The Happiness Patrol - Classic Doctor Who review

[@thevacuumofcomments2946]

The Kandyman is worth it if only for the line "you will taste the back of my Kandy-hand!"

[@Jaybirdtweet]

Priceless

[@walkerineternity2334]

The Kandyman was well used by Big Finish in the Ravenous Series.

[@susanrobinson34]

I found this by accident when I was looking for a BBC clip about the Thatcher connection for a friend. Graeme Curry, the writer, was my partner for 25 years and is sadly much missed. He'd have loved your talk through the episode. I remember an early meeting with Graeme in which I said, 'I hear you wrote a Doctor Who episode" to which he replied, "Yes - and everyone hated it!' The Kandyman is interesting as I don't think it was at all what Graeme had imagined but the Thatcher-like villain was certainly what he imagined. xx

[@thevacuumofcomments2946]

"Man, I wonder how 7 went up so far in Vera's ranking of the Doctors" - Sees that she's watched this and therefore has seen the *pull the trigger, take a life* scene "Ah, that makes sense"

[@thevacuumofcomments2946]

I think you've seen over half of his run by this point? Only Paradise Towers, Delta and the Bannerman, Silver Nemesis, Ghostlight and Survival left

[@BreakRoomofGeeks]

Yeah that sounds about right. And Ghostlight will technically be a rewatch when I get to it.

[@MorganBriarwood]

I was a teenager in Thatcher’s Britain. The BBC got away with it because Doctor Who was “children’s TV” so no one took its politics seriously. This was also the age of Mary Whitehouse. Any hint of sex in a children’s show was taboo and they couldn’t show blood, but otherwise they got away with a lot. And this story! Even now it sticks in my mind for all the right reasons. Goosebumps. Great to see you review it!

[@darthgallifrey3588]

Apart from the "Children's TV" aspect, the main reason this made it to screen was by this point, the higher ups at the BBC just didn't care about Doctor Who. They'd tried to cancel it a couple years earlier in the middle of Colin Baker's run, but had gotten enough fan backlash to relent. So at this point, they were just hoping it would kinda fizzle out. Doctor Who was an institution, it was on the air because it had always been on the air (twenty-five years at this point). With little oversight, Andrew Cartmel was able to get away with a lot and Doctor Who was just hitting its stride when it cancelled after the next season. (Also, this is post-Mary Whitehouse. She was a big thing back in the early Tom Baker era and was the driving force that caused the changeout from Philip Hinchcliff to David Williams.)

[@gozerthegozarian9500]

When you consider how frikking HOT boiling sugar gets, the Candyman is massively terrifying!

[@Silver-rx1mh]

This is what I and my friend Robert Allsopp (who made the Candy man) worked on. The Candy mans look was decided on by the Make-up women sadly, but I think the costume considering the time and the low budget was excellent. It's just the idea behind it that could have done with a bit of a rethink. Every season there would be on episode that would be pretty much studio bound to save money and this it for this season. Myself and my work partner Stephen Mansfield created and puppetered Fifi, (all on the cheap) and I think all things considered she didn't turn out all that bad.

[@BreakRoomofGeeks]

Yeah I think it's hard to pinpoint exactly what doesn't quite work about Candyman. Because he fits the theme and the aesthetic and is pretty decently constructed. I suppose it's an understandable idea take just one or two steps too far.

[@ftumschk]

The makeup designer was Dorka Nieradzik, who had already done some excellent makeup work for Doctor Who, and went on to have a long career. I actually loved the look of Kandyman and Fifi, so kudos to you and Robert Allsopp for bringing the designs to life so well.

[@paulhammond6978]

@@BreakRoomofGeeks He looks too similar to "Bertie Bassett" the ad character for Licquorice Allsorts at that time, and people just seeing a photo of that character think he looks silly, and that was the view of the time, that Doctor Who had just got silly. I was a teenager in Thatcher's Britain, and a Doctor Who fan, but I don't think I caught on to the satire behind it at the time. I have only come to appreciate Happiness Patrol, and Sylvester McCoy's time as the Doctor in retrospect.

[@voltijuice8576]

On the weird intersection of sweets and Thatcher - before her political career, Margaret Thatcher was a food chemist known for developing soft-serve ice cream in the UK. Although she did not _invent_ soft-serve, as some online lore states.

[@gozerthegozarian9500]

A food chemist? I might have to turn in my feminist card, because my initial thought was: "Should've stuck to that career, we'd all be better off!" and I just realized that I effectively told a woman to get back into the kitchen. 😂 I'll be in the corner, feeling ashamed of myself!

[@myoctobersymphony4446]

@@gozerthegozarian9500 we'd be much worse off in economic terms.

