It should be made clear at this point that Ace, as broadcast, is actually two almost completely unrelated people. One of them is actually fantastic, smiling coyly and enjoying being mysterious, confronting troubling issues of her past and taking on Victorian social norms with a fabulous display of cross dressing. That Ace is a fascinating character and very ably played by Sophie Aldred (when she's allowed to do so). Unfortunately, there's also the other Ace. This Ace is written as infantile, has at least thirty fewer IQ points and her dialogue consists almost entirely of things that middle aged male writers think "the kids are into". She's the walking embodiment of the "just throw a bunch of marketing points together and call it a character". This Ace is basically Poochie from The Simpsons. No better, no worse. What makes it incredibly frustrating is that on first viewing you have no idea which Ace is going to show up. One week you have Battlefield Ace, gibbering on going "Boom!" like she's a 10 year old, and then the following story you have her completely owning Ghost Light. The whiplash is incredible. One of the few flaws of The Happiness Patrol is that Poochie Ace insists on being in it, and that's simply unforgivable.
Mikey is, in no particular order, a freelance writer, improvisational comedian, volunteer firefighter, playwright, Bon Vivant, and Jane Espenson enthusiast.
Born in the small mining town of Eden Prairie, MN, he has some 40 years later successfully moved about 20 miles north of there to the City of Brooklyn Center, MN where he lives with an unreasonable number of dogs.
If you'd like to hear him discuss something other than Doctor Who while pretending to be a dog, check out www.the42ndvizsla.blogspot.com or follow him on twitter at @the42ndVizlsa
