On November 23rd 1963, on the heels of news coverage of President Kennedy's assassination, a most unusual program made its debut on the BBC. It started with a policeman walking his beat and ended with a mysterious old man plunging himself, his grand-daughter and her overly inquisitive teachers back in time. 47 years, 10 lead actors, 700+ episodes and thousands of non-television spin-offs later, Doctor Who remains one of the most unique shows on television.
Over those 47 years, Doctor Who has had dalliances with politics, usually emphasizing a strong humanist bent over partisan leanings. Toward the end of the show's original run in the late 1980s, though, the political aim became a bit clearer with Britain's then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher as the target. This was most apparent in the 1988 story The Happiness Patrol, where acclaimed actress Sheila Hancock played a superficially benevolent, slogan-spouting despot who even apolitical fans could guess represented Mrs. Thatcher.
The Happiness Patrol is by no means one of Doctor Who's best moments, but even after two decades it remains among the most memorable. With a sometimes surreal production design and often witty script, it looks like nothing else on TV except perhaps the cult-classic The Prisoner as done on a shoestring budget. Occasionally, the story falls victims to Doctor Who's cliches (e.g. running up and down corridors), but there are moments that leave you transfixed.
Chief among them is when the Doctor confronts a pair of soldiers preparing to shoot a group of protesters. Armed with nothing more than his convictions, the Doctor faces them down, forcing them to see the implications of what they're preparing to do and making them realize they're better than that. Equal parts life-affirming and unsettling, it's a moment that encapsulated much of the appeal of Doctor Who. And if by chance that doesn't sound appealing, try another episode because it'll be wonderfully different, just like the Doctor.
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