The Ace Boxset: Dragonfire/ The Happiness Patrol - Out now, Bilge-bag!

[Si Hunt]

I don't say this to brag that I've seen a bit of the documentary, but I just wanted to warn everyone that in it, Sylvester McCoy is dressed like a mafia boss and Sophie Aldred's outfit is nothing short of INCREDIBLE. Seriously, you won't believe it.

Si.

[SiHart]

There's something to look forward to!

[Dave Tudor]

There's a picture of her in the new DWM - for some reason she seems to have taken to dressing like a gnome lately!

[Anthony Williams]

I'm really looking forward to this! Not that I'll get to see the stories for about two years, probably

[Rob McCow]

for some reason she seems to have taken to dressing like a gnome lately!

It's Carol-Anne Ford syndrome.

[Stuart Wallis]

Oh I passed through that stage years ago! I'm now of the age when I'm lucky if I remember to dress before going out...

[SiHart]

SFX have an exclusive feturette here: http://www.sfx.co.uk/2012/05/03/doct...ve-featurette/

[SiHart]

Nice review of the set here: http://tachyon-tv.co.uk/2012/05/happy-happy-joy-joy/

[SiHart]

Well this one's certainly taking its time in arriving

[stuartdg]

Mine arrived from play today but it will have to wait until I've finished Nightmare of Eden

[Richard Brinck-Johnsen]

I've heard that the copies from Asda have been held up. I got my copy from amazon today.
I've not got Nightmare of Eden yet but I have to say I enjoyed The Doctor's Strange Love feature on this one.

[Rob McCow]

We've cracked through the commentaries for both Dragonfire and The Happiness Patrol this evening! We very rarely watch six episodes of Doctor Who on the trot so this was a bit of a departure for us.

A sterling box-set effort overall though. The piece on politics in Doctor Who was incredibly long, but quite entertaining.

A few random thoughts:
Both stories were far better than I remembered from last time I watched them. They seem a lot more coherent. The jump in quality between season 24 and 25 is laid pretty clear though. With Happiness Patrol, everything is pulling in the same direction, whereas in Dragonfire there's a few odd choices that don't quite work out.

However, my main observation is that the last scene of Dragonfire is unforgivable. Yes, it's fun to have the little girl watch the TARDIS leave, but it absolutely 100% should have been Mel and Glitz instead. The last appearance of Bonnie Langford in the show is with her back turned, marching out of the console room. It's like she's evaporated. What had she got to do that was so important that she couldn't wave off the Doctor and Ace on their travels?

[Stuart Wallis]

Glitz is her idea of rough, I thought you knew!

[Rob McCow]

No way - I can't see it. Mel and Glitz? It's beyond belief that the Doctor didn't take her back to Pease Pottage!

[Si Hunt]

I love the way that Mel just turns and leaves. The idea of her keeping an eye on Glitz for his "dodgy deals" is hilarious, and someone should have commissioned the spin-off.

Edward Peel is superb in "Dragonfire" but it's all very confused. Why hasn't he tracked the creature down sooner, why is he building a statue when he's aware of holographic footage of Xana, and at what stage of his plans for revenge did he decide to turn his prison into a supermarket?

Also, a bit like "Delta", the death of thousands of people in the last episodes goes largely uncommented on which tonally feels a bit weird.

Si.

[SiHart]

Also, a bit like "Delta", the death of thousands of people in the last episodes goes largely uncommented on which tonally feels a bit weird.

It's incredibly jarring. Neither of them work because they feel nasty and unnecessary, and because the tones of the respective stories don't adjust with the events. Delta especially is guilty of that. In what seem to be lighthearted adventures it just doesn't work.

Dragonfire is the weaker of the two stories, because Kane's plan seems insane, considering the time scale. A smaller time scale would make more sense, but just how did he spend all those years?

[Si Hunt]

"Happiness Patrol" is a lovely story, marred perhaps only by some budgetry shortcomings and overambition. You can't really make a city that looks comically "fake" on Doctor Who's budget, as I believe was the intention, as it just looks like they ran out of money. The shiny studio floors posing as Terra Alpha's streets are a particular problem. There are moments of acting woe such as the Doctors singing and fake laughing and the "fondant supreme!" scene, and lots of people like Harold Innocent appear to just be wandering between scenes without much motivation. There's a scene where John Normington cowers before Helen A before telling her she can use "A substitute exection", later on he claims not to know where all the population have dissapeared to.

However, there is much to enjoy here. Sheila Hancocks every moment is a joy, and she really rocks the Thatcherisms. Leslie Dunlop's performance is mostly lost in editing, but she's great as well, and her speech about "Waking up and realising I couldn't go on" is stunningly adult. The Pipe People and the harmonica player are a bit superfluous and contribute to the overcrowded nature of the script - this could easily have expanded intoa four-parter and been given room to breathe - but the Happiness Patrol, particuarly Rachel Bell and Georgina Hale, are superb. Much of this story is cleverly told off-camera, such as the fall of the 112 sugar factories, and that works beautifully. Best of all is the scene where Helen A finally breaks down and cries, realising that she can't live without love. It's beautifully understated, there is no moralistic speech, the Doctor simply notes that his work is done. Lovely.

This is a great story, albeit one that needed a little more time and space to blosom.

Si.

[Stuart Wallis]

Georgina Hale! Saw her in Minder last week, knew she'd been in Who but couldn't think of her name or the story. Ta!

[Dave Tudor]

Best of all is the scene where Helen A finally breaks down and cries, realising that she can't live without love. It's beautifully understated, there is no moralistic speech, the Doctor simply notes that his work is done. Lovely.

I love that bit. I always thought it would have been a great place to end the story, although it would possibly have been one of the most downbeat endings ever - especially so soon after 'Remembrance'.

[Dino]

I got this set a few weeks ago but have just got around to watching it.
I was more curious about the extras than the story for this one, and I regret watching them all before I saw the stories, as they didn't actually inspire me to watch the episodes afterwards!
McCoy is even better than I remembered him when I first saw it. I'm able to see him go from friendly to cold with Glitz in the Cafe scene. Although there are still too many clown moments for him. It's interesting but he isn't that much of a manipulator in this one. OK, so he later claimed he knew about Fenric. But I'm glad to see him this time wondering around knowing something isn't right about the star charts.
Ace's dialogue is a bit out at times. But you can see a changing of the guard.
And yes, WTF is she wearing in the documentary?!!

I'll try and watch The Happiness Patrol soon. But the final verdict is typical of Season 24 criticisms. Some fantastic ideas (If you don't question the 300 years plot hole) let down by some phoned in performances (Not all the time, but although Belazs soars, Bazin is nowhere near buzzing) and maybe it all needed more time.
And I love the horror of the Mercenaries walking into the Cafe and shooting the owner. You don't see that in the show with all the modern special effects and foley artists!