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Doctor Who Target Books (Numerical Order) #146
Doctor Who: The Happiness Patrol
Helen A, ruler of colony Terra Alpha, is determined that happiness will prevail. And if any killjoys insist on being miserable, the fun guns of the Happiness Patrol will remove them; or they will vanish into the Kandy Kitchen, where the Kandy Man will deal with them. When the Doctor and Ace spend a night on the dark streets of Terra Alpha they have to keep a smile on their faces - or else! - while making contact with the native Pipe People and trying to convince the colonists that they can have too much of a good thing - even sweets and happiness.
144 pages, Paperback
First published May 15, 1990
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
July 25, 2011
One of the great things about novelizations is that they can give an alternate experience to the screen version. The 1990 novelization of the 1988 Doctor Who TV story The Happiness Patrol is a prime example of this. Graeme Curry takes his seventy odd minute TV story and expands it here with plenty of new details and some different characterization. The result makes this an enjoyable, and possibly even better, version of the story.
Gone are some of the performances that hampered the original TV version so much. On the character side Helen A comes across much more as she was intended as a sort of Margret Thatcher parody then the over the top version that actress Shelia Hancock gave us in the TV version which means, effectively, that the character works much better here rather then there. There's also an alternate version of the Kandy Man as well which means bye-bye to the literal Kandy Man of the TV version and hello to an actual person (whether this is for better or worse I'll leave up to you the reader). There's also plenty of new details to be found about supporting characters as well including Gilbert M, Joseph C and his relationship with the Kandy Man, the unnamed man executed in the first episode of the TV version (who is given a name plus a nicely fleshed out back-story) plus some background details on Helen A's pet Fifi (and its place as the last of its kind on Terra Alpha) and even the Pipe People. The result are characters who are much more fleshed out then their TV counterparts.
Then there's the fact that some of the rather cheap looking sets and props are gone as well. Here we get a version where the streets and alleyways of Terra Alpha actually exude a sense of both menace and tension where danger potentially lurks behind every corner. The rather silly looking fun guns become machine guns that makes the Happiness Patrol a real force to be reckoned with. The result is that the story works much better and much more believably as well.
Which brings us to the story itself. With the faults of the TV version removed we can see just how good a political satire lies at the heart of the story. It is a story about fascism, plain and simple, and how a government can force its will on a people by giving the wrong people power. That is until the Doctor and Ace give average people the courage to rise up against oppression anyway. The thing is, of course, that the Doctor never has to raise his fist or a gun to do so as shown in the best scene of both the TV and novelization versions of the story: the scene with the Doctor disarming the rooftop snipers. The novelization proves that, if not for cheap sets and questionable performances, fans might regard this story a bit higher then they currently do.
While the TV version of the story had faults to be sure but the novelization removes virtually all of them. From improved characterizations and expanded backgrounds to a setting that exudes menace and tension, the novelization shows just how much better the TV version could have been. For it is not about the sets or props but about the story and dialogue which get a chance to shine here. The result is a good story made even better.
Gone are some of the performances that hampered the original TV version so much. On the character side Helen A comes across much more as she was intended as a sort of Margret Thatcher parody then the over the top version that actress Shelia Hancock gave us in the TV version which means, effectively, that the character works much better here rather then there. There's also an alternate version of the Kandy Man as well which means bye-bye to the literal Kandy Man of the TV version and hello to an actual person (whether this is for better or worse I'll leave up to you the reader). There's also plenty of new details to be found about supporting characters as well including Gilbert M, Joseph C and his relationship with the Kandy Man, the unnamed man executed in the first episode of the TV version (who is given a name plus a nicely fleshed out back-story) plus some background details on Helen A's pet Fifi (and its place as the last of its kind on Terra Alpha) and even the Pipe People. The result are characters who are much more fleshed out then their TV counterparts.
Then there's the fact that some of the rather cheap looking sets and props are gone as well. Here we get a version where the streets and alleyways of Terra Alpha actually exude a sense of both menace and tension where danger potentially lurks behind every corner. The rather silly looking fun guns become machine guns that makes the Happiness Patrol a real force to be reckoned with. The result is that the story works much better and much more believably as well.
