The Pirate Planet

"Are you sure this planet's meant to be here?"

Writer: Douglas Adams
Format: TV
Broadcast: 30th September - 21st October 1978
Season: 16.02

Featuring: Fourth Doctor, Romana I, K9

Synopsis

The Doctor and Romana arrive on the planet Zanak, looking for the second segment of the Key to Time. Although priceless gems are scattered on the streets, and the night sky changes with the dawn of each new prosperous age, the townsfolk live in fear.

For in a fortress overlooking the city, the terrifying Pirate Captain is in control of the most destructive force in the galaxy...

Verdict

The Pirate Planet was a great adventure and a decent continuation of the Key to Time season! It definitely more of a standalone story than The Ribos Operation and I actually forgot all about the quest until it was mentioned in part two in a way that seemed like Douglas Adams had forgot to include it! But he’s a fantastic writer so I’m sure that wasn’t the intention. I do think just a little line in part one would have been an improvement but there was no damage done, particularly as I was watching it as a stand-alone story for the first time. I mentioned in my recent blogging of The Stealers From Saiph that I wasn’t a big fan of Romana’s first incarnation and this adventure did nothing to change my mind. I’m not sure what my issue is and it seems a little harsh to say that it’s all done to Mary Tamm, but I just don’t enjoy her as a companion. I think a little bit of the issue might be just how much I adore Lalla Ward’s second incarnation of the Time Lady. I was a little surprised by how K9 featured sporadically and I thought that was an interesting use of a companion that is so useful and yet so restricted at the same time. It was really good and I loved how even when his batteries were failing, he could still outwit the Doctor and tell him where a power cable was to recharge him. The only highlight for me with Romana was the humour associated with her flying the TARDIS by the books. It was a brilliant contrast to have the Doctor surprisingly announce they were exactly where they aimed for, except they were on the wrong planet! The significance of that would of course come later on. I thought the madness of the Captain was terrific and I really liked him as the main villain for the first three parts. The cliffhanger to the end of part three is outstanding and certainly one of my very favourites of the Classic era. I often state the fire cliffhanger in The Reign of Terror as my favourite, certainly of the Classic era, but on second viewing the Doctor walking the plank to a 1,000 foot drop might beat it! Whilst on the Captain, I thought the directing for his introduction was interesting and I was half expecting his face to be revealed as the cliffhanger to part one, but alas he was revealed much sooner than expected and looked rather interesting to say the least. My memory of this television story was somewhat lacking as it had been seven-and-a-half years since my only viewing, but I read the James Goss novelisation last year so I remembered a lot of elements. I was quite surprised by how little the new Golden Ages of Prosperity played a part as I remember them being so common in the book. It still worked well here and was an intriguing contrast across formats. Xanxia served as a surprising villain at the start of part four after seeing her withered and dying form being kept alive by the time dams. Their use and how the planet was mining other planets for power to keep them going was very good and a nice plot development. It all worked rather tidily which is always good! However, I wasn’t overly impressed with the performance of Rosalind Lloyd as the actress as I felt she needed more aggression for a character like this Queen, especially considering the buildup. The Mentiads were pretty good but looked a little ridiculous in their match and I think it needed to be clearer early on that they were using telepathic power to avoid being wounded by gunshot. The conclusion was pacy which worked well and was in line with the rest of the story, but I thought the Captain’s reputation was severely damaged by the end of part four which was a shame. The overall sealing of the plot was good though and I still really liked the story. A very intriguing tale - and the planet itself was the segment of the Key to Time! Overall, a great little adventure. 

Rating: 8/10