Line #25 Recap/DoctorWhoS6E6TheSpacePirates


1	%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Add context to the entries before uncommenting them.
2	[[WMG:[[center:[-''[[Series/DoctorWho Doctor Who]]'' [[Recap/DoctorWho recap index]]\
3	'''Second Doctor Era'''\
4	'''Season 6:''' [[Recap/DoctorWhoS6E1TheDominators 1]] \| [[Recap/DoctorWhoS6E2TheMindRobber 2]] \| [[Recap/DoctorWhoS6E3TheInvasion 3]] \| [[Recap/DoctorWhoS6E4TheKrotons 4]] \| [[Recap/DoctorWhoS6E5TheSeedsOfDeath 5]] \| '''6''' \| [[Recap/DoctorWhoS6E7TheWarGames 7]]\
5	'''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS5E1TheTombOfTheCybermen <<< Season 5]]''' \| '''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS7E1SpearheadFromSpace Season 7 >>>]]''']]-]]]
6	!The Space Pirates
7	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sleep_cute_9514.jpg]]
8	[[caption-width-right:350:The TARDIS crew taking a nap in the midst of the action.]]
9	->Written by Creator/RobertHolmes\
10	Directed by Michael Hart\
11	'''Production code:''' YY\
12	'''Air dates:''' 8 March - 12 April 1969\
13	'''Number of episodes:''' 6
14
15	->''"You'll have tae eat more porridge."''
16	-->-- '''Jamie''' to Zoe, as she fails to open a door
17
18	JustForFun/TheOneWith a space hick.
19	----
20
21	The TARDIS lands on a space beacon just before it is attacked by the titular Space Pirates. They blow off a chunk of the beacon with the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe (but not the TARDIS) aboard, and tow it off to be salvaged.
22
23	There is a fight between the pirates and the Interstellar Space Corps, who believe the pirates' leader is an eccentric explorer called Milo Clancey, while in fact it is a man called Caven. Caven is assisted by Madeleine Issigri, daughter of Clancey's partner Dom, whom he has ambushed and keeps prisoner. When Madeleine discovers this, she shops Caven to the ISC and the exonerated Clancy gives them a lift back to the TARDIS.
24
25	With the exception of Episode 2, this entire story is missing from the BBC archives; notably, the sole reason Episode 2 survives is because it was recorded on 35mm film as opposed to the 2-inch quad videotape that was standard for BBC studio production at the time (35mm was typically reserved for [[VideoInsideFilmOutside location footage]] before smaller and cheaper 16mm equipment supplanted it in the late '60s, with ''Doctor Who'' having already made use of 16mm location shooting since [[Recap/DoctorWhoS5E6FuryFromTheDeep "Fury From the Deep"]]), motivating the network to protect the master negatives for the sake of historical preservation. A few other episodes earlier in the show's run were also shot on 35mm, but not all of them survive[[note]]the 35mm negatives for Episode 6 of [[Recap/DoctorWhoS4E3ThePowerOfTheDaleks "The Power of the Daleks"]] and Episode 5 of [[Recap/DoctorWhoS5E7TheWheelInSpace "The Wheel in Space"]] were junked by the BBC Film Library[[/note]]. Thankfully, these are the last missing episodes. Everything beyond this point exists, though not always in the originally recorded format. Also, this is the very first serial on which future producer Creator/JohnNathanTurner was involved in the production team, working as a floor assistant.
26
27	!Tropes
28	* ArtisticLicenseChemistry: The plot hinges around the theft of caches of argonite, a valuable mineral that is instrumental in spaceship construction. In the real world, though, argonite is a gas; a mix of argon and nitrogen.
29	* AsteroidMiners: Milo Clancy, and independent prospector, the Igrissi Mining Corporation, the big player.
30	* AsYouKnow: Early in the first episode, the SpaceNavy officer announces his theory that the pirates are after "Argonite," which wouldn't be quite so JustForFun/{{egregious}}, until he adds, "the most valuable mineral known to man."
31	* BigBad: Maurice Caven.
32	* ClearMyName: Unwittingly with Clancy, after Hermack pegs him as the pirate captain stealing the Argonite.
33	* DeadpanSnarker: The Doctor, when Jamie is revealed to still be alive.
34	--> '''Jamie:''' Anything's possible in the TARDIS, especially when he's at the controls.
35	--> '''The Doctor:''' [[UnwantedAssistance Jamie.]] [[FlatJoy You're better.]]
36	* EverybodyLaughsEnding: A potentially MoodWhiplash-inducing one, given that the Doctor was desperately defusing a bomb less than two minutes earlier.
