Doctor Who and the Pirates

2003 Doctor Who audio drama

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Doctor Who and the Pirates
or The Lass That Lost A Sailor

Big Finish Productions audio drama
Series| Doctor Who
Release no.| 43
Featuring| Sixth Doctor
Evelyn Smythe
Written by| Jacqueline Rayner
Directed by| Barnaby Edwards
Produced by| Gary Russell
Jason Haigh-Ellery
Executive producer(s)| Jacqueline Rayner
Production code| 7CH
Length| 1 hr 40 mins
Release date| April 2003
Preceded by| Jubilee
Followed by| Real Time

Doctor Who and the Pirates, or The Lass That Lost a Sailor, is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It is the first musical story in the series' history.

## Plot

[edit]

Evelyn begins telling a story to one of her students, Sally, about a 19th century sea adventure she has taken with the Doctor. Pirates boarded their ship in the Caribbean Sea. The Doctor arrives and helps Evelyn tell the story, punctuating the narrative with frequent songs set to the tunes of Gilbert and Sullivan songs. In the story they travel to the Ruby Islands (where precious gems are buried) together with their crew and the pirates. Evelyn is profoundly upset when she is unable to stop the murderous pirate captain, Red Jasper, from beating a cabin boy to death. The crew and their incompetent skipper, Captain Swan, with the help of the Doctor, capture the pirate ship, stranding the pirates with a fake treasure map.

The Doctor and Evelyn return to the TARDIS, and, still shaken, she returns home, loath to witness further terrifying occurrences. There, however, she finds a suicide note from Sally, who is grieving someone dear to her who has been killed in a car accident; Sally blames herself, because she was driving the vehicle. To help her student Evelyn and the Doctor to travel back in time to dissuade Sally from killing herself, showing her that she is loved.

## Cast

[edit]

* The Doctor — Colin Baker
* Evelyn Smythe — Maggie Stables
* Jem — Dan Barratt
* Sally — Helen Goldwyn
* Red Jasper — Bill Oddie
* Swan — Nicholas Pegg
* Merryweather — Mark Siney
* Mate/Sailor/Pirate — Timothy Sutton

[1]

## Music

[edit]

The songs use substituted lyrics to tunes from various Gilbert and Sullivan operas.[2][3] The Doctor sings: "I am the very model of a Gallifreyan buccaneer" a pastiche of the "Major-General's Song".[2] Other Gilbert and Sullivan song pastiches include "An assassin's lot is not a happy one", based on the "A Policeman's Lot Is Not a happy one", from The Pirates of Penzance, and "I'm Jasper's man", to the tune of "I am so proud" from The Mikado. Music from more of the Savoy operas is used elsewhere in it, such as one of the pirates humming "Rising Early in the Morning" from The Gondoliers.

## Critical reaction

[edit]

A reviewer for Metro wrote that Baker "has a marvellous singing voice."[3] A reviewer for Doctor Who TV selected the episode as the of the best audio dramas in its season.[4] In a 50th Anniversary review, Tor.com selected the episode for its list of "excellent ones".[2]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Big Finish Productions website, 43\. Doctor Who and the Pirates
2. ^ a b c Horakova, Erin. "Big Finish Produces Doctor Who Audio Plays with Brains, Heart and Humor", Tor.com, June 1, 2012
3. ^ a b Baldock, James. "Happy Birthday to Doctor Who’s Colin Baker: 11 reasons the Sixth Doctor is underrated", Metro, 8 June 2016
4. ^ Behr Gustaff. "Happy Birthday, Big Finish! 15 Picks for 15 Years", Doctor Who TV, July 23, 2014

## External links

[edit]

* Doctor Who and the Pirates, Big Finish Productions
* "Doctor Who and the Pirates" at the Doctor Who Reference Guide

* v
* t
* e

Doctor Who: Sixth Doctor stories

Television

| Season 21|

The Twin Dilemma

|

Season 22|

* Attack of the Cybermen
* Vengeance on Varos
* The Mark of the Rani
* The Two Doctors
* Timelash
* Revelation of the Daleks

Season 23|

* The Mysterious Planet / Mindwarp / Terror of the Vervoids / The Ultimate Foe

Minor appearances|

* The Caves of Androzani
* Time and the Rani
* "The Name of the Doctor"
* "The Day of the Doctor"
* "The Power of the Doctor"

See also|

* Arc of Infinity
* "A Fix with Sontarans"
* Dimensions in Time

Audio

| The Monthly Adventures|

* The Sirens of Time
* Whispers of Terror
* The Marian Conspiracy
* The Spectre of Lanyon Moor
* The Apocalypse Element
* The Holy Terror
* The One Doctor
* ...ish
* Jubilee
* Doctor Who and the Pirates
* Davros
* Zagreus
* The Juggernauts
* Thicker than Water
* 100
* Assassin in the Limelight
* The Doomwood Curse
* Brotherhood of the Daleks
* The Raincloud Man
* Legend of the Cybermen
* Recorded Time and Other Stories
* The Acheron Pulse
* The Brood of Erys

|

The Sixth Doctor Adventures|

* The Last Adventure

The Lost Stories|

* The Nightmare Fair
* Mission to Magnus
* The Hollows of Time
* The Ultimate Evil

Other|

* Slipback
* Excelis Rising
* The Companion Chronicles
* The Four Doctors
* Jago & Litefoot
* Trouble in Paradise
* Classic Doctors, New Monsters
* The Tenth Doctor Adventures
* River Song

Books

| Missing Adventures|

* State of Change
* Time of Your Life
* Millennial Rites
* Killing Ground
* Burning Heart

|

Past Doctor Adventures|

* Players
* Grave Matter
* The Quantum Archangel
* The Shadow in the Glass
* Instruments of Darkness
* Palace of the Red Sun
* Blue Box
* Synthespians™
* Spiral Scratch

Novellas|

* Shell Shock

Video games

* Doctor Who and the Mines of Terror
* Destiny of the Doctors
* Legacy
* Lego Dimensions

* v
* t
* e

W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance

Films|

* The Pirate Movie (1982 film)
* The Pirates of Penzance (1983 film)
* Pirates of Penzance – The Ballet! (1991 ballet)

Music|

* discography
* "Major-General's Song"

Related|

* "The Elements"
* The Paisley Pirates of Penzance
* "Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here"
* "The Celtic Song"
* The Abduction of Figaro
* Our Island Home
* Doctor Who and the Pirates

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