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| The Kandyman: Terra Alpha's gleeful, candy-coated executioner. |
3 episodes. Approx. 74 minutes. Written by: Graeme Curry. Directed by: Chris Clough. Produced by: John Nathan Turner.
THE PLOT
The Doctor and Ace visit the Earth colony Terra Alpha, where a large number of citizens have disappeared over the past six months. The colony lives under the rule of Helen A. (Sheila Hancock), whose slogan is "Happiness will prevail." It's a slogan she enforces with her "Happiness Patrol," a Gestapo-like force that actively searches for anyone displaying unhappiness. Such "killjoys" are subject to lethal disappearances, something which has become routine on Terra Alpha.
Once the Doctor takes in the situation, he resolves to put a stop to it. He announces that the disappearances, the enforced happiness, and Helen A.'s entire reign will end this very night. That is, if he can avoid the candy-colored but deadly guns of the Happiness Patrol, the tricks of undercover Happiness Patrol agent Silas P. (Jonathan Burn), and the macabre confections of the Kandyman (David John Pope), Helen A.'s official executioner - a psychotic creation made entirely of sweets...
CHARACTERS
The Doctor: The Happiness Patrol is the third story in a row in which the Doctor doesn't stumble across a situation, but actively goes looking for one. He comes to Terra Alpha to investigate "disturbing rumors." Step One? Get arrested - Meaning that the Doctor being captured only to escape is actually part of his plan instead of narrative padding. Sylvester McCoy is on very good form through most of the story. The scene in which he confronts an armed guard with nothing but a steady voice and a direct gaze as he challenges the man to "pull the trigger, end my life" tends to get attention (and with good reason), but I find McCoy's best scene in the serial to be his final encounter with Helen A. As the architect of the colony's enforced happiness is finally reduced to tears, Ace instinctively asks if there is anything they should do. "'Tis done," the Doctor replies, voice and face unreadable.
The Doctor: The Happiness Patrol is the third story in a row in which the Doctor doesn't stumble across a situation, but actively goes looking for one. He comes to Terra Alpha to investigate "disturbing rumors." Step One? Get arrested - Meaning that the Doctor being captured only to escape is actually part of his plan instead of narrative padding. Sylvester McCoy is on very good form through most of the story. The scene in which he confronts an armed guard with nothing but a steady voice and a direct gaze as he challenges the man to "pull the trigger, end my life" tends to get attention (and with good reason), but I find McCoy's best scene in the serial to be his final encounter with Helen A. As the architect of the colony's enforced happiness is finally reduced to tears, Ace instinctively asks if there is anything they should do. "'Tis done," the Doctor replies, voice and face unreadable.
Ace: I think this story would make more sense for her character arc if it had come after Dragonfire and before Remembrance - though I can't argue with the decision to make the Dalek story the season premiere. It's difficult to miss that most of the maturity added to Ace's characterization in Remembrance has been once again stripped away here. She's loud and aggressive, with very few quiet moments, and it's almost a relief that she's separated from the Doctor for the bulk of the story.
The Kandyman: Infamous as a Who monster because of the controversy involving candy company Bassett's mascot, Bertie Bassett. Being American, I had to look up Bertie Bassett to make up my own mind as to whether the Kandyman was a deliberate copy. Looking at images of Bertie, I see few visual similarities beyond both being made of sweets. I admit to bias, though, as I quite like the Kandyman. His high-pitched voice and ludicrous appearance offset his enthusiasm for grisly, candy-coated murders to make him a perfect representation of Helen A.'s entire reign: Silly and monstrous, all at the same time. He's also one of the most ineffectual Who villains ever, his efforts to kill the Doctor stymied with fizzy lemonade (not once, but twice!), and later by opening an oven door. Somehow, his complete ineffectiveness makes him more fun instead of less. It's easy to see why this creation would not be for all tastes, however.
THOUGHTS
The Happiness Patrol is somewhat of an oddity in Sylvester McCoy's last two seasons. The other seven stories of his final two years are so completely different from his first year, it's almost hard to credit that these stories are all from the same show. The Happiness Patrol is the exception, a story that feels very much like something from Season 24. It has cartoonishly exaggerated characters, gaudy costumes, and a silly monster, all of which would be right at home in McCoy's debut season.
Its link to the rest of the later McCoy years lies in its execution. As with Remembrance, it's a fast-paced story - but one with the confidence to slow down enough to allow certain moments to have meaning. The opening scene, as a depressed woman wanders languidly through a noirish landscape before sitting on a bench, provides a strong visual hook even before the reveal of "The Happiness Patrol." The Doctor pauses to play around with a microphone, taking a stab at singing a sad song. Helen A. and her husband, Joseph C. (Ronald Fraser), exchange meaningless platitudes about how happy they are (when they clearly aren't). Such moments reinforce the emptiness of Helen A.'s superficial "happiness" and the importance of expressing sadness even before the scenes arrive at the bits that advance the plot.
Sheila Hancock is marvelous as Helen A. She provides the screen presence needed for this smiling despot to be a credible threat, but she also plays the part as someone who honestly believes that she is doing something good. The scenes between her and the Doctor bristle with intensity, Hancock's performance drawing the best out of Sylvester McCoy as well, and one of my main complaints about the serial is how few moments there are in which the two characters interact. I would trade the entire subplot with the underground dwellers for more scenes of the Doctor verbally fencing with Helen A.
The subplot with the underground dwellers is symptomatic of what keeps this interesting story from being a truly good one: The narrative. I love the notion of the Doctor taking down a decaying society in a single night, largely by just stirring already-existing discontent. But there's little sense of build-up. In Episode Two, we're introduced to striking factory workers. By Episode Three, every factory in the colony is on strike. But relatively little connects the one to the other. If the subplot with the underground dwellers was removed, then perhaps the story would have time for a couple of scenes showing the factory conditions. If we can truly see that the society is already on the brink of collapsing in on itself, then it would feel right for it to fall apart after the Doctor gives his carefully calculated push.
The narrative failings keep this story from being a truly good one, but I do find a lot to like in this bizarre little fable. The series is once again willing to experiment with different styles, and I applaud the ambition. The Happiness Patrol doesn't quite come together for me... But it feels like a story from a show that's in a much healthier state than anything from Season 24.
Overall Rating: 5/10.
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