#acieeeed

L (age 7) decided Mummy On The Orient Express looked too scary based on the Next Time trailer, so we sat down and watched the first couple of episodes of The Happiness Patrol instead. A story I haven't seen since I was 15, when I caught an episode and thought it was clunky and stupid.

So this is the first time I've seen it since reading About Time and TARDIS Eruditorum, both of which (from memory) basically said "It's a 2000AD story." And looking at it now.... um, it's a 2000AD story, isn't it? The basic plot of Nemesis The Warlock (mercurial alien brings down fascist regime) transposed to a Wagner/Grant Mega-City setting - the main element that's not 2000AD-ish is Ace, whose righteous fury (the spine of the story) would have been more at home in CRISIS - but that's quibbling.

Still, it forces me to wonder - the 15 year old me who took The Happiness Patrol as basically a reason to give up on Doctor Who was ALSO a massive 2000AD loyalist, keeping on buying it way after I'd thrown over comics for music in general. But I didn't remotely spot the similarities at the time. OK, I was dim. I suspect I was also inclined to undervalue and dismiss Who - nobody else I knew cared about it any more, and subconsciously I think I was looking for an exit strategy.

But I wonder too if the Happiness Patrol is an indication of how unfilmable the very black humour of 80s 2000AD was - lines and scenes that are played very broadly, pantomimically, on Doctor Who tend to be more deadpan on 2000AD, which rarely announced itself as satire, and where the bravura of the art and the zip of the storytelling makes everything pretend it's a dead serious action comic, even as the outrageousness of the dialogue and concepts go against that grain.

acieeeed replied to your post: stephanie came and visited me at work

I can’t handle these reactions

EXCUSE YOU. Love how you draw Jawn.

AW thank you rae. <3 I need to draw more Holmesy things, it's fun!

 acieeeed replied to your post: so i’m trying to download procaster so i can...

Yes yes. The best part of Sine Mora playthroughs is the commentary which generally runs like… “What language is this?! Must be made up.” Oh Magyar.