Who Review #150 - Paradise Towers

This is actually a fun story because of its social commentary; Paradise Towers is quite simply a look at all those dreadful inner city tower blocks and estates which were heralded as great places to live when they were built but have become a ghetto. There is a hint of "Lord of the Flies", because the inhabitants of Paradise Towers were sent to live there because of a war.

It is told in an innovative fashion, e.g. girl gangs with an odd vernacular ("Ice hot!" or "Build high for happiness"); bureaucratic and almost fascist caretakers - led by an OTT Richard Briers.

The story is surprisingly violent (knife wielding cannibal grannies, killer robots that feed humans to the Great Architect, a war where young adults have not returned) but that is lost because of the light, one could say whimsical, treatment of the production. As other reviewers have noted, the incidental music simply ruins much of the impact. Bonnie Langford's Mel really does grate in this one as does Briers at times.

Classic Mel
"aaaaargh...aaaargh...aaaargh"

******