving the whole galaxy or universe. It's the Doctor interfering the best he can.

This is one of the most experimental and unusual Dr Who stories of its time, but it still ranks as a classic. A colourful and entertaining fantasy adventure, it is also a gritty parody of the UK under the rule of Thatcher. Anyone who lived under the Thatcher government will instantly recognize Helen A's 'loving speeches to the people'. The striking factory workers are represented in the form of the protest-marching drones and the homeless and unemployed are there in the form of the underground-dwelling Pipe People who are 'on the brink of starvation'.

All in all a strong adventure. Fifi is suitably menacing and the relationship between Gilbern M and the Kandyman (love him or hate him, he is certainly a first for the series) recalls the classic pairings in many of the stories by Robert Holmes (possibly the greatest writer the series ever had). And anyone who's ever had to listen to lift music for too long will cheer when that speaker is destroyed.

I've found that the Brits in general don't like it when Doctor Who gets bold and gutsy. They tend to feel more contented when things are sedate and comfy and when you introduce Colin Baker's technicolor dream coat or something like it, they tend to run screaming into the night. I can only imagine their horror at the coming of the Candy man! Although this story had its flaws in the way of budget as usual, this adventure was a very bold and interestingly written adventure and the best part of season 25, along with Remembrance of the Daleks. A HUGE step up from season 24 to be certain. I eagerly await the DVD....

This is one adventure that is well worth watching simply because it is so bizzare but still a good watch. There are some good lines such as when the Kandyman tosses a coin and when the doctor asks what it is the reply is "That would be telling" (!) If you are looking for light hearted entertainment, you can't go wrong.

Apparently, the serious Doctor Who fan is not to care much for this episode, but I say forget it: this is one of the BEST episodes ever made and surely it is Sylvester McCoy's greatest. All the fat has been cut out and what is left is a tight, swift and clever commentary on our society. Johnathan Swift would have applauded! The actors attack their roles with relish, and the Kandyman has some of the best one-liners in Sci-Fi villain history. AND, a previous viewer had it right: Doctor Who finally embraces Gay Pride!