[@gozerthegozarian9500]

@@myoctobersymphony4446 That is, at best, debatable and depends greatly on which parts of the population one chooses to include in or exclude from "we".

[@myoctobersymphony4446]

@@gozerthegozarian9500 the average person would be much worse off.

[@paulhammond6978]

@@myoctobersymphony4446 That's still debatable. Just repeating your point (though I guess you sharpened your claim) doesn't prove it any better.

[@mrdoctorgilmore]

The Candyman's voice terrified me as a child. Was really underwhelmed by the voice he had when big finish brought them back.

[@rowanc88]

Well that's cause the version in the Big Finish audio was very much based on how the character was originally described in the script before JNT had his clever idea.

[@mrdoctorgilmore]

It was a interesting idea, but for me the execution was bland. I like that his old voice came back briefly near the end.

[@rowanc88]

@@mrdoctorgilmore Yeah, I was gonna mention that as well.

[@Concreteowl]

There is a bit of Mary Whitehouse in there too.

[@Alfje17]

One of 7's best stories... even with the limited budget and I hope RTD2 will serve up stories like these again.

[@evaserration6223]

As an 8 year old when this came out, I loved the Kandyman, even if or because he was such a clear ripoff of Bertie Bassett (mascot of Liquorice All sorts). The idea of sweets that kill people either by boiling them or being so sweet like joker venom was fun. Despite growing up in Thatcher Britain, the parallels were lost on me but when someone pointed it out I was like 'of course'...

[@josephryan362]

I think I need to watch the happiness patrol all the way through soo! On dvd and I need to go into it in a happy mood

[@GavenRocker]

I love the Kandyman. One of my favorite Doctor Who monsters of all time and I think he is legit terrifying.

[@Elwaves2925]

Bertie Bassett was never the same after this story.

[@stephenkay4008]

After all this time, I still can’t think of a sicker, more twisted method of killing someone than the Fondant Surprise! The Kandyman in and of itself is quite cartoonish, but I do appreciate his “I make his sweets that are so good that sometimes the Human Physiognomy is not equipped to bear the pleasure” - I found that particularly chilling.

[@highvoltage7797]

6:23 More like no one at the BBC cared enough about Doctor Who to scrutinise it.

[@quintencrook6068]

This is one of my all time favorites of classic who, and Doctor Who over all. It is a much more unnerving version of Vengeance on Varos to me. 10/10 story.

[@highvoltage7797]

Such an underrated story from an underrated Doctor.

[@BulbasaurRepresent]

1:50 I would have thought you would say Twelfth Doctor and Bill!

[@Stephen-Fox]

When looking up to confirm if Bassett (who's mascot is very similar in appearance to the Kandyman) sued the production (they didn't - they asked the Kandyman never be used again in televised Doctor Who and the production agreed - He's shown up in other media, I believe, but... Yeah, even had the idea worked better than he did there's no way he'd have been used again on screen because of how fundamentally tied to this one story he is) I stumbled across the tidbit that at least for episode 1 the director apparently wanted to film in black and white and was prevented from doing so.

[@voltijuice8576]

That mascot is Bertie Bassett, a person made of licorice allsorts. Even though a person made of candy makes it conceptually similar, IMO they don't really look much alike at all. It was easy for the Beeb to toss them that bone, as they weren't planning on using Kandyman again anyway.

[@Yan_Alkovic]

Well I had no idea this was a parody of Thatcher. Honestly I don't even know what she was like But yeah, as unpleasant as it is, it's a very poignant and powerful episode. It's very unique and powerful in my opinion, and the Candyman was actually quite neat in my opinion. He was _unsettling_ AF. So yeah, I'm glad that you liked this episode!

[@GiratinaofFury]

The Happiness Patrol is very much one of my favourite stories, being that it can be seen from so many angles and says so much for a very small story. It can be taken as a thinly veiled political jab, it can be seen as a commentary on preserving image and the idea of a nation, rather than the actual nation itself, or perhaps even talking about toxic positivity. It saw something of a spiritual successor in the episode "Smile" - human colony out in space that offers a fresh start, but something evil sits at the heart of it, taking on a somewhat benign appearance, but is malevolent when people stop being happy. If you look at it, it's very much an episode that sums up just how effective a character the Doctor is. He wins battles with words, he hits hard without firing a single shot or throwing a punch, and even when the villain is vulnerable, he doesn't take advantage of that where others might seek vengeance or retribution.

