tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post9072820829287712012..comments2024-03-14T05:07:57.110-07:00Comments on Doc Oho Reviews...: The Happiness Patrol written by Graeme Curry and directed by Chris CloughDoc Ohohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01819922630249965949noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-49132975374149515882021-05-08T20:13:26.719-07:002021-05-08T20:13:26.719-07:00Watching all in order. You are right in what you s...Watching all in order. You are right in what you say of course, but I still prefer this to all of s24 and also Vervoids. The dialogue is clever mostly, but yes there are moments of humiliation that cannot be ignored. McCoy is good on the whole and I like the cliffhanger to part 2. Love the end my life scene. The Kandyman is actually occasionally subtle with some funny lines and delivery, but Chris Bidmead must have had his head in his hands after slagging off Williams so vehemently. Great cast. Lesley Dunlop is beautiful and has great legs.Linx D Oderanthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06587578831858117637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-76378189931363008882018-03-13T17:50:42.163-07:002018-03-13T17:50:42.163-07:00Thanks, and apologies for the severe lateness of t...Thanks, and apologies for the severe lateness of the reply. I love all of your reviews. Even the ones i disagree with give me a new perspective. You and Big Finish are equally responsible for my higher opinion of Peter Davison's Doctor.David Pirtlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00636601389899125100noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-54826721704860565522017-06-23T11:40:24.022-07:002017-06-23T11:40:24.022-07:00It's been interesting that according to Chris ...It's been interesting that according to Chris Chlough on the dvd extra that he originally planned intended to film this in black and white as a film noir but was prevented by the B.B.C. Having applied a sepia tone effect on this when watching it the other day the sets do seem to make sense in that context. They look a lot more metropolis and maybe this was the original context in which they were designed which was lost in colour.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-82058001500659125662017-05-05T09:43:57.387-07:002017-05-05T09:43:57.387-07:00Anthony, just to say I truly appreciate and have e...Anthony, just to say I truly appreciate and have enjoyed reading your comments. Thank you for taking the time to do so. Your love for the show shines through in the comments. Doc Ohohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01819922630249965949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-38488932019723999232017-05-02T09:02:45.824-07:002017-05-02T09:02:45.824-07:00I think, given that I rated this 4/5, that I liked...I think, given that I rated this 4/5, that I liked it twice as much as you did. Yes, it looks shoddy, but its relentless weirdness appeals to me.David Pirtlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00636601389899125100noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-63127203250759707872015-02-10T00:42:35.351-08:002015-02-10T00:42:35.351-08:00You know, there was a moment in New Who in 'Th...You know, there was a moment in New Who in 'The Idiot's Lantern' where the Doctor is being questioned by the police until he manages to turn the tables and starts interrogating them instead, echoing their exact opening words back to them (I don't remember the exact phrasing but I think it was something like "Tell me everything you know, from the beginning"). I'm almost POSITIVE that was a direct callback to McCoy's meeting with Trevor Sigma in this story, where he does the EXACT same thing to the poor, befuddled census-taker, spinning him around until he's treating the Doctor like an authority figure. It was one of the classic scenes from this serial.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-80108442649455815872014-09-08T14:02:41.010-07:002014-09-08T14:02:41.010-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.alihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18287658017103606748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-55938029511286520042014-01-16T01:33:43.457-08:002014-01-16T01:33:43.457-08:00Thanks :).
I agree, even in these days of soaps&...Thanks :). <br /><br />I agree, even in these days of soaps' "horror-shock", this concept would probably still be too much.<br /><br />Cheers<br /><br />TonyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-9060484228443358072014-01-15T23:10:48.319-08:002014-01-15T23:10:48.319-08:00Never mind about the spelling, what a great post f...Never mind about the spelling, what a great post full of fascinating points! I do think you are right...had this story been made in other eras of the show it would have been far less artificial and camp (except perhaps in the Williams era!). Mind you I don't think such an outlandish concept would have made it past the script stage of any other era too! Doc Ohohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01819922630249965949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-22376001354638768412014-01-15T01:52:48.698-08:002014-01-15T01:52:48.698-08:00I've just noticed my appalling spelling ... ap...I've just noticed my appalling spelling ... apologies. At least I didn't use text-speak :).<br /><br />TonyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-80207486870643612482014-01-15T01:47:44.018-08:002014-01-15T01:47:44.018-08:00I watched the first part of this way back when it ...I watched the first part of this way back when it was first shown. I'm afraid I didn't watch any more after seeing the Kandyman. I really liked Bertie Basset and his Liquorice Allsorts ... and this was just too much!<br /><br />Anyhoo, I can't really comment on the rest of it but I think in the right medium the story works very well. I am currently half way through the audiobook (read by Rula Lenska!) and you get a much better sense of the darkness and Orwellian environment. For example when Ace says "can’t you afford a real gun?’" and then you hear the "toy" gun shatter the nearest streetlamp. Also I think the haunting tones of the harmonica really work as it gives you the sense of total desolation (or desperation) of Terra Alpha.