"Daleks, Sontarans, Cybermen - they're still in the nursery compared to Bertie Bassett!"
@magictoentertainyou8585
24 күн бұрын
I always like the happiness patrol has a wonderfully dark future in it
@HillarySJohknaym
26 күн бұрын
Pink TARDIS really predicted the show's future
@waziotter
22 күн бұрын
Jesus. Ok Boomer.
@HillarySJohknaym
22 күн бұрын
@@waziotter did I say it was a bad future?
@randybaumery-cp7tf
15 күн бұрын
That's no shit!!
@MulderHiggins
27 күн бұрын
Yes, someone said it! The seventh Doctor isn't nearly appreciated enough, and the stories are a lot deeper than a lot of people see. Since people don't look past the old-style outdated effects.
@kingbolo4579
23 күн бұрын
Well, I thought it was failure, it didn't work for me at all - but I respect it. I think it's good that Dr Who tried for something so different. Not every experiment will work, but a long-running show that doesn't experiment won't remain long-running.
@wynnefox
28 күн бұрын
I always liked this episode. It was one of my favorites since I saw it when I was young. The campy design of the Candyman, the fear pushed by a totaltarian dystopia, the mind games, the whole thing.
@walterengler5709
28 күн бұрын
I kept thinking how aspects of this even ties into modern times. While not as overt as in this episode, those people roaming the net looking for people to cancel is a social media form of the Happiness Patrol, seeking to destroy anything they do not like (it does not make us happy so it must go). And as we see with the arrests in France or threats in Brazil, government are getting quite bold at trying to censor or control, like any Dystopian Society. You can often see elements of this in many episodes of the shows of course. So perhaps Dr. Who is more a warning about many things, just not as obvious of a warning that it is easily understood.
@borusa32
24 күн бұрын
The Kandyman is great and I cannot think of a fate much worse than ending up as a Sherbet Lemon.
@christophernuzzi2780
27 күн бұрын
They should have gone with the B&W idea! It would have been a return to the Hartnell-Troughton years. The Doctor was at his best in monochrome!
@davidconner-shover51
24 күн бұрын
I miss Troughton
@ftumschk
29 күн бұрын
Great video, but it's a bit of an urban myth that Helen A was a deliberate satire on Thatcher. Graeme Curry did say that Thatcher might have been in the back of his mind as a generic template of a tough female leader, but that's about as far as it went. Sheila Hancock apparently hit on the idea to play Helen A like Thatcher, but it was her decision, not something that was intrinsic to the script. On that basis, "Happiness Patrol" is no more a satire on Thatcherism than "Timelash" is a satire on The Wars of the Roses, despite Paul Darrow's decision to play Tekker like Olivier's Richard III. There are clear political allegories in "Happiness Patrol", of course, but it's more of the totalitarian/Soviet Union/North Korea dystopia variety than what was going on in 1980s Britain.
@DTM-Books
21 күн бұрын
Any commentaries on the McCoy era is highly welcome. And Candyman is a great camp character, just perfectly absurd. Great video!
@petertrudelljr
27 күн бұрын
Build High for Happiness, Doctor! As soon as I saw the dystopian comment on the thumbnail, I knew which episode it was!
@RichardIreland74
25 күн бұрын
"Build high for happiness" was used in Paradise Towers.
@ThePeaceableKingdom
23 күн бұрын
I actually like Paradise Towers. Of course it's a romp. Of course it's very silly. But it's so much fun! The only way to dislike it is to be one of the fans who insist that DW has to be "proper" science fiction. Plus the cast is lovely, the inventiveness is wonderful (a whole slang for the kangs) and a touch of social commentary too. Never forget! - PEX LIVES. (But what do I know? I also liked Delta and the Bannermen! Not that I would trade "Remembrance" or "Fenric" or "Greatest Show" for either of them.)