[@williamhuebler68]

I get why people hate the kandyman, but I really enjoy him. He’s a bit silly, but the idea is unique and interesting. An android made of candy. U can imagine a mad roboticist finding that fun to come up with build. But execution doesn’t bother me as much as lazy ideas. A lazy idea he is not. Honestly, from Helen a’s perspective, the doctor is a terrifying villain. He walks in and tears down her world in a night. 7 is one of my favorite doctors by far. And I love ur description of his smug in control darkness. Bc he already has u checkmated. Also the scene where ace says she wants to make them very very unhappy, and 7 says, don’t worry we will is so chilling

[@tenmark7055]

One of my favorites where we see this Doctor as the spider in the center of his web, shaking on the strands.

[@shaunhouse8469]

The Kandyman is a fairly close approximation of the mascot of a UK confectionery brand, it wasn't deemed to actually infringe the trademarks of the owners of the brand but the BBC had to commit not to reuse the Kandyman

[@natsmith303]

My first experience with this story was one of my deepest Who-related shames. I was a teenager watching the show on PBS and had gradually lost a lot of my enthusiasm as we got through the Fifth and Sixth Doctor eras. Seven's first season I think was the final nail in the coffin, so even though I continued through Season 25, I was deeply cynical about the whole thing. So something about the Doctor hopping up to sing, "As Time Goes By," and saving the day by laughing a lot had me nopeing out of the whole thing. I've come around A LOT in the interim, not just toward this serial but toward much of the 80s.

[@krull1981]

I had a proper cringey crush on Ace when i was 7 years old . Like the climbing up trees, holding hands and eating sweets together type cringe. Used to think about getting all tired out from all the tree climbing and her giving me a piggy back home in the dark while i clung there like a spider monkey. Snoring away safely knowing she could fight off any monsters that came along.

[@Eruvadhril]

I can't remember which Big Finish it was specifically, but a moment from one of them stuck indelibly in my mind, where the villain of the week said "Pity me!" and Seven replied "Fear me." with such intensity that it wasn't so much an instruction as it was a forecast.

[@SuperFunkmachine]

Your thinking of Afterlife.

[@finnmcmahon9904]

I adore how many political layers there are in this story. Not only the direct challenge to Thatcher’s approach to control and leadership and a takedown of fascism, but also an anarchist, anti-bureaucratic spirit with comments on killing, colonialism (definitely the weakest part I’ll concede), ideological purity/extremism, styles of protest…But the biggest for me is always the layers of queer allegory: Section 28 was recent at the time, and the forced conformity to happiness as being impossible for some people (especially for that episode’s girlfriend for Ace) is very clearly about state mandated denial of homosexuality, a connection deepened by the layers of camp. This story always brings a smile to my face.

[@Penscreen]

Thatcher now led to the Tories running rampant for 14 bloody years here in UK! Thank god we now have Labour - I hope for 10 years or more! I never liked this episode as a kid, but see more into what it was saying after living through the nightmare we lived through recently!

[@RopeDrink]

The lighting was atrocious, yet it added to the gloomy atmosphere of a planet living in forced fake-happiness. Not happy enough? Whelp, time to die. The soundtrack was delicious - reminding me of Resident Evil on the Playstation. A lot of atmospheric strings and drawn out tension, spliced with some lovely harmonica moments. And hey, I actually liked the Kandy Man. I loved how the voice blended the idea of a petulant child with a psychotic adult, complete with shifting moods and childish tantrums. Made as a surrogate child (of sorts) that considers their 'parent' like an unwanted sidekick. As always, Sylvester and Sophie deliver. The Doctor flits from fun and casual to deathly serious. Ace, as always, is the impressionable, angsty, gung-ho companion who doesn't take well to the situation and even desires revenge/payback, whereas the Doctor knew everything before even arriving on the planet and uses that to calm her through manipulation, always keeping Ace in the dark. Having grown up during the Thatcher reign, I can see what they were going for, and it's a nice extra point when you digest it all, but even without the political undertones, it's just a nice, solid, simple story. I enjoy how the climax didn't involve any huge tense moment or blockbuster nonsense - just the protagonist and antagonist sharing conflicting ideals, with a very subtle but satisfying conclusion after the Doctor's point is proven.

[@twilightsmum24]

This story aesthetically reminded me so much of Jem and the Holograms.

[@gozerthegozarian9500]

Indeed! A lot of late 1980s pop culture had a similar aesthetic, the Grunge aesthetic of the early 1990s was a direct reaction to/rejection of this.

[@jedisalsohere]

Might I suggest 8 and Fitz for a perfect Doctor-companion pairing? A fairly obscure one, yes, but if you've ever read any of the books that feature them together you would know what I mean.

[@locustboy8448]

Incredibly underrated, especially if you don't mind the Kandyman like me. But as you say even if it's a little too goofy for you. The rest of it is really quality classic who.

