About: The Space Pirates (TV story)   Sponge Permalink

An Entity of Type : dbkwik:resource/Z2bGbqWeSeHQoumg8p8Gog==, within Data Space : 134.155.108.49:8890 associated with source dataset(s)

Narratively notable for featuring the Doctor and his companions in a comparatively minor capacity for the times, Robert Holmes' second script for the programme was an attempt at creating a "science fiction western". Clear allusions were evident to western character types as were being seen at the time in Britain on American imports like Gunsmoke. Holmes provided archetypes like "the lawman", "the deputy", "the pioneer", "the miner" and "the female businesswoman", amongst others. Indeed, the character of Milo Clancey wasn't even an allusion to a western stereotype; he was a wildcat prospector who dressed as if he'd just walked off the set of Bonanza.

AttributesValues
rdf:type
rdfs:label
  • The Space Pirates (TV story)
rdfs:comment
  • Narratively notable for featuring the Doctor and his companions in a comparatively minor capacity for the times, Robert Holmes' second script for the programme was an attempt at creating a "science fiction western". Clear allusions were evident to western character types as were being seen at the time in Britain on American imports like Gunsmoke. Holmes provided archetypes like "the lawman", "the deputy", "the pioneer", "the miner" and "the female businesswoman", amongst others. Indeed, the character of Milo Clancey wasn't even an allusion to a western stereotype; he was a wildcat prospector who dressed as if he'd just walked off the set of Bonanza.
dcterms:subject
Epcount
  • 6(xsd:integer)
story number
  • 49(xsd:integer)
broadcast date
  • --03-08
dbkwik:tardis/prop...iPageUsesTemplate
doctor
  • Second Doctor
Enemy
Series
Producer
Name
  • The Space Pirates
Production code
Season Number
Format
  • 6(xsd:integer)
Companions
PREV
  • The Seeds of Death
NEXT
  • The War Games
Writer
Director
Network
novelisation
  • The Space Pirates
abstract
  • Narratively notable for featuring the Doctor and his companions in a comparatively minor capacity for the times, Robert Holmes' second script for the programme was an attempt at creating a "science fiction western". Clear allusions were evident to western character types as were being seen at the time in Britain on American imports like Gunsmoke. Holmes provided archetypes like "the lawman", "the deputy", "the pioneer", "the miner" and "the female businesswoman", amongst others. Indeed, the character of Milo Clancey wasn't even an allusion to a western stereotype; he was a wildcat prospector who dressed as if he'd just walked off the set of Bonanza. Behind the scenes, the show was more than just the penultimate Patrick Troughton story. It was notable for a number of different reasons. Episode 6 was effectively the series' first double banked episode. It was the first not to use any of the regular cast in studio recording since "Mission to the Unknown". While the story was being recorded, the regulars were actually on location with The War Games. Their portion of episode 6 was in fact pre-recorded and played back into the studio as required. (DWM 242) Moreover, episode 1 was the final episode filmed at Lime Grove Studios, a particularly difficult studio that had been the bane of the production team since An Unearthly Child. While a number of stories had been recorded at BBC Television Centre before Pirates, episode 2 was the beginning of the period where Doctor Who was more or less permanently assigned to Television Centre. More specifically, it was the first episode recorded at TC4, one of the premiere studios at Television Centre. Also, episode 2 was, unusually, a studio show recorded on 35mm film — which is why it's the only episode of the serial which survives. The BBC deemed it "historically significant" and retained it. (DWM 242) The visual effects were somewhat unique for Doctor Who. They realistically depicted space as starless at short range, perhaps informed by the then-daily glimpses of starless space in press coverage of the Apollo 11 launch. Famously, the story was the first one on which John Nathan-Turner was employed by the Doctor Who production office, albeit in the minor and uncredited role of floor assistant, even though he was just called John Turner.
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