Gilbert M
Gilbert M was a human scientist from Vasilip who created the Kandy Man.
Biography
Early life
Gilbert lived on Vasilip and worked as the chief state scientist. He was in constant competition with Seivad, his only rival on the planet, until the two of them decided to work together in the name of scientific discovery. (PROSE: The Happiness Patrol [+]Loading...["The Happiness Patrol (novelisation)"])
After Gilbert accidentally created a germ which wiped out half of Vasilip, (TV: The Happiness Patrol [+]Loading...["The Happiness Patrol (TV story)"]) the king decreed that he and Seivad were to be killed on sight and they fled the capital city to hide in the mountains. However, a vigilante found the hideout whilst Gilbert was foraging food and brutalised Seivad, after which Gilbert worked all night to salvage his mind. (PROSE: The Happiness Patrol [+]Loading...["The Happiness Patrol (novelisation)"])
Life on Terra Alpha
Taking Seivad's mind with him in a suitcase, Gilbert took the next flight off of Vasilip and arrived on Terra Alpha where Helen A, upon learning of his true identity and threatening to exile him, forced him to put Seivad's mind into an android body. He built the Kandy Man in the Kandy Kitchen out of sweets, the only raw material he had access to, (PROSE: The Happiness Patrol [+]Loading...["The Happiness Patrol (novelisation)"]) and realised at the planning stage that the Kandy Man would have to constantly move his joints to prevent coagulation. He quickly worked out that water would unstick him if he got stuck, but he forgot this (TV: The Happiness Patrol [+]Loading...["The Happiness Patrol (TV story)"]) and lost the note he made to remind him. As part of his bargain with Helen A, he also built a shuttle using Vasilip technology.
The Kandy Man was driven mad with anger and injustice (PROSE: The Happiness Patrol [+]Loading...["The Happiness Patrol (novelisation)"]) and Gilbert was tasked with assisting him in his duties as Helen A's executioner and making sweets. Gilbert would later describe his relationship with the Kandy Man as symbiotic, but had little patience for him and would complain about his moods. (TV: The Happiness Patrol [+]Loading...["The Happiness Patrol (TV story)"]) He met and befriended Trevor Sigma when he visited Terra Alpha and, in the following months, the Kandy Man became increasingly difficult to handle.
Six months after Trevor Sigma's previous visit, (PROSE: The Happiness Patrol [+]Loading...["The Happiness Patrol (novelisation)"]) Gilbert M told Joseph C about making the Kandy Man. The two of them escaped in Helen A's spaceship before she could use it herself. (TV: The Happiness Patrol [+]Loading...["The Happiness Patrol (TV story)"])
Personality
Gilbert had an enthusiasm for facts rather than the flamboyance of Terra Alpha, something that Trevor Sigma liked about him. Although he did not care for paperwork, he enjoyed his friendship with Trevor and was happy to please him by engaging in conversations about such things. (PROSE: The Happiness Patrol [+]Loading...["The Happiness Patrol (novelisation)"])
Appearance
Gilbert had a "roly-poly" figure. (PROSE: The Happiness Patrol [+]Loading...["The Happiness Patrol (novelisation)"])