@TheWatcherOnWho
23 күн бұрын
Everyone is entitled to an opinion. The beauty of Doctor Who is it's variety.
@TCHorwood-xq7mw
23 күн бұрын
My favourite McCoy adventure is Battlefield. Two Brigadiers and Bessie.
@ThePeaceableKingdom
23 күн бұрын
@@TCHorwood-xq7mw Aye!
@stephenpalmer9375
29 күн бұрын
100% agree, this is, like much of the 7th Doctor run, an absolute classic - but also utterly tied to late 1980s Britain. To build on the LGBT themes you talk about - this is the age of Clause/Section 28 - a move to stop the promotion of homosexual lifestyles as 'normal' by government funded organisations such as Schools, Libraries and .. wait.. the BBC
@SamuelBlack84
24 күн бұрын
There's no such thing as normal
@trevormillar1576
23 күн бұрын
The Happiness Patrol was a pretty accurate portrayal of Thatcher's Britain. But the most political series of all was The Green Death.
@KismetMulhaneski-to3wg
23 күн бұрын
Happiness Patrol is basically what DW would've been like if it had been relocated to BBC2 in a 9pm slot and aimed at Graphic Novel fans rather than a (now somewhat less than) family audience. Though it's not a post 'watershed' show or regularly Studiobound, the possibilities could have been endless script wise and it could have given the show a chance to expand it's ideas further over a 5-6 year span without the worry of scheduling/promotion/BBC1s death wish attitude to McCoy's Ratings. It's also a tragic pointer to how good Paradise Towers or Dragonfire could have been if they just got their s*** together around a decent idea. Alot of people at the time complained about the DELIBERATELY artificial scenery but even (especially?) now - even without the souped up version on disc - it actually enhances the story really well.
@michaelwebster8666
28 күн бұрын
I'll let others debate the politics of this story, I can tell you when I saw this on broadcast in 1988 I wasn't sure what to think of it. It's definitely matured well and I have a much greater appreciation for it now. It's a pity they hadn't gone ahead and filmed it in black & white, which was considered by Chris Clough, but the higher up's above JNT would not have allowed it. Be interesting to see the new version on the upcoming collection boxset. Thanks for your analysis 👍
@The-Cosmic-Hobo
24 күн бұрын
Are they doing it in B&W? I made one scene in b&w, but with the Kandyman in colour (on my channel)... was a fun exercise in using mattes in Final Cut when I was a student.
@nehukybis
22 күн бұрын
I liked the Sylvester McCoy era because it was exactly like the science fiction RPGs my friends and I were playing at that time. We were inspired by campy science fiction stories of the seventies and eighties. Stuff like The Stainless Steel Rat, Larry Niven or Somtow Sucharitkul's Mallworld. It was more about creating a sandbox to explore than deciding the fate of the galaxy. The fact the stakes are low, and the villains aren't that frightening is part of the charm. The doctor isn't a god, he's just a cool friend you're on vacation with. Pointless cruelty saddened him and made him angry, and he would right things if he could, but he wasn't a power mad, self-righteous jerk about it.
@SplotchTheCatThing
26 күн бұрын
Even on the surface level what this story is saying is that to tell people to be happy, to order them to accept only what you've allowed them to be and to have, doesn't actually make that happen. And I have to admit I didn't understand the point of that until I watched it again with the comparison modern conservative politics, especially as it gets more and more extreme, where you see real people who seem to have convinced themselves that the happiest possible world for everyone is the one where they get to push down anyone who doesn't look and act like them. It's a story that's still remarkably relevant because it's a reminder that that type of power has to be resisted, not just for one's own sake but for the sake of everyone who's being forced to keep smiling against their will.
@SamuelBlack84
24 күн бұрын
It's a mentality that's been around for millenia If you're different from the accepted norm then society views you as a threat and does its cery best to stamp you out I've suffered through it myself so many times over the years "Be like us" "We're the right ones" "Be normal and your life will be better" And everyone wonders why I'm so misanthropic Happiness like normality is just completely dependent on the individual and forcing it onto everyone is never for altruistic reasons It's always about power and fear of what you don't understand
@walterengler5709
28 күн бұрын
excellent analysis and discussion. Well done.