Which brings us to the story itself. With the faults of the TV version removed we can see just how good a political satire lies at the heart of the story. It is a story about fascism, plain and simple, and how a government can force its will on a people by giving the wrong people power. That is until the Doctor and Ace give average people the courage to rise up against oppression anyway. The thing is, of course, that the Doctor never has to raise his fist or a gun to do so as shown in the best scene of both the TV and novelization versions of the story: the scene with the Doctor disarming the rooftop snipers. The novelization proves that, if not for cheap sets and questionable performances, fans might regard this story a bit higher then they currently do.
While the TV version of the story had faults to be sure but the novelization removes virtually all of them. From improved characterizations and expanded backgrounds to a setting that exudes menace and tension, the novelization shows just how much better the TV version could have been. For it is not about the sets or props but about the story and dialogue which get a chance to shine here. The result is a good story made even better.
April 25, 2018
Everything I love about Doctor Who in one little novel.
March 9, 2021
This would get 2 1/2 stars from me if Goodreads allowed half stars. The Happiness Patrol is a bit of a misfire. I think the writer, Graeme Curry, never quite decided what he wanted it to be. Was it to be a satire of Thatcherite politics? There's a bit of that. Is it to be a gloomy dystopia? There's a bit of that. Is it to be a version of The Avengers in outer space? There's a bit of that. The mix just does not blend well. I got the feeling when watching the original on TV that much of the script was cut to make it a three-part story. Curry's novelization of his script reinforces that suspicion, with several additional scenes that make sense of how characters get from here to there. Also, I understand that the TV version of the Kandy Man was not fully in keeping with Curry's vision of the character, which he keeps in this novel and is far better than the one that ended up on the TV. Still, the major flaws of the story remain intact in this novelization.
January 31, 2014
I really didn't take to this initially despite Rula Lenska's fruity reading voice - her rendition of Sylvester McCoy's Doctor was most peculiar and it took me half way through to get used to it (after that it seemed right!)
However, it was an interesting, chilling story in which the Tardis gets painted a more 'cheerful' colour. Ace and the Doctor find themselves on a planet in the grip of a dictatorship enforcing 'happiness' - 'Happiness Will Prevail' sounds very much like 'Arbeit Macht Frei' Dissenters (or even those who fail to maintain a happy demeanour at all times) are called Killjoys and are to be exterminated by means of 'fun guns' or drenched to the point of suffocation in fondant (manufactured by a sugar-based creature called the Kandyman) Everyone is known by their name and a letter which in some way indicates their social status and this is used throughout, thus Priscilla P and Daisy K and it is surprisingly creepy. Needless to say, a policy of getting rid of anyone who experiences negative emotions is cutting swathes through the planet's population.
Needless to say the Doctor and Ace are having none of this and team up with the various forms of resistance in the form of Earl, the bluesy harmonica player counteracting the ubiquitous muzak, and the original inhabitants of the planet who once grazed in the fields of sugar beet but now dwell in pipes scavenging the refined stuff. There's another original inhabitant - a vicious spiny predator, now the last of her kind who has unaccountably bonded with the dictator Helen A despite being named Fifi and the end of the story brought tears to my eyes.
However, it was an interesting, chilling story in which the Tardis gets painted a more 'cheerful' colour. Ace and the Doctor find themselves on a planet in the grip of a dictatorship enforcing 'happiness' - 'Happiness Will Prevail' sounds very much like 'Arbeit Macht Frei' Dissenters (or even those who fail to maintain a happy demeanour at all times) are called Killjoys and are to be exterminated by means of 'fun guns' or drenched to the point of suffocation in fondant (manufactured by a sugar-based creature called the Kandyman) Everyone is known by their name and a letter which in some way indicates their social status and this is used throughout, thus Priscilla P and Daisy K and it is surprisingly creepy. Needless to say, a policy of getting rid of anyone who experiences negative emotions is cutting swathes through the planet's population.
Needless to say the Doctor and Ace are having none of this and team up with the various forms of resistance in the form of Earl, the bluesy harmonica player counteracting the ubiquitous muzak, and the original inhabitants of the planet who once grazed in the fields of sugar beet but now dwell in pipes scavenging the refined stuff. There's another original inhabitant - a vicious spiny predator, now the last of her kind who has unaccountably bonded with the dictator Helen A despite being named Fifi and the end of the story brought tears to my eyes.