[@R_SENAL]

Love this story and this Doctor. You know the Kandyman has returned in the Big Finish audios with a redesign. He's been rebuilt with a more normal appearance but he's still made of candy. The the 7th is like the aspect of the persona that is more cuning than all the others. In the River Song audios he's the only one that figures out who she is, and it is wicked cool.

[@aboyandhisdog2251]

As a child the Kandy man scared the absolute shite out of me 😱🤣🤣

[@citrinedragonfly]

This is such a good episode! I didn't get to watch it until a few years ago, and I'd heard the 'received fan wisdom' when I was a teenager just discovering Doctor Who, but knowing it was McCoy, I knew I'd like it. I was not disappointed. It's such a brilliant takedown of authoritarianism, the colorful costumes at odd with some of the shadows work so well. And McCoy is perfection. I don't think another Doctor could have done this story and had it turn out well. I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@spluff5]

To add to those perfect pairings, the fourth doctor and either Sarah, Leela or Roman II?

[@robertbollard5475]

I remember watching this back in the day and the line that got me was when the workers were marching and Ace said to the head honcho of the government something like "They're what your really afraid of aren't they?" In other words it's the revolting proletariat who are nightmare rather than the heroic superman Doctor.

[@IsaacKuo]

I thought The Candyman was pretty memorable.

[@IsaacKuo]

I guess this may be a pattern for my classic Who comments ... first I like the Rutan blob ... now The Candyman ...

[@theoncomingstorm7903]

Seven is utterly terrifying, even more so in the 90s New Adventures Novels and the Big Finish Audio Dramas but also on TV. When the New Who Doctor's lean on their dark and terrifying reputation, they're leaning on what he did. Ka Faraq Gatri, the Destroyer of Worlds. As for Companion pairings. Eight and Charley (Big Finish) or Eight and Fitz (Eighth Doctor Adventures Novels) take a spot for me.

[@chaserseven2886]

i remember nearly watching this episode when I tried watching the unearthly child the 2nd part

[@KitchenSinkSoup]

Gotta admit, I love the Kandyman a whole lot. It's a whole lot of campy fun with some just amazingly silly lines "You will taste the back of my Kandy-hand!" and a character saying "they make sweets so good they KILL people." Love it. Totally get why he's a mocked figure though

[@Venemofthe888]

This episode introduces itself to when people say doctor who wasnt political. Also i dont know if you have seen it but the Margret thatcher cybermen are hilarious to look at lol

[@marisauzick6075]

I'll defend the Kandyman, honeslty. I loved the idea and the bright, garish candy-coated colors he has that I feel just fits so well with rhe aesthetics of the whole story. I'm kind of mesmerized by it, honestly. I know I'm in the minority, but I can hand a good bit of cheese if the ideas are in the right place (then again, I also loved the Dinosaurs in Invasion of the Dinosaurs and the Evil Bubble Wrap in the Ark in Space). I'm such a sucker for that late-80's/very early 90's stylings and designs, maybe because that's because I was born in 90 🤷‍♀️ This one gets a solid B rating from me, personally.

[@marisauzick6075]

The set design, especially the Kandyman's kitchen makes me think of that era's Disney Parks design language, honestly, and as someone who has a special interest in the Disney Parks and especially that era, I was in heaven. The gears and pipes and the kinetic energy. I hadn't seen this story until today (just finished it) and aside from some wonky acting, pacing issues, and budget constraints, I loved it! The more I think on it the more I like it!

[@tokublwhovian]

Kandyman is fun and should return. We’re possibly getting Beep the Meep from Big Finish into the TV show, so why not a return for the weird-voiced, sweet-looking android.

[@MsZeeZed]

Sadly the BBC promised never to use Kandyman in Doctor Who again to avoid a lawsuit from Bassett’s candy

[@SuperFunkmachine]

@@MsZeeZed Its more the really strong resemblance of the Kandyman to mascot Bertie Bassett, if he came back made out of mint imperials or humbugs it'd be fine.

[@pete2097]

I was around 7 when this aired and the candyman was terrifying!

[@Donnagata1409]

Oh, I did like that episode!

[@kurathchibicrystalkitty5146]

Wow, this is really making me want to watch some Seventh Doctor episodes! Is it worth it to watch his first season, or just skip to when Ace shows up?

[@nocturne8333]

Paradise Towers from season 24 is pretty underrated and is similar to a novel called High-Rise (it’s a strange inspiration), but the general consensus is that the quality improves after Ace arrives in Dragonfire. I’d start there and go through to the end of season 26 before dipping into season 24.

[@nocturne8333]

If you want a more Machiavellian Seventh Doctor then watch season 26, if you’d like a more comical Seventh Doctor then watch season 24.