@TheWatcherOnWho
28 күн бұрын
Thank you
@garrenosborne9623
26 күн бұрын
Great tv archaeology, like many sci plots & DR who in particular social comment abonds. Reminds me of an excellent Xbox game "We Happy Few" set in post alt WW2 1960s where Nazis won conqured britain but left it as vassel state & the psychodelic 60s still happend but as state mandated Huxley style & if you take em, you were a "downer" & a mob chases you through the ruins of britishness town scape alerting the thought police.
@KeithPrince-cp3me
22 күн бұрын
In b&w the Candyman is actually quite menacing and sinister.
@qwaH
21 күн бұрын
ah the Bertie Basset monster, I remember it well, not sure if thats a good or bad thing though
@sg-zd8eb
25 күн бұрын
Not unhappy about something are you?
@TheWatcherOnWho
24 күн бұрын
Only if you can keep it a secret. Otherwise I couldn't be happier 😀. Happiness will prevail.
@josephcooter5763
26 күн бұрын
I've seen Happiness Patrol and it's really nothing special. Yes I get the commentary on Dame Thatcher. But the story itself is bland. not only that but every time I see the candy man I can't help but with somebody would sing Who can make a sunrise and sprinkle it with rain.
@mgthestrange9098
28 күн бұрын
I can’t help but think that if the candyman had been designed differently, this story might be viewed more favourably. I think if they’d done him as a jolly fat man with a fixed grin and a shiny appearance like he was made of hard candy, he might’ve been a more effective baddie. Anything except Bertie bloody Bassett!
@TheWatcherOnWho
28 күн бұрын
Grasmere Curry envisioned the Kandyman a little differently and use his idea in the novelisation.
@mgthestrange9098
26 күн бұрын
I’ve not read that, what was his vision of the Candyman?
@TheWatcherOnWho
26 күн бұрын
@@mgthestrange9098 something a little more humanoid.
@Salfordian
24 күн бұрын
He is why I had to stop watching classic Dr Who just like Jodie was when I stopped watching 'new' Dr Who
@benholroyd5221
26 күн бұрын
4:27 I don't think interpretated is a word...
@therealpbristow
25 күн бұрын
Not yet. But if enough of us start using it as one, then.... [EVIL CACKLE] =}:o]
@JohnSmith-pw9lk
27 күн бұрын
Bertie Bassett looks nothing like The Candyman
@nicholasburns7970
27 күн бұрын
Paul Cornel l described is as bashing right wing fantasies. He was not wrong.
@TheWatcherOnWho
26 күн бұрын
Could certainly be viewed as that
@TheRetroEngine
27 күн бұрын
Woah cardboard boxes and cling film with tin foil and bog rolls.
@therealpbristow
25 күн бұрын
All essential items to survive the coming apocalypse. =:o}
@Dragonfly-0010
27 күн бұрын
I get what you're saying, but it's soooo slooooow.... especially the scenes without The Doctor in them. Really boring. sorry.
@TheWatcherOnWho
27 күн бұрын
Me or the story? lol
@Dragonfly-0010
27 күн бұрын
@@TheWatcherOnWho lol the story
@TheWatcherOnWho
27 күн бұрын
Yeah it has its slow parts.
@therealpbristow
25 күн бұрын
@@TheWatcherOnWho I like the slow parts. It's as much a mood piece as it is a satire.... and appropriately so, since the theme is rebellion against having one's mood dictated from on high, or even constrained by social convention. I used to record the audio of Doctor Who stories (back in the days before video tapes were cheap enough to start collecting them in large numbers), and this story was a favourite for bedtime listening after a tough week.
Пікірлер: 55