December 10, 2016
Another Seventh Doctor novelisation that doesn't really add much to the televised story, but then the Seventh Doctor is the only one with any novelisations that DO add anything to the stories as televised, so I shouldn't be too harsh. The transforming of the Kandy Man from massive Bertie Bassett rip-off with Mr Blobby's voice to tall pale man with red eyes was interesting, and would certainly have contributed to a vastly different tone for the show had he reached the broadcast in this incarnation. The extra scene with the snipers the Doctor eventually talks down was nice as well. Actually, I think I might just watch this again, it's really good.
November 27, 2015
A perfectly acceptable straight adaptation of the story as shown on TV. Curry doesn't have the verve and flair of Ben Aaronovich, the familiar readability of uncle Terrance, or the mania for adding extras of a Saward; as such if you've watched The Happiness Patrol reading the novelisation is a bit of a letdown. It doesn't add anything, and you miss the amazing performance of Sheila Hancock and the sheer gobsmacking chutzpah of the on screen Kandyman.
A pleasant enough way of passing a couple of hours if you're already a Whovian, but for everyone else? I wouldn't bother.
A pleasant enough way of passing a couple of hours if you're already a Whovian, but for everyone else? I wouldn't bother.
October 25, 2016
On television, "The Happiness Patrol" is a mix of the sublime and the ridiculous, and without a doubt one of the more controversial productions of the late 1980s. But freed from the limits of the TV studio and the director's choices, author Graeme Curry produces a novelization that is far more subdued, melancholy and contemplative than its outrageous TV counter-part. If you're only aware of what was broadcast in 1988, and are coming to this book for the first time, then you are in for a very pleasant surprise.
May 19, 2022
Politics in Doctor Who have never been subtle. It’s not the show to attempt subtlety in its politics and that is honestly for the best. Andrew Cartmel’s mission statement was wanting to overthrow the government which at the time was the revival of staunch conservatism with Margaret Thatcher. The Happiness Patrol is a direct opposition to that, based on the 1988 serial whose large criticism has been directed towards the Kandyman (a cyborg made of candy), and the dictator Helen A (a clear Thatcher stand in). This was Graeme Curry’s only Doctor Who serial and another example of late classic serials novelized by their original authors. His prose is interesting as despite being in an era where novelizations had a tendency to expand material, The Happiness Patrol stays true to its televised version with some key exceptions. First and foremost the prose comes across as more melancholic than the television serial ever could by the basis of being prose (though Chris Clough’s direction is indeed melancholic), everything is drab and the city at Terra Alpha is caked in neon and muzak. This is something which the television serial attempted but couldn’t without causing issues for the main scoring as there was the need to hear the dialogue.
The Kandyman himself is altered from the television serial, going back to the original design by Curry of being closer to a human caked in sugar with licorice glasses. There is a scene where he slices his finger off and reattaches it early in the novelization which isn’t in the television serial and Curry writes it with this almost sexual arousal from the Kandyman. The relationship between the Kandyman and Gilbert M (and later Gilbert M and Joseph C) don’t get expansion but there is this added subtext that was sort of there on television, but has often been claimed even by Curry himself to not be intentional. Helen A is given more depth with explanations about the three Terra planets and what exactly Trevor Sigma is doing on the planet to begin with. There are tensions and Helen A has enemies all around her due to the insane way she runs the planet, the Happiness Patrol is much less of a success in this version of events which helps a lot when expanding on Daisy K, the member who helps Ace.
Overall, The Happiness Patrol is one of those novelizations that only manages to improve an already great story in some very small ways, but those small ways go a long way to make it an even more interesting story. Graeme Curry could have had a career as a novelist as his prose is engaging and the commentary on Thatcher’s Britain is still prescient to today’s rather Conservative world. It is all a musing about the need for other emotions as well as self-expression. 9/10.
The Kandyman himself is altered from the television serial, going back to the original design by Curry of being closer to a human caked in sugar with licorice glasses. There is a scene where he slices his finger off and reattaches it early in the novelization which isn’t in the television serial and Curry writes it with this almost sexual arousal from the Kandyman. The relationship between the Kandyman and Gilbert M (and later Gilbert M and Joseph C) don’t get expansion but there is this added subtext that was sort of there on television, but has often been claimed even by Curry himself to not be intentional. Helen A is given more depth with explanations about the three Terra planets and what exactly Trevor Sigma is doing on the planet to begin with. There are tensions and Helen A has enemies all around her due to the insane way she runs the planet, the Happiness Patrol is much less of a success in this version of events which helps a lot when expanding on Daisy K, the member who helps Ace.
