History Recap / DoctorWhoS6E6TheSpacePirates

'''Production code:''' YY

Written by Creator/RobertHolmes. This six-episode serial first aired from March 8 to April 12, 1969.

-> ''You'll have tae eat more porridge.''

The one with a space hick.

* 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.

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, who 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.

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 60's, 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. 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.

Written by Creator/RobertHolmes. This serial first aired March 8-April 12, 1969.

* NeoclassicalPunkZydecoRockabilly: The name would suggest that it's just [[SpacePirates Pirates]] InSpace The introduction of Clancey quickly turns it into a strange blend of SpacePirates in a SpaceWestern.

* UsedFuture: Milo's rickety old ship, LIZ-79. The other ships are new and shiny, though.
%%* WhoWearsShortShorts: Zoe.

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 his partner Dom, who he has double-crossed 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.

* 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.
* 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.