| DOCTOR WHO AND THE PIRATES by Jacqueline Rayner |
| Story 43 Synopsis: Evelyn is visiting a student, Sally. She starts to recount a tale of piracy on the high seas, and the Doctor arrives to help tell it. The TARDIS landed on a ship being boarded by pirates, led by Mad Red Jasper. Sally resents the story, wanting to be alone. They take the craft as part of their booty, so the Doctor tags along. Evelyn is cast adrift, but with the help of cabin boy Jem and Captain Swan, she makes a raft, and returns to the Adventurer's Fancy. Sally reveals she is feeling low because she accidentally killed someone. The Doctor thwarts the First Mate, but Red Jasper makes him walk the plank. He survives, and sets off on Evelyn's raft to find the Ruby Islands. Jasper realises that Jem is his enemy One Eye Trent's son, and kills the boy, to Evelyn's horror and regret. The Doctor finds the treasure island, with a map in Jem's compass. He returns to the ship, and Swan helps get the pirates off the ship to find the treasure. The Doctor and Evelyn return to the TARDIS. Jasper and the pirates are left on the island, as Swan sails the Adventurer's Fancy away. Sally resolves to carry on with her life. |
| Review:- The expectations for this story were not good. A part-musical? Doctor Who meets Gilbert & Sullivan? Surely this was going to be a disaster? Well, in truth, I don't know quite what people expected. What they got was a tricksy little tale that uses a pretty dodgy narrative trick to smooth over what is in essence a pretty ropey tale of piracy on the high seas. It feels, though, that unlike some stories where an extra strand is added to a shorter story, this was written to be in the patchwork form it ends up. The Doctor and Evelyn's encounter with Mad Red Jasper and his motley crew, not to mention Captain Swan and a treasure map just about holds together, and I suspect the Ruby Islands were a nod to the 40th anniversary. But the framing story, with the tragic Sally, is more rewarding despite seeming less promising until the last episode. I don't feel the musical elements make for better transition of the story, and if this is what writer's block can cause, then maybe this was solving the wrong problem. However, although the third episode made me so fed up I wanted to pack in all I've put into a love for this series over 19 years, the conclusion just about averted the disaster. But I only wish the initial reluctance of Big Finish about musical items had held firm. A far from essential story, and I can't recommend this to anyone. |
| Disclaimer: I own a copy. |