The Space Pirates (TV story)

The Space Pirates was the sixth story of Season 6 of Doctor Who. It was the last story made under the reign of producer Peter Bryant.

Synopsis
The TARDIS materialises in Earth's future on a space beacon just before it is attacked by pirates. The travellers find themselves trapped in a sealed section of the beacon as it is blown apart and flown to where the pirates will plunder it of the precious mineral argonite. They then witness a conflict between the pirates and the Interstella Space Corps, led by General Hermack and Major Warne. The ISC are convinced that the pirates' mastermind is an innocent yet eccentric space mining pioneer named Milo Clancey, while their true leader is a man named Caven. Caven has a secret base on the planet Ta and is assisted by Madeleine Issigri, daughter of his ex-partner Dom, who - unknown to her - is now his captive.

When Madeleine discovers Caven's full treachery she helps to bring him to justice. The time travellers are given a lift back to the TARDIS by Clancey in his rickety old ship, the LIZ 79.

Plot
to be added

Cast

 * The Doctor - Patrick Troughton
 * Jamie McCrimmon - Frazer Hines
 * Zoe Heriot - Wendy Padbury
 * Dervish - Brian Peck
 * Caven - Dudley Foster
 * General Hermack - Jack May
 * Major Ian Warne - Donald Gee
 * Technician Penn - George Layton
 * Lt. Sorba - Nik Zaran
 * Space Guard - Anthony Donovan
 * Milo Clancey - Gordon Gostelow
 * Madeleine Issigri - Lisa Daniely
 * Pirate Guard - Steve Peters
 * Dom Issigri - Esmond Knight

Crew

 * Assistant Floor Manager - Liam Foster
 * Costumes - Nicholas Bullen
 * Designer - Ian Watson
 * Film Cameraman - Peter Hall
 * Film Editor - Martyn Day
 * Incidental Music - Dudley Simpson
 * Make-Up - Sylvia James, Sallie Evans
 * Producer - Peter Bryant
 * Production Assistant - Snowy Lidiard-White
 * Script Editor - Derrick Sherwin
 * Special Sounds - Brian Hodgson
 * Studio Lighting - Peter Winn
 * Studio Sound - David Hughes
 * Theme Arrangement - Delia Derbyshire
 * Title Music - Ron Grainer
 * Visual Effects - John Wood

Story Notes

 * Only episode two of this story survives in the BBC archives
 * Patrick Troughton, Frazer Hines and Wendy Padbury appear only in pre-filmed inserts in Episode Six as they all were away on location for The War Games. This thus became the only sixties episode apart from Mission to the Unknown to have none of the regulars present for a studio recording.

Ratings

 * Episode 1 - 5.8 million viewers
 * Episode 2 - 6.8 million viewers
 * Episode 3 - 6.4 million viewers
 * Episode 4 - 5.8 million viewers
 * Episode 5 - 5.5 million viewers
 * Episode 6 - 5.3 million viewers

Myths
to be added

Filming Locations

 * Lime Grove Studios, Studio D, Shepherd's Bush, Hammersmith and Fulham
 * BBC Television Centre, Studio 4, Shepherd's Bush, Hammersmith and Fulham
 * Ealing Studios, Stage 2, Ealing Green, Ealing

Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors

 * Zoe does not know how candles work. However, in The Mind Robber she recognised them without hesitation.
 * In the cliffhanger to episode three the screams of the Doctor and the others can be heard for ages: in the next episode they've only fallen a few feet.
 * There are noisy explosions in space, but no stars.

Continuity
to be added

DVD, Video and Other Releases

 * The surviving episode (episode 2) was released on the Troughton Years video.
 * It was also released on the Lost in Time DVD
 * This stories soundtrack has been released on audio CD.

Target Novelisations

 * Novelised as The Space Pirates in 1990 by Terrance Dicks.