[@ihateunicorns867]

I unapologetically like the Kandyman. I find his Tim Burton-esque nature quite sinister. I like the juxtaposition of his saccharine, almost comic appearance with the psychopathic nature of what he's doing quite effective. But he's certainly a divisive figure.

[@sirjedisentinel]

Oh same here! Any time someone goes, "Doctor Who got too political!" My response is just, "there's literally a story who's entire point is just, "F**k you, Margaret Thatcher!""

[@myoctobersymphony4446]

Which is ironic since in a real authoritarian regime they never would've got away with such a story.

[@charlestownsend9280]

Another companion doctor pairing you could add to that list could be 8 and Charlie, 8 and lucie Miller (I love this pairing) and 12 and Bill.

[@thomasdevine867]

Sarah Jane and any Doctor, Leala and the 4th Doctor, Barbara and the First Doctor are great teams too.

[@toyloliSpare]

Your fifth companion pairing should be Tom and Leela. Imo

[@Nikioko]

And it's the Third Doctor and Jo.

[@ianfryer8386]

I saw The Happiness Patrol when it first aired on the BBC in 1988 and really struggled with it. Now it's one of my absolute favourite classic era stories for many of the same reasons I didn't like it originally. It's such a huge contrast in style to the previous story, Remembrance of the Daleks, which was such a huge improvement on anything from the previous two seasons that I just wanted more like that. Now I can appreciate how amazing it was that Who could accommodate such wildly different styles within a single season. The theatrical style of both the staging and performances works really well - for the first time in several seasons Who was fighting back against its ever more restrictive budget to become visually interesting at just the same time as the scripts were becoming thematically interesting. And the irony is that Cartmel could get away with creating overtly political stories because nobody outside a very small group was taking any notice. A lot of old-school fans and general viewers had bailed after the previous two seasons (deliberately bad scheduling also helped Who haemorrhage viewers). The very factor that allowed the show to shoot off in all kinds of bold and interesting directions also caused the show to be cancelled. To this day even a lot of Who fans I talk to find my love of McCoy era somewhat eccentric.

[@timthememer2785]

I've been wondering for a while what you'd make of this story, I'm glad it seems like you enjoyed it! Personally I like it a lot, not just for how unapologetically political (and anti-Thatcher) it is but also because it's just such a fun mix of darkness and campness.

[@kickingroses8925]

Eight could also get pretty scary a lot in the audios, and not just talking about the Zagreaus stuff either.

[@224cheshirecat]

The last part... 4 and Sarah jane?

[@jacklawrence2212]

I don't care what anyone says, I frigging love the Candyman. (No irony.)

[@Jedi_Spartan]

Have you heard the Big Finish audio that brought him back?

[@jasonthayer1309]

One of the best Doctor Who episodes, period.

[@nekusakura6748]

Another perfect Pairing for me? The 4th Doctor and Romana II. It might just be Tom Baker and Lalla Ward's pitch perfect chemistry (especially in City Of Death).

[@pious83]

I was quite young when I watched this. I don't remember the episode itself. Only Kandyman. How bad I thought he looked. This was the last episode of Doctor Who I saw because of that. Until the TV Movie and later the revival, brought me back to the series. Still haven't watched a 7th Doctor episode since.

[@borjankosarac3645]

On top Doctor/Companion pairings, would Ninth and Rose count for Revival Era DW? Or if not, Classic Era has: Fourth and Sarah Jane (though I also loved him with Leela and Romana at their best); First and Steven might qualify too, if only we had stories like “The Dalek’s Master Plan” and “The Massacre of St. Bartholomew’s Eve” to observe (but he was always more of a team-based Doctor granted); and of course, the Third and Jo (especially when facing the Master together). A bit of trivia with the Candyman is he originally was meant to be a human(oid), a plump fellow in a suit with teeth blackened like tar to symbolise how he’s part of this rotted system… Probably would have been more memorable in a better way, but oh well.

[@MovieMagic515]

How do you recommend getting into Classic Who?

[@stuartwho]

Start at the beginning and work your way through

[@Elwaves2925]

If you have the time do what stuartwho says but it's a LOT to watch. If not, I'd recommend searching for lists of episodes that people generally find to be the best from each Doctor. Combine them, don't just take from one list, and you have your viewing list. Although, I would definitely add all the regen episodes and the ones immediately following them, as it'll help get a sense of the new Doctor before watching more.

[@SuperFunkmachine]

Spearhead from space, new doctor, colour an no more missing episodes.

[@stuartwho]

@@SuperFunkmachine but miss out the brilliant Patrick Troughton 🥺

[@SuperFunkmachine]

@@stuartwho He's hard to start with, there a lot missing , its in B&W an there's a fair amount of padding.

