Paradise Towers

Dear Gary—

It’s weird watching Paradise Towers out of season. Here Halloween is just around the corner when it should be Christmas as I pop this in for my annual viewing.

I have to explain. The first time I ever saw Paradise Towers PBS was in the middle of a pledge drive marathon of Who. Cindy and I were up late one night drinking wine and baking Christmas cookies. We had just finished our last batch and tuned in for my very first Sylvester McCoy serial. From the first bizarre “Caretaker number three four five stroke twelve subsection three reporting” moments we were hooked.

Next the ‘Hooey’ ladies show up. Even now Cindy and I will break out with ‘Hooey; hooooooey’ when we want to get one another’s attention. (It is more accurately Cooey, but we hear it as Hooey.) And then Pex smashes through the door with “Are these old ladies annoying you?” to be followed up with “Are you annoying these old ladies?” We were smitten.

Maybe it was the sugar and wine high, not to mention some probable sleep deprivation, but the colorful Kangs with their inventive speech and the obtrusive musical score added a Christmas time layer of enjoyment to our Paradise Towers experience.

For me, though, the best part of Paradise Towers is the Deputy Chief Caretaker. As portrayed by Clive Merrison, the Deputy Chief Caretaker is probably my all time favorite character in the entirety of Doctor Who. (“Rules should always make sense.”)

To this day Paradise Towers brings a smile to my face whenever I think of it.

I can’t objectively talk about Paradise Towers. It is too bound up with memories and shared experiences and traditions for that. I have an affection for Paradise Towers that rises above critical thinking.

I wonder if you would remember, Gary. Paradise Towers was the subject of the one time we ever discussed Doctor Who. It was at Susie’s wedding. You came in late. You walked in the restaurant door and smack into the buffet line next to us. (This was the same wedding in which we tried to explain to people using Hershey’s Kisses and Hershey’s Bells the interrelations between the Spencers and the Knuths—why people can understand the concept of two brothers marrying two sisters, but when you tell them, "My mother's brother married my father's sister" they respond with, "That's incest, isn't it?" is beyond me.) At any rate, it was at that wedding that I revealed Paradise Towers as my annual Christmas viewing and you pondered this rather quizzically. That is one of those moments that slipped away and I wish I could have back. Now, when it is too late, I can only carry on this one-sided conversation about the show that we both know and love.

Ok. I’ll take a stab at analyzing.

What could be a biting commentary on societal breakdown comes off as a version of low comedy. But the elements remain. The bureaucracy, the overzealous adherence to rules (“rules should always make sense”), the gang rivalry (“Red Kangs are best”), the breakdown into groups and suspicion of anyone outside of one’s own, the taunting and name calling, the graffiti, the cannibalism. All of the nitty gritty. But served over-the-top. Personified by the Chief Caretaker/Great Architect.

For a meaningful rendition of the Nazi-like social realities done with the darkest of comedic touches, watch Charlie Chaplin’s The Great Dictator. Paradise Towers is not The Great Dictator. Doctor Who is not Charlie Chaplin.

“Large as life, twice as nasty.” That’s Paradise Towers.

“No, no, no, Sunbeam. You’re coming with us.” And Clive Merrison’s Deputy Chief Caretaker steals the show.

Guess I’m not doing too well on being objective. Paradise Towers will always have a soft spot in my heart and there’s nothing I can do about it.

Mel’s quest for the great pool in the sky; wallscrawlers; Pex, ready to “put the world of Paradise Towers to rights;” mysterious basements forbidden “on pain of death;” the Great Architect Kroagnon (“all hail the Great Architect”); “ice hot” Fizzade; the unalive (“hail the unalive”); the three two seven appendix three subsection nine death; the robotic cleaners and murderous waste disposal units; raids on Kang brain quarters; the Fountain of Happiness Square; the illustrated prospectus:

“Nothing’s just rubbish if you have an enquiring mind.”

An enquiring mind is what the Doctor has, and it is alert and active throughout Paradise Towers. A detecting Doctor is always my favorite. And a Doctor who works towards the betterment of others. The Seventh Doctor is a positive force in the universe, something that has been suspect for at least one generation.

All of the factions at odds in Paradise Towers; the Doctor brings them together. “We work with Rezzies, no to do,” Fire Escape says. “We work with Pex, no to do. But the Caretakers?” “Never ever!” the chorus of Kangs shout, but the Doctor soon has them all acting as one. He has that knack, this Doctor number seven. He gets on with most everyone, even when being accosted or detained. He wins the Kangs over with his charm; he outwits the Caretakers (“rules should always make sense”) and impresses them with his intelligence. He is a kinder, gentler incarnation, but one who still manages to get the job done.

Maybe it is over the top. Maybe it would have benefitted from a darker interpretation. Maybe it is not the stuff of legends. But the Kangs, the Hooey Ladies, Pex (someday I’m going to get a T-shirt with ‘Pex Lives’ on it), and above all the Deputy Chief Caretaker combine to make this one of the most memorable and enjoyable Doctor Who serials in my experience.

“Rules should always make sense.” Paradise Towers makes sense to me. It speaks to me. The sounds, the rhythms, the cadence are like music to my soul. Snatches of dialogue flit through my mind at the oddest of moments. Stolen lines come in handy when I’m at a loss for words. Who knows why certain movies or shows touch the heart.

Paradise Towers touches my heart.

Build high for happiness Gary . . .