37	--> '''Doctor:''' Well, [the TARDIS is] no problem. It's orbiting Lobos, Milo's home planet, in one of the beacon sections.\
38	'''Zoe:''' Oh, no problem, eh? Well, how are we going to get to it?\
39	'''Doctor:''' Milo's very kindly offered to give us a lift in [[TheAllegedCar the LIZ]]!\
40	'''Jamie:''' Oh, no. Not the LIZ again. Frankly, I'd rather walk.\
41	'''Doctor:''' Walk? You never know. You might have to.\
42	'''Everyone:''' ''[Uproarious laughter]''
43	* GenreRefugee: Milo Clancey is a Gold Rush {{prospector}} [[SpaceWestern in a hard sci-fi story]]. This was done mostly for TwilightOfTheOldWest symbolism.
44	* MacGuffin: The Argonite that everyone's after. It's stated early on the be "the most valuable mineral known to man", which is about the end of its meaningful role in the plot.
45	* NiceJobBreakingItHero: The Doctor's attempt to link segments up backfires spectacularly.
46	* OfficerAndAGentleman: General Hermack. Unfortunately, he also spends most of the story being a complete idiot.
47	* OneWomanWail: Used throughout the soundtrack to evoke the vastness of space.
48	* OutOfFocus: The Doctor and his companions have noticeably less screentime and involvement in the plot than usual. They don't show up until over ''fifteen minutes'' into the first episode, and the final episode has the curious distinction of being the only sixties episode (apart from "Mission to the Unknown") for which ''none'' of the regular cast were present for the studio recording, as they only appeared in pre-recorded inserts.
49	* PercussiveMaintenance: When the lighting on Clancey's ship plays up, he fixes it by hitting a control panel with a spanner.
50	* PinballProtagonist: The Doctor is barely in the first and last episodes. His only action that really affects the plot is increasing the power of the electromagnetism on the satellite segment, with most of the other victories being the payoffs of other cast members with ChronicBackstabbingDisorder, although he is the one that defuses Caven's bomb at the end, allowing the Space Corps to destroy his ship without fear of retaliation.
51	* PoorlyDisguisedPilot: There's no direct evidence, but many suspect the story was an existing (possibly abandoned) idea of Creator/RobertHolmes for an original IP, hastily adapted into a ''Doctor Who'' story. People who believe this theory note that the story was written in days to fill a hole when several other stories fell through, meaning Holmes would have been more likely to have gone through his spec script drawer rather than concoct a whole original story. The story on screen also has notable PinballProtagonist and OutOfFocus problems with regards to the Doctor's role, and an unusual level of detail into the worldbuilding and guest characters by the standards of the show at that time, which implies the Doctor's last-minute inclusion in a previously planned story. However, at least some of this was down to outside factors, notably the regulars' involvement in the last episode being limited by the actors being needed for extensive location shooting on [[Recap/DoctorWhoS6E7TheWarGames the next story]], and some have argued that this sort of world-building is characteristic of the then-novice Holmes' later work on the series.
52	* {{Prospector}}: Milo might live on another planet in the distant future, but he doesn't let that stop him from living this trope to the fullest.
53	* SciFiWritersHaveNoSenseOfScale: Averted. Creator/RobertHolmes goes to great pains to establish that travel through space takes a good deal of time.
54	* SeriesContinuityError: Zoe [[LostCommonKnowledge doesn't know what candles are]], though she recognised them in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS6E2TheMindRobber The Mind Robber]]".
55	* SleepCute: The Doctor, Jamie, and Zoe do a three-way version of this. [[HoYay Jamie and Two are getting particularly cosy with each other]][[invoked]]. They're not asleep, though, they're almost passing out from oxygen deprivation. It's still cute. (See the page image).
56	%%* SpaceIsAnOcean
57	%%* SpaceNavy: The Interstellar Space Corps
58	* SpacePirates: As the title suggests. The first of the two kinds described on the page: a spaceship that robs argonite shipments from other spaceships, without any of the traditional 18th century pirate cliches.
59	* SpaceWestern: If you think of the titular pirates as actually being a gang of outlaws, suddenly the fact one of the main characters is a grizzled old prospector makes a lot more sense. And if his plaid shirt and over-the-top facial hair didn't make it clear enough, the SpaceNavy officer and his XO have a conversation in the second episode that seals the deal, about similar "old-timers" who ran wild in the early years of space travel, and now resent the advent of law in space.
60	* SpecialEditionTitle: The title, writer and episode number screens appear in an unusual manner, only appearing after the opening scene (Episode 1) or the cliffhanger reprise (Episodes 2-6), in black text over a white void, with the OneWomanWail over them. This is also one of only three stories in the show's history to display the title in quotation marks.[[note]]The other two being "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS6E3TheInvasion The Invasion]]" and "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS6E4TheKrotons The Krotons]]".[[/note]]
61	* TheUnintelligible: The [[WhatTheHellIsThatAccent quasi-American]] Creator/JimmyStewart-esque accent Gordon Gostelow used for Milo would be hard enough to understand under normal circumstances; when you're listening to a decades-old recording of audio taped off a television broadcast, he might as well be speaking [[Recap/DoctorWhoS2E5TheWebPlanet Zarbi.]]

Context Recap / DoctorWhoS6E6TheSpacePirates