The Happiness Patrol [TV/1988.11.2 ~ 11.16]

★★★★☆

  It's almost as if the producers looked back on Paradise Towers and thought, 'Hmm, maybe we can make this ito an incredibly entertaining Thatcher satire... a whole lot better!' -- and if that's the case, I'm glad Andrew Cartmel, JNT and co. pulled through. The Happiness Patrol is a brilliant slice of Dr. Who, filled to the brim with everything I like about the show -- giant, elaborate sets giving both the actors and the audience a sense of lived-in reality (no matter how wacky the concept is), and monsters that embrace the weird as well as villains who can be as menacing as they are ridiculously funny (both the Kandyman and Helen A fit their respective descriptions perfectly). Plus, there's just something chilling and thrilling about a TARDIS painted entirely in pink. It's an immediately arresting image for this serial, which is even more remarkable made by the fact that it isn't even the only standout one. For me, the shot of the Seventh Doctor, shadows over his eyes, looking ominously at the poster of Ace Sigma on the propaganda poster is a 'wow' moment... not necessarily because it's particularly eventful, but because the composition and the performance (plus the lighting) get together to make a truly special shot. The Kandyman's visually arresting too -- I mean, look at the lad. I enjoy a bit of the ridiculous, so I'm glad the production (through intention or flub) made this extravagant creature the way he is. 

  Allegedly, this serial was to be given a more film noir tone, which would've suited the claustrophobic and oppressive atmosphere nicely. I wish the black-and-white photography idea had pulled through, but I'm very glad with what we got in the end. The Happiness Patrol is about how every happy moment needs a sad one, and how oppressing away the latter doesn't automatically make everyone "happy". Helen A and the Happiness Patrol are a memorable group of baddies, and in traditional Who fashion, the main villain has a beast (the hideous and adorable Fifi) to complement the indomitable presence. Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred seem to be having the time of their lives running around this giant playground, dressed up with such style of dedication as a dystopian Thatcherite society geared towards happiness and shutting down worker demonstrations. Watch it if you haven't, it's genuinely good stuff and a highlight of the McCoy era in general. It has one of the most Doctorish moments I've seen in the television show -- the Doctor using the sick colony's rule against its rulers by laughing his way out of trouble (thus showing that the only "killjoys" are the oppressors themselves).