Overall, The Happiness Patrol is one of those novelizations that only manages to improve an already great story in some very small ways, but those small ways go a long way to make it an even more interesting story. Graeme Curry could have had a career as a novelist as his prose is engaging and the commentary on Thatcher’s Britain is still prescient to today’s rather Conservative world. It is all a musing about the need for other emotions as well as self-expression. 9/10.
March 26, 2023
This was an excellent book. From start to finish I enjoyed this novel. The Happiness Patrol three parter is a good group of episodes. However it feels as though there are scenes missing and information being left out. The novelization helped to fill in these missing blanks. The novelization helped to bring the story full circle. There was not a lot of explaining that this one in particular needed. Therefore what was said was enough. The Happiness Patrol is a very creative idea and the novelization helps to bring that idea to another level. One of the best parts is the villain Helen A. Helen A fascinates me on many different levels. She is evil yes, however she only wants to do what she thinks is best. She just wants people to be happy while at the same time she can't find happiness herself. I think that this concept is very interesting. Her personality and ideals are explored in this book. This contributes to the novel greatly. The ending is one of the best parts too. Helen A has been defeated. However it is only when she sees the only creature that she ever loved die before that she finally breaks down and can no longer be happy. When I first watched this on television I was surprised at how deep this was. (Just more reasons why the 7th Doctor Era is the best) The scene in the book really helps to nail the message home too. We don't even get to know if Helen A is punished for what she has done. That's not necessary. What has been done is done. There is nothing more to do. Therefore this book was very good and any real Doctor Who fan with half a brain could realize that.
July 14, 2021
Somewhere between a 3 and a 4 for me I think, hard to pick, is an enjoyable read, if not particularly memorable, and the main antagonists are a bit one dimensional. On the flipside, some of the other one off characters are more well rounded, and certainly have various shades of grey that allow for some interesting interactions and scenes, and some surprising outcomes as well.
The Doctor is certainly less manipulative in this one, still somewhat cunning and secretive, but while proactively sought this place out, didn't know what was going on or have set things in motion previously, which I enjoy more than when stories are triggered by what he had done previously.
Ace in good form as usual, certainly quite willing to get in and out of trouble, and shows little fear, seems quite a change against the more recent companions, more like Leela or some of the earlier companions, than the later ones who can be more pacifist (which certainly isn't a bad thing, but is a contrast).
The story itself is an interesting set up, if hard to imagine how well it could actually be successfully set up like it was, the resolution seems like would have been inevitable really, just the Doctor and Ace helped it resolve much quicker than it would have otherwise. At times some of the outcomes / fates seemed a bit gratuitous, carrying forward some of that from the Sixth Doctor's run.
Overall though, an enjoyable read.
The Doctor is certainly less manipulative in this one, still somewhat cunning and secretive, but while proactively sought this place out, didn't know what was going on or have set things in motion previously, which I enjoy more than when stories are triggered by what he had done previously.
Ace in good form as usual, certainly quite willing to get in and out of trouble, and shows little fear, seems quite a change against the more recent companions, more like Leela or some of the earlier companions, than the later ones who can be more pacifist (which certainly isn't a bad thing, but is a contrast).
The story itself is an interesting set up, if hard to imagine how well it could actually be successfully set up like it was, the resolution seems like would have been inevitable really, just the Doctor and Ace helped it resolve much quicker than it would have otherwise. At times some of the outcomes / fates seemed a bit gratuitous, carrying forward some of that from the Sixth Doctor's run.
Overall though, an enjoyable read.
April 14, 2022
This will be short.
The Happiness Patrol is one of my favourite Doctor Who stories. It's the Doctor flexing his antifa muscles by bringing down Helen A's regime of false happiness and real terror in a single day. He arrives armed with suspicions, runs his eye of the land, sizes up his opponent and then destroys her without getting out of breath.
The novelisation sticks pretty straightforwardly to the script of the televised version of the story but there are a few additions. People get slightly more back story and the origins of the Kandy Man and his relationship with Gilbert M are fleshed out a bit. We learn more about Helen A and Fifi. All of which help make the novelisation a nice addition to the TV story.
It's briskly and clearly written, which isn't surprising. This is Target and this was a three part Doctor Who story with a straightforward plot.
I'm happy. And I'm glad you're happy.