[@alexanderharvey8423]

I don’t really agree with your characterisation of the Thatcher government; sounds more like a depiction of what those against Thatcher imagined her to be rather than what it actually was like. But I haven’t watched the episode so I’ll definitely have to check it out

[@myoctobersymphony4446]

Exactly my point.

[@alexanderharvey8423]

@@myoctobersymphony4446 I’ll have to watch the episode to see how much of a caricature it is

[@gozerthegozarian9500]

Apart from being the Most Obvious Ever parody of Margaret Thatcher, the role of Helen A was also one of the rare drag queen roles played by a woman.

[@andrewklang809]

Hopefully you'll receive a check in the mail from Daddy Bezos, because you just sold me on a month of Britbox. I've already seen Curse of Fenric, so I like this episode as much as you do, I may have a new favorite Doctor. After Capaldi.

[@deogiriyadav8399]

Have u seen "Sardar udham".... Movie 2021

[@ksaunders4362]

Speaking for myself, the rather badly designed and put together monsters (the Yeti, the Merka, the Sea Devils, the Zygons et al) in classic Who are part of the reason I love the show so much. It's partly the nostalgia, and partly just admiration for the fact that they actually put those costumes arnd creatures on screen with complete confidence that you would end up hiding behind your lounge chair - and you did. I agree with your Doctor/Companion ranking, but now love for the Thrid Doctor and Jo Grant? They'd be my no.1 pick, then Second Doctor & Jamie, Seventh Doctor & Ace, Fifth Doctor & Turlough and Fourth Doctor & Sarah Jane. I don't believe the U.K. has ever really recovered from Margaret Thatcher.

[@pumamanjrandsuch]

2 and Jamie 4 and Romana ii 6 and Frobisher 7 and Ace 8 and Charley 9, Rose and Jack 10 and Donna 12 Bill and Nardal

[@arlequinelunaire418]

Some of the Wilderness Years books got arguably just as if not more political than The Happiness Patrol, like script-editor Andrew Cartmel's own Cat's Cradle: Warhead, the Interference duology which was almost all political all the time, and the original book version of Human Nature frequently brings up socialism

[@M-E_123]

On the subject of top Doctor Companion pairings my top 5 would be (in no particular order) - Troughton & Jamie Pertwee & Jo Baker & Second Romana McCoy & Ace Tenant & Donner There's also a few others for more companions - The original crew (Hartnell, Ian, Barbara & Susan) Smith, Amy & Rory You could maybe argue Pertwee & Jo should technically be on this list instead along with the UNIT crew (Brigadier, Mike Yates and Benton) Just combinations with great chemistry. And you're wrong on the Kandi Man - when I was a kid he was terrifying - absolute nightmare fuel (Bertie Basset gone bad) - his eye's & voice really got to me at the time.

[@smiths121]

Pairings .. 4th Doctor and Sarah Jane?

[@Nikioko]

The Kandyman kan!

[@DiM2404]

Very little mention of the indigenous species of the planet here, which is understandable as their story probably gets the shortest shrift, and their dialogue should have been overdubbed as it's a bit incomprehensible between their prosthetics/masks and the echoey sewer sets, but they do get at a core assumption of Thatcherism/Neoliberalism: that this is ground zero, that all our wealth is a bassline, that no one has suffered or continues to suffer for us to have everything we have (that we should be visibly happy about and proud of)

[@patrickmusson4571]

Chris Chibnall had no idea how to deal with politics with any concept of nuance and/or subtlety. RTD was able to do that. Chibnall was ham-fisted in dealing with politics, especially identity politics. This sounds more like China in the present day. I'll have to get onto BritBox and watch this episode. Thanks for bringing it to the fore.

[@paulhammond6978]

I've read some Milan Kundera. He's got some stories about "enforced happiness" in his work, about living in communist Czechoslovakia and being made to go to parades. I think some of Kundera's work was becoming well known in the UK around this time (Unbearable Lightness of Being was big news around 1987-88). I wonder if there was any inspiration from him for the writers of Happiness Patrol

[@kalig.4982]

I did grow up in east germany..this episode for me was always a critic of authoritarian systems and their methode..left or right. They all claim to do it for the greater good..if only the killjoys (human nature) wouldnt resistent progress and future happiness. And that justify all their inhuman actions for the greater good. I dont know if Thatchers England was ever at that point, comparitifly speaking.

[@themaestrosfolly]

It is written within the BBC’s charter that it should Inform, educate and entertain without fear nor favour. Therefore it is the duty of the BBC to hold to account and speak truth to power without fear. It’s only now when political positions have become entrenched that the BBC have drawn criticism for its positions on political matters. Ironically, the criticism doesn’t only come from the right wing of politics but from the left as well so I’d suggest if everyone political is getting upset they must be doing something right….

