Can we just take a moment to savor the title of this post? I went through a half dozen variations on the theme until I found one I really liked, and I am pretty dang proud of it.

*contented sigh*

Ok, let's talk Doctor Who.

The Happiness Patrol - Parts 1 & 2

(TARDIS Data Core recap)

By all rights I should hate this story. It's premise is ludicrous, and its characters are pure pantomime. The setting is an Earth colony in which the ruler Margaret Thatcher Helen A. has decreed that everybody should be happy at all times, under penalty of death. Anyone found guilty of being a Killjoy is executed in an elaborate confectionary-related manner devised by the Kandy Man, a robot constructed from circuits, gumdrops, fondant, and licorice. The titular Happiness Patrol are groups of pink-haired women who spread joy and good cheer at gunpoint. There is an officious census man wandering around, and an off-world visitor who is well versed in both blues harmonica and applied psychology. The sewers of the city are populated by humanoid rat-faced creatures. It's all just heightened and absurd... and absolutely delightful.

It's the same kind of off-kilter storytelling that made both Paradise Towers and Delta and the Bannermen such a joy to watch. I love that the writers have completely eschewed the traditional Monster of the Week horror format and gone full tilt crazy with the allegorical storytelling. When done badly this kind of storytelling can be completely excruciating (I'm looking at you, Kill the Moon), but when done deftly it is loads of fun.

Actress Sheila Hancock is pitch perfect in the role of dictator Margaret Thatcher Helen A., giving a performance that is retroactively reminiscent of Glenn Close in the live action version of 101 Dalmatians nine full years before that movie came out. She chews scenery left and right with no shame, making for a perfect villain.

As per usual, Sylvester McCoy deftly slides between the comedic and the dramatic. Also as per usual, Sophie Aldred's Ace is ready at a moment's notice with her Nitro 9 to blow shit up. This is exactly the kind of story that allows both of them to shine.

I have no idea what kind of bonkers ending this thing is driving towards, but I am surely going to bounce right out of bed in the morning to find out.

STATS:

Doctor(s): Seventh
Companion(s): Ace
Episode(s): The Happiness Patrol - Parts 1 & 2
Steps Walked: 7,447 today, 2,443,882 total
Distance Walked: 4.06 miles today, 1,266.59 miles total
Push-ups Completed: 18 today, 82 total
Weight: 248.78 lbs (five day moving average), net change -58.52 lbs