December 14: The Happiness Patrol Parts One & Two

The first thing that struck me about The Happiness Patrol was how theatrical the sets look.  There are obviously painted backdrops and flats everywhere, and bits of scenery that look like they've been imported in from other productions -- the effect is to make this story look rather artificial, as if to highlight the metaphorical aspects of everything.  This does mean that the impact of the basic idea (a world where happiness, in the form of fake saccharine attitudes, is forced upon people) is greater than it otherwise might have been -- and the design certainly runs with this.  From the cracked pancake makeup on the Happiness Patrol to the costuming on all the Terran Alphans, there's a sense of a regime that's fading but nevertheless desperately holding onto the past.

Now as an American, it's hard for me to really know about how much this story is a comment on Thatcherism, other than what I've read.  And to say that The Happiness Patrol is primarily about Thatcher's approach to government looks like it's a narrow view indeed.  But it certainly seems that there is some Thatcher in this story, particularly in the portrayal of Helen A (and Andrew Cartmel and writer Graeme Curry have both admitted this was in the mix).  But what I find most interesting about Helen A so far is the Doctor's confrontation with her -- there's a bit of a sense that this seems wrong, in a story essentially about a revolution from the ground up, but that's what makes these scenes compelling.  The Doctor bluffs his way into Helen A's rooms, examines her and finds her wanting, and decides to move forward with his revolution, having determined that the problem is indeed at the top ("Population control?" he comments, upon seeing Helen A order an execution.  "... And which member of the population are you controlling today, just for the record?"  "A woman who disappointed me," Helen A replies haughtily.  "And how did she disappoint you, eh?" the Doctor presses.  "Oh, no, no, don't answer, no, no.  She enjoyed the feel of rain upon her face.  Or perhaps her favourite season was the autumn").

Of course, this sudden appearance in Helen A's office to pass judgement on her and then leave again just as quickly highlights one of the problems that's going to start reoccurring a lot in this final phase of the original series.  There's a sense that the scripts have been filmed without any real regard for length and then the video has been subsequently edited down to fit into the running time.  And so the Doctor jumps from location to location as the story needs him to, some of the extra character moments have been removed (notably, Earl Sigma is grinning vacantly at the start of part two, presumably because he's tried some of the Kandy Man's special candy, but then is freed from the Doctor as if nothing happened; later, upon tasting some crystallized sugar in the pipes under Terra Alpha, he comments, "Not good.  But I have tasted the real thing," which is not something we see in the broadcast version), and everything has been stripped down so that the story makes sense.  Some of the character scenes are retained (such as the Doctor's convincing the two snipers to throw their guns away just by talking to them -- "Look me in the eye, pull the trigger, end my life," he tells them at one point), but in general these scenes are gone in favor of keeping things moving.  The DVD says there are 23 minutes of deleted and extended scenes, which obviously includes footage that was transmitted (hence "extended") but nevertheless gives you some idea of how much material had to be cut.

A late '80s Bertie Bassett pin. (Image taken
from eBay UK)

So we've got a delightfully anarchic Doctor, intent on overthrowing a corrupt regime, and we see the fake facade, full of empty platitudes and gestures rather than genuine emotion, that this regime has created.  As I said, there's a theatrical feel that works here.  But then they go and throw in the Kandy Man, who looks an awful lot like candy manufacturer Bassett's mascot Bertie (there's certainly enough of a resemblance that Bassett's complained to the BBC after transmission -- check out the picture if you don't believe me) but is revealed to be a psychopathic killer.  In some ways the Kandy Man is completely at odds with what the rest of this story appears to be trying to achieve -- it's hard to figure out where a walking talking confection fits into the metaphor; surely the use of candy as an execution method is pointed enough without making the executioner himself actual candy -- but in other ways this story just wouldn't be the same without the character.  It's such an outrageous decision (and the Kandy Man's voice often sounds like a grating shriek, which somehow ends up making the Kandy Man even more outrageous than the design alone would suggest) that you can't help but admire it on some level.  That doesn't hold quite as true for the native Terra Alphans living in the pipes though -- the masks are very obviously masks -- although that might also be because their plot function isn't clear yet.  Helen A's pet Fifi has some really impressive animatronics though.

These are thus two episodes that are filled with interesting moments and fantastic acting (Sheila Hancock as Helen A is obviously good, but I adore Harold Innocent as the Kandy Man's partner (in more ways than one, it seems), Gilbert M), moving at an often breakneck pace.  One wonders how the Doctor is going to topple this government in the final episode.