[@mattyh2464]

While Helen A was vile and completely detestable....I don't think I could ever wish that ending on her or on anyone.

[@nekusakura6748]

It's Sheila Hancock's performance that really kills it.

[@DiM2404]

Weirdly this has become my go-to to show people who aren't fans and aren't hugely into "genre" stuff. I'd always tried things like Remembrance, Caves of Androzani, City of Death; but it's this one with it's cheap, camp aesthetic, its melancholy, and its anger, that seems to resonate with non-fans and help them understand why I love this nonsense show.

[@DiM2404]

As a result, this is one of my most watched stories, and I bloody love the Kandyman. I can't help but yell out "I'm a Kandyman of my word!" when he says it. I think the performance and the costume really nail the tone this whole story is going for.

[@raybearoz]

No mentioning of the queer coding of this story? This is probably the gayest episode ever... The over pink use.. I mean the TARDIS? the pink triangle symbols... the pay off ... Given the producer was a well known gay man that may have played into it... But yes, this is a great story... and an example of the seventh Doctor flexing is muscles... I mean... bringing down a whole totalitarian regime in ONE NIGHT! And the payoff at the end still resonates... "Should we do something Professor?" "'Tis done" Glad you enjoyed...

[@AxlePineapple]

how did they get away with such overt political themes? simple: the high-ups totally stopped caring about the show by this point. every cloud eh?

[@owenwildish331]

Ironically, Margaret Thatcher was actually a big fan of Doctor Who

[@lasseehrenreich5502]

Algorithm feeding comment

[@IronSalamander8]

The Candyman is the worst part of this one. This one is very '80s' and combined with the garish colors makes this one visually messy. I like this one, but it's not a favorite. I've read elsewhere a thing I also agree with that Suzy Q and Ace having a more developed relationship, instead of Suzy getting with a guy she barely spoke would have a nice touch. I do like 7, not as much as you, but he's good, especially with Ace, but also agree that he started off badly; Time and the Rani is possibly the worst Doctor Who story ever; classic or new, but he gets so much better once he gets rid of Mel and they tone that silliness down.

[@kalig.4982]

Wow, did they admit , that it would not possible anymore today ( for an autor/a show) to criticize the ideologist of the government? That programm today is only government andorsed propaganda?

[@BreakRoomofGeeks]

There's a middle ground between criticism and propaganda, which is usually exemplified by avoiding the topic in general.

[@gozerthegozarian9500]

Given that it is not only possible to criticize the government today, but that there is, in fact a whole media industry, from FOX News to Joe Rogan, doing not only that but also freely spreading lies and disinformation, and you put words into Vera's mouth that she never said, may I politely suggest you return to the realm and reality and seek physical contact with a lawn?

[@kalig.4982]

@@BreakRoomofGeeks Of course there a nuances in every point..like in they connotation of propaganda. But still, the point seems true enough.

[@kalig.4982]

@@gozerthegozarian9500 i did ask, if that was what they meant, didnt i? And the point was government controlled media, right. And yes, there are still some alternative medias..that very good for a democracy. But strangly enough some people want to prevent that in the name of the greater good and happyness. Like i said i did grow up un east germany and sadly, i know the methodes and recognize the rhetoric.

[@Elwaves2925]

@@kalig.4982 The show isn't government controlled propaganda, that's just complete rubbish. In actual fact, the government want to take away what power the BBC has (which isn't much these days). Like everything else, the government want to sell it all off, privatise it so they can get there grubby hands on the money. If it was their propaganda machine they wouldn't be doing that.

[@myoctobersymphony4446]

Helen A is nothing more than a leftwing caricature of Margaret Thatcher.

[@myoctobersymphony4446]

It's worth noting also that she was elected because the country was screwed up more than it had ever been before.

[@myoctobersymphony4446]

The episode is more about a perception of Thatcher rather than the reality.

[@nocturne8333]

