The Happiness Patrol

The Happiness Patrol continues the move into uncharted territory that the Sylvester McCoy era had shown signs of taking. If you can accept the premise- a society that has made sadness illegal- there is much to enjoy in Graeme Curry's scripts. Curry creates a gynocratic society of forced smiles, muzak and gaudy décor, where bad jokes are broadcast on the airwaves, while the titular secret police make undesirables disappear. Some aspects of the story do not quite gel- the Kandyman seems to have been included purely to give the story a monster and sometimes sits uneasily with the rest of the story. This is more than made up for by the fact that the Kandyman is absolutely brilliant! The 'planet of women' idea is one which has formed the basis for many bad works of sci-fi. However, this aspect is not the driving force of the society and, indeed, while men are less prominent than women, they are by no means oppressed. There are some unmistakeable gay undercurrents to the story which work well with it.

The look of the story is very distinctive. It has been said that the intention is to evoke German Expressionism as expressed in films like The Cabinet of Dr Caligari and The Golem: How He Came Into the World. The Kandyman's Kitchen feels like a cross between Fritz Lang's Metropolis and a George Méliès film and the make-up for the Terra Alphans is reminiscent of the stark make-up used to enhance the eyes and mouth in early cinematography. These references to silent films are not as esoteric as it seems- up until the early 90s Channel 4 would show silent film classics on weekend afternoons- but, although the lighting is very evocative, the experiment does not quite work. Chris Clough seems to be far less successful in the studio than he is on location- for example, the Kandyman's revelation is very undramatic, which is a pity, as he looks brilliant. The look is by no means bad, however and does not interfere too much with the story.

There are some excellent performances, most notably Sheila Hancock as Helen A, who manages to invoke Thatcher without making it a lazy impersonation. David John Pope brings the wonderful Kandyman to life and his scenes with his creator Gilbert M are worth the price of admission alone. McCoy is presented with a version of the Doctor who is fun-loving, yet manipulative- note his words to Ace: 'You're no use to me like this!'. Unfortunately, the story brings to the fore the fact that he is unable to shout convincingly- his hijacking of the protest is close to being embarrassing- however, he succeeds admirably elsewhere. Sophie Aldred is also very good here, making Ace very memorable as a borderline delinquent with a strong sense of morality.

Despite its flaws, this story has a lot going for it- things are certainly looking up!

NEXT: Silver Nemesis