Doctor Who and the Pirates

STORY PLACEMENT

THIS STORY TAKES

PLACE BETWEEN THE

BIG FINISH AUDIO
DRAMAS "JUBILEE" AND

"REAL TIME."

PRODUCTION CODE

7C/H

WRITTEN BY

JACQUELINE RAYNER

DIRECTED BY

BARNABY EDWARDS

WORKING TITLES

THE PIRATES, DOCTOR

WHO IN AN EXCITING

ADVENTURE WITH THE

PIRATES

RECOMMENDED

PURCHASE

BIG FINISH CD#43

(ISBN 1-84435-024-X)

RELEASED IN APRIL

2003.

BLURB

All aboard, me

hearties, for a rip-

roaring tale of

adventure on the high

seas! There'll be rum

for all and sea

shanties galore as

we travel back in

time to join the

valiant crew of the

good ship Sea Eagle,

braving perils,

pirates and a

peripatetic old sea-

dog known only as

the Doctor!

| | | | | | | |

PREVIOUS NEXT

Doctor Who

and the Pirates

(OR 'The Lass That Lost a Sailor')

APRIL 2003

(4 EPISODES)

Well here is another story that really pushes the Doctor Who format to breaking point; no doubt past breaking point in the opinions of many. Although “Doctor Who and the Pirates” is a far cry from traditional Doctor Who, I have to admit that I really enjoyed it.

“Doctor Who and the Pirates” is a parody of every pirate story that you have ever heard, as well as every Gilbert and Sullivan musical and even Doctor Who itself to a certain extent. The cast is comprised of several fine actors, all obviously enjoying themselves ridiculously over-acting in wonderfully stereotyped roles like “The Foppish Captain, Emmanuel Swan!” and “The Ruthless Mr Merryweather!” Former Goodie Bill Oddie is the standout on the high seas as the vile Red Jasper, but overall the character that impressed me the most was Helen Goldwyn as the contemporary student, Sally.

In fact, nothing in the play (not even Colin Baker’s singing abilities) surprised me more than Sally. Throughout the play she is our anchor, being told this strange pirate story by her favourite lecturer and thinking out loud everything that we are. “Why are you telling me this?”; “this does not make sense”; “just what is the point of this ridiculous story?” etc and so it comes as a complete shock, especially considering the tone of the rest of the play, when Sally’s tragic secret is revealed. This makes for an extremely poignant ending, not just for Sally (who blames herself for her boyfriend’s recent death) but for Evelyn, who herself is dealing with the death of the cabin boy, Jem, at the hands of the pirates (something she blames herself for).

And so whilst, at a first glance, “Doctor Who and the Pirates” (or to use its more moving title “The Lass That Lost A Sailor”) seems like an out-and-out comic romp, it is not without its dr-amatic meat, Rayner’s subtly hidden story really getting you when your guard is down.

E.G. Wolverson has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

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