@@myoctobersymphony4446 I’d argue that analysis of the 1970s has been pretty dismissive of notions of terminal crisis. Colin Hay’s ‘The Winter of Discontent Thirty Years On’ and Emily Robinson, Camilla Schofield, Florence Sutcliffe-Braithwaite, and Natalie Thomlinson, 'Telling Stories About Post-War Britain: Popular Individualism and the "Crisis" of the 1970s' are useful in discussing the emergence of the crisis narratives. Stuart Hall also has some good work about how Thatcherism as an attempt at a hegemonic ideology used narratives of crisis to disguise economic policy failures. Helen Thompson, 'The Thatcherite economic legacy' in Farrall and Hay (eds.), The Legacy of Thatcherism,’ has shown that her economic legacy was largely non-existent. Monetarism was a failure by the government’s own standards, Lawson’s pegging of the pound to the Deutschmark failed as it was valued too low, and the entry into the ERM failed because the pound had been valued too high. New Labour largely followed Ken Clarke’s economic agenda, which was a rejection of Thatcherite economics on the whole. Thatcher’s use of M3 to measure money supply up to 1984 was largely unsuccessful, as money supply exceeded all targets (suggesting policy was too loose) but the real economy fell into the worst recession of the century besides the 1929 crash (suggesting monetarism was too harsh). It’s no surprise that the policy was abandoned in 1984. Under Callaghan’s Labour, inflation had fallen from 25% at the end of Heath’s tenure to just over 10% when Thatcher won. When she left office inflation was about 10% with unemployment significantly worse (hitting 11.8% in 1984). Overall, Tomlinson (2014) argues that monetarism was not implemented in a clear, coherent, and doctrinal way in the UK by the Thatcher governments. The success in reducing inflation was episodic, and the 1980s ended as they began in terms of high inflation rates (Tomlinson, 2012). RPI inflation rose rapidly (over 5%) in the second and third quarters of 1979 and consequence of the lack of an incomes policy to constrain it. By the second quarter of 1980 it was at 21.5%. I’d argue that a more nuanced perspective would be that the UK had been affected in similar ways to other countries after the oil shock of 1973 and the Yom Kippur War during the period, but that the Thatcherite economic solutions were largely ineffective at dealing with unemployment and inflation within a macro-economic context. Helen Thompson has a rather useful argument on this: ‘If broad ‘Thatcherite’ macro-economic policy is de

[@myoctobersymphony4446]

During the 70's the UK was in the process of imploding. Some of the highlights of this included; * The UK had a 3 day work week for most of 1974 as the miners union was striking so electricity was only available for transport and businesses 3 days a week. * The top rate of tax reached 98%. There was nearly no investment activity in the UK as a result and so no growth. * Inflation was out of control. The highest yearly average was 24.2% (in British history it has only been higher once) but in July 1978 it hit 38% (the highest monthly average in British history). As a result no one was saving, pay was having to be raised weekly and prices in stores would change daily. At gas stations people were paid to stand outside with big chalk boards and a radio so the price could be updated hourly. * By 1979 a very large percentage of the country was on strike. Half of the hospitals were closed to non-emergencies, [trash was piling up](i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01390/winter-of-disconte_1390846i.jpg) around the country as service was reduced to monthly and most of the public transport system was operating with a 10% schedule. * While unemployment was very low there was massive job duplication in the public sector, in some cases there was 5 people filling what would have been a full time role for one person. * There was huge resistance against economic modernization, when you left school the opportunities to go in to a skilled field were extremely limited as a result. As an example of this by 1979 the UK was consuming or exporting only about half of the coal that it mined but as a result of the political power the miners union wielded it was impossible to close down mines and the labor force used in mining was actually increasing despite improved equipment. * [These](upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/High_Rise_%27council%27_flats__-geograph.org.uk-__7571.jpg) hideous blocks of identical housing which were rife with crime. During the 60's and 70's government housing policy was attempting to push as many people in to these blocks as possible on the premise that if people were all forced to live in the same kind of housing then society would become more equal. * The end of the Breton Woods system meant the GBP was massively overvalued. The loss in value collapsed the import market, it was to expensive to import new technologies from the US so the UK behind to bag behind in technology development hugely. * By 1976 the UK was months away from bankruptcy. An IMF bailout was secured which would have kept the country running until 1981 but that would be the only credit available, no one was buying British bonds because the continued fall in GBP value, Europe had already turned down the UK for a loan and the IMF had stated they would be unwilling to extend further credit. if the government had continued operating in the same manner then when 1981 rolled around and the government ran out of money to operate there would have been the largest economic depression in British history which would have eviscerated about 55% of output (the US great depression peaked at a 38% drop for comparison) followed by a recovery to a much lower average industrial output.

[@stuartwho]

This story is also protesting against Clause 28, the Thatcher government legislative ban on Local Authorities promoting homosexuality. This law was introduced in 1988, the very year The Happiness Patrol was broadcast and was only repealed in 2000.

[@stevehodge133]

One of the worst doctor who episode. I mean come on, the candy is basically bertie bassetts

[@BreakRoomofGeeks]

Ok... how does that make the episode as a whole bad, exactly?

[@josgibbons6777]

How can anyone only see sci-fi's politics in its casting? The easy answer is "they only understand image, not theme". Here's an attempt at a hard answer: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pH-xiIqaqKqMfck tl;dw Conservatives feel Star Trek validates their ideas.