Doctor Who: The Pirate Planet (1978)

Date(s) of Broadcast: 30 September 1978 - 21 October 1978
Number of Episodes: 4
Average Episode Running Times: 25 mins
Format: colour
Sound: mono

PRODUCTION
Production Company: BBC
Production: Graham Williams
Production Unit Manager: John Nathan-Turner

SCRIPT
Script: Douglas Adams
Story Editor: Anthony Read

DIRECTION
Director: Pennant Roberts

PHOTOGRAPHY
Studio Lighting: Mike Jefferies
Film Camera: Elmer Cossey

EDITING AND POST-PRODUCTION
Film Editor: John Dunstan

MUSIC
Title Music: Ron Grainer and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop
Title Music Arranger: Delia Derbyshire
Incidental Music: Dudley Simpson

SOUND
Studio Sound: Mike Jones
Special Sound: Dick Mills

MAKE UP AND COSTUMES
Make Up: Janis Gould
Costumes: L. Rowland Warne

VISUAL EFFECTS
Visual Effects: Colin Mapson

DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION
Designer: Jon Pusey

MISCELLANEOUS
Production Assistant: Michael Owen Morris
Assistant Floor Manager: Ruth Mayorcas

CAST
Tom Baker (The Doctor)
Mary Tamm (Romana)
John Leeson (voice of K9)
Bruce Purchese (Captain)
Andrew Robertson (Mr Fibuli)
David Warwick (Kimus
Primi Townsend (Mula)
Bernard Finch (Mentiad)
David Sibley (Parlix)
Adam Kurakin (guard)
Ralph Michael (Balaton)
Clive Bennett (citizen)
Rosalind Lloyd (nurse (Queen Xanxia))
James Charlton, Tony Hayes, Ray Knight, Brychan Powell, Clive Rogers, Derek Suthern, Colin
Thomas, Jeff Wayne, Peter Whitaker (Mentiads - uncredited)
Garry Dean, Barry Hayes, Billy Hughes (guards - uncredited)
Vi Delmar (Queen Xanxia - uncredited)
John Cannon, John Moore, Clinton Morris, Gus Roy, Reg Turner (technicians - uncredited)
Franklyn Arbisman, Bud Brecon, Michael Britton-Jones, John Cadwallader, Les Conrad, Jeff Cryer, Johnny Daulton, Barbara Hampshire, Derek Hunt, Dennis Johns, Michael Kelligan, Kenny Kordell, Julia La Rousse, Ralph Lincoln, Stuart Mcneil, Roger Middleton, James Muir, Annette Peters, Bernard Planet, Douglas Roe, Malcolm Ross, Jack Sholomire, Terence Ward, Edward Wyman (extras)

PLOT SUMMARY

The Doctor and Romana think that they've arrived on the planet Calufrax where the tracer tells them the second segment of the Key to Time can be found. But it seems that Calufrax has been replaced by the Zanak, the Pirate Planet, a steerable planet captained by a madman intent on sucking the life force from every planet he encounters.

Given that Douglas Adams was writing The Pirate Planet at the same times as he was writing The Hitch-Hikers' Guide to the Galaxy for radio, it's no surprise to find that the second Key to Time story plays it largely for laughs. Adams displays his mastery of outre SF concepts, peppering his scripts with enough impressive technobabble to keep a Star Trek franchise afloat for years. There's a lot going on in this complex but enjoyable story which in retrospect looks like a pointer to the direction that Adams would try to take the show during his brief tenure as script editor.

UK
Television Distributor: BBC
Video Distributor: BBC Video

1978
September
30: UK - Part One television broadcast (on BBC1)

October
7: UK - Part Two television broadcast (on BBC1)
14: UK - Part Three television broadcast (on BBC1)
21: UK - Part Four television broadcast (on BBC1)

BOOKS

Doctor Who: The Television Companion pp.347-350
credits, synopsis, review (by David J. Howe and Stephen James Walker)

KEYWORDS

aliens, time travel

Last Updated: 1 January, 2009