By Mike Stack

Obverse Books, out now

Obverse Books’ ongoing series of monographs focusing on a Doctor Who serial or story hits 1988’s Season 25 three-parter The Happiness Patrol.

Grab a bag of liquorice allsorts and settle down with Mike Stack’s (or should that be Mike S?) look at Graeme Curry’s sole story for Doctor Who. Nestling between Remembrance of the Daleks and Silver Nemesis, this studio-bound serial is possibly remembered by most as ‘The One With the Bertie Basset Monster’ and Stack acknowledges that most fans rate it on the sliding scale between pantomime camp and angry protest, though it continues to be remediated.

In addition to asking the question whether it’s any good, chapters are devoted to its politics, whether or not it supports the gay agenda, and just what constitutes happiness. Reference is made to Graeme Curry’s Target novelisation, and throughout the study Stack is dogged in offering a balanced presentation of the facts. It’s only at the very end that we discover why the serial has a specific meaning for him, but prior to that there’s no pushing of a particular agenda.

Verdict: A clear, balanced and no-nonsense review of one of Doctor Who’s less loved stories. 8/10

Nick Joy