Doctor Who v. Maggie

Newsnight recently had a little piece on Doctor Who in the 1980’s* – and its apparent anti-Thatcher bias. The particular story they reference in The Happiness Patrol - a curious and garish story that see the Doctor fighting a Bertie Bassett wannabe and overthrowing a regime where failing to be happy results in summary execution. As Doctor Who stories go, it is ferociously average, and to some extent a cross between Funhouse and a dayglo nightmare.

Is it anti-Thatcher? Well, Helen A could be construed as a poor representation of Thatcher – although the main link between the two appears to be their gender and their position as a leader. If The Happiness Patrol truly impacts on politics then it seems to be more of a comment on the sort of disappearances that occurred in South America in the 1980s. But at heart this story is a studio-based run-around with pink guns and malfunctioning go-karts. The biggest surprise about it is the fact that it has become a minor news story decades after its first broadcast.

And the notion that the makers of the programme might support Labour over the Tories is not surprising either – it remains true to this day. That isn’t necessarily because the show lends itself towards the left, but rather a reflection on the simplistic binary dualism that makes up modern politics in this country. For what it is worth, I think that the Doctor - if real - would be equally hostile to both the Tories and Labour. But speculating over what a fictional character might do is pretty pointless anyway.

Nothing much more to say on this one, other than to urge anyone wanting to check out the Sylvester McCoy era to choose a better adventure that this one. Ghost Light or The Curse of Fenric would be far better choices. And much easier to get hold of as well, because they are on DVD while The Happiness Patrol can only (for now) be found on second-hand VHS.

*From about 36.08. For as long as it stays on BBC i-player.