The Happiness Patrol is one of my favourite Doctor Who stories. It's the Doctor flexing his antifa muscles by bringing down Helen A's regime of false happiness and real terror in a single day. He arrives armed with suspicions, runs his eye of the land, sizes up his opponent and then destroys her without getting out of breath.
The novelisation sticks pretty straightforwardly to the script of the televised version of the story but there are a few additions. People get slightly more back story and the origins of the Kandy Man and his relationship with Gilbert M are fleshed out a bit. We learn more about Helen A and Fifi. All of which help make the novelisation a nice addition to the TV story.
It's briskly and clearly written, which isn't surprising. This is Target and this was a three part Doctor Who story with a straightforward plot.
I'm happy. And I'm glad you're happy.
November 14, 2023
Doctor Who : The Happiness Patrol (1990) by Graeme Curry is the novelisation of the second serial of season twenty five of Doctor Who.
The Doctor and Ace arrive on Terra Alpha. Terra Alpha is ruled by Helen A who ensures everyone is happy, and if they are not, well, bad things happen. Her tyrannical rule is backed up by the fearsome Candyman.
It’s a weird serial with a villian vaguely based on Margaret Thatcher on a place with compulsory happiness where everyone is named like someone out of Kafka.
The Happiness Patrol is an interesting attempt to do something different but it doesn’t all come together very well.
The Doctor and Ace arrive on Terra Alpha. Terra Alpha is ruled by Helen A who ensures everyone is happy, and if they are not, well, bad things happen. Her tyrannical rule is backed up by the fearsome Candyman.
It’s a weird serial with a villian vaguely based on Margaret Thatcher on a place with compulsory happiness where everyone is named like someone out of Kafka.
The Happiness Patrol is an interesting attempt to do something different but it doesn’t all come together very well.
April 11, 2024
I have always found this episode to be A LOT. The premise is interesting, a society where you are only allowed to be happy or you "disappear" never to be heard from again. Unfortunately, the way it was written made the whole idea more cheesy than tension filled. The book based on the script was a bit better because you have more background about the various characters but it still wasn't super dynamic. Having said that, I still liked it because it is the 7th Doctor and Ace, and they are always a good team.
November 27, 2025
Upon enjoying the original 1988 episodes with the same title, The Happiness Patrol is a dark and gritty book with fantastic characters like Halen A and The Kandy Man.
Taking a deeper dive into the world and the politics of Terra Alpha, this was a great read with some intriguing scenes that made me sad to out the book down every time I did. My favourite Doctor Who book so far!
Plus it takes shots at Margret Thatcher (while she was still in power) so bonus points for that!
Taking a deeper dive into the world and the politics of Terra Alpha, this was a great read with some intriguing scenes that made me sad to out the book down every time I did. My favourite Doctor Who book so far!
Plus it takes shots at Margret Thatcher (while she was still in power) so bonus points for that!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 3, 2018
It is pretty good, however the author seems to have issues with women, which is a pity! Overall, it's really actually quite good.
September 18, 2021
The Doctor and Ace spend time on Terra Alpha, where you must be happy, OR ELSE
May 20, 2019
pdf; 142 pages
Not overly fond of this one, tbh - a dreary original and the novelisation managed to capture the claustrophia of the studio setting even while opening up the description to include references to the wider planet. Probably the saving grace is that it manages to not ascribe the Kandy Man with the overtly Bertie Bassett image that the manufacturers so disliked...
Not overly fond of this one, tbh - a dreary original and the novelisation managed to capture the claustrophia of the studio setting even while opening up the description to include references to the wider planet. Probably the saving grace is that it manages to not ascribe the Kandy Man with the overtly Bertie Bassett image that the manufacturers so disliked...
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April 8, 2009http://nhw.livejournal.com/1079514.html?#cutid1[return][return]I wasn't overwhelmed by the original TV story, but Curry has produced a novelisation which is passionate and convinced - the rather odd plot holes remain, but liberated from cheap-looking special effects, it turns into rather a good yarn. Definitely one of those where the book is an improvement. Also an easy pass for the Bechdel test, with Helen A and her women warriors running around after Ace.
December 14, 2009
Seventh Doctor and Ace. Not quite an improvement on the episode, but someone who has seen it is less apt to be disappointed by the novelisation than someone who has only read the novelisation may be by the show. Adheres quite closely to the show (some expansions, and it's a bit startling how different the description of the Kandy Man is), so there are some things the author neglected to describe and the setting seems just as curiously flat as in the studio-bound show.
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