<br /><br />As for the Kandyman ... his portrayal in the book/audiobook is far better and creepier than his Bertie Bassett counterpart. The part where he accidentally chops of his thumb, sighs, reattaches it slowly and carefully before carrying on his work is a joy to hear and you can feel his menace. Your analogy of a decrepit child-catcher works brilliantly ... and I won't sleep tonight - thanks :).<br /><br />Maybe I just have a great imagination but I do think most of the earlier Doctor Who episodes work better as Audios. The stories are able to tell themselves without being lost in poor acting, bad sets and poorly adapted villans. Of course the downside to this particular audio is Rula Lenska's (bad) portrayal of the Doctor's accent - it truly grates on the nerves.<br /><br />Other than that I think it is a very good story, letdown by classic 80's Who!<br /><br />TonyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-70561436748096624352013-10-13T12:32:13.599-07:002013-10-13T12:32:13.599-07:00Don't worry, I don't think you're an i...Don't worry, I don't think you're an idiot :P But that's how I might have exclaimed it, except without the mentally handicapped bit...<br /><br />I get your point about the sets, they worked for me I guess. And to be fair I haven't rewatched those stories in a while...<br /><br />New Adventures!? Oh no, no no noooooo! I've read Lungbarrow and enjoyed it but from what I hear about the rest of them I'm staying the heck away from that crap! The sooner they retcon that horrible "New Ace" idea to the realm of poorly written fan-fiction, the better! As I'll discuss in my upcoming response to your "Thin Ice" review since I finally listened to it...Christopher "Peaky" Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00623932380413168376noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-41353446510334140512013-10-13T11:47:52.829-07:002013-10-13T11:47:52.829-07:001) I got that the buzz joke was supposed to be a b...1) I got that the buzz joke was supposed to be a bad pun - I'm not that much of an idiot - it's still a *terrible* piece of dialogue<br /><br />2) I like dinosaurs too, but I don't go around exclaiming about it like a retarded four year old. <br /><br />3) It wasn't the German expressionism that I objected to, it was how that was translated on screen in a pretty shoddy bunch of sets that were clearly a gaudily dressed up BBC studio. Season twenty two rarely looked as bad as this. <br /><br />4) I noted the undercurrents, but you shouldn't have dig so deep and die of embarrassment when doing so. There's things looking silly and childish...and then there's The Happiness Patrol. <br /><br />5) I think Bannermen and Armageddon are great in concept and scripting...<br /><br />I have the feeling you are a New Adventures fan as well... <br /><br />This didn't work for me on so many levels. It is trying, but nowhere near hard enough it is so inconsistent in tone it makes you wonder if the writer, director and script editor ever met. Doc Ohohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01819922630249965949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386390949828958591.post-61938000471029465902013-10-13T11:32:31.649-07:002013-10-13T11:32:31.649-07:00First off: the “Buzz” joke was supposed to be bad…...First off: the “Buzz” joke was supposed to be bad…that was the whole point…<br /><br />So what if Ace likes dinosaurs? I like dinosaurs, and I also find myself able to appreciate the fine arts! Does that make me “inconsistently written”? I find my ability to switch from the mindset of a child to that of a young adult one of my most pleasing features, in fact, not to mention it’s something that the Doctor does on a regular basis! And to comment on one of your other reviews featuring Ace – if I saw an alien creature that I wasn’t in immediate danger from, I (think I) would be pretty amazed before I became frightened, if at all! And it’s not like the other companions weren’t also inconsistently written from episode to episode – Peri? Adric? Jo, especially? <br /><br />As for the production’s embrace of German Expressionism being a bad choice due to the show’s position – well, what about Season Twenty-Two and all of its excesses? How would you feel if those stories had compromised their excesses and aspirations just to appeal to the masses? I, frankly, like that this story embraces its weirdness – that it isn’t afraid to juxtapose the good drama and the moments of pantomime (the deliberate ones, anyways, not the bad acting or whatever). <br /><br />One of the things I find the most pleasing about the McCoy era is that it rewards deep viewing – because beyond all the tackiness and the inconsistent performances, there is a rich undercurrent of ideas and aspirations that are there for the viewers who care to look. It’s easy to see why some people would turn away from this, but then those are the sorts of people who shouldn’t be watching the show in the first place, those who look at a series about a guy traveling the universe in a police box and see all the bad special effects and bad acting and think it’s too “silly”. <br /><br />This is not to say that “The Happiness Patrol” couldn’t have been better, and I think that many of the flaws you point out are valid in terms of scripting and characterization. Then again, I seem to be a stickler for the stories that are great in concept and scripting but don’t come across as well on screen – “The Invasion of Time”, “Battlefield”, “Paradise Towers”, and “The Beast Below” are all more my cup of tea than stories like “Delta and the Bannermen”, “The Armageddon Factor”, and a good portion of the Russell T. Davies era, stories which are well made but which I ultimately find rather lacking in terms of substance or intellectual entertainment. Perhaps it’s just my late-adolescent tastes, but time will tell….<br /><br />And the moment when the Doctor quietly responds to Ace’s line in the Dreadful Dialogue section above, whispering “Don’t worry, Ace. We WILL.” No matter how bad its surroundings may be, that moment never fails to send a chill down my spine. That may be one of McCoy’s defining moments for me. <br /> <br />I’m aware that much of what I’ve written is pretty rambling but I hope you got something out of it ☺ And as a side-note, I finally listened to “Thin Ice” and look forward to posting my thoughts on that one… <br />Christopher "Peaky" Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00623932380413168376noreply@blogger.com