DOCTOR WHO-THE PIRATE PLANET part 1

 DOCTOR WHO-THE PIRATE PLANET part one

[Science fiction, fantasy, horror, and media (comedy, drama, TV, audio, romance) (scificfanhorrormedia.blogspot.com)](https://scificfanhorrormedia.blogspot.com/) PLEASE NOTE: from here on out, I'm not going to share any longer thanks to FB blocking me when I do share. I'm only going to post on my blog (url above or below). Goodbye FB and if you want to read my reviews, go to the blog. And you can thank FB Let’s face it, if you don’t love Tom Baker and his style of humor and his Doctor, you’re tasteless. Well, okay, sorry. I just love him to bits and if you don’t like him you’re not going to like this era of his time on the show or this era at all. In fact, THE PIRATE PLANET by the great DOUGLAS ADAMS is just so filled with ideas and wonderfully presented in a logical, ordered way thanks to the producers of the show (Graham is great, too but it wasn’t him this time, he was off on vacation and broke his leg!). The new series could learn from just watching the old. The writers of the new series…oh who am I kidding…it’s far too late for the New Series to be saved. It’s crap and junk and trash TV. Onto this: yes, the Mentiads seem like horror versions of the TOMORROW PEOPLE. Yes, it IS very funny that, for once, the aliens (IF they are aliens or long time from now humans from Earth descent?) ignore the Doctor and he doesn’t command everyone’s attention…yet. Tom enters rooms and leaves rooms like one. The rapport with Mary is evident and K9 has lots to do. Not sure why Romana didn’t let K9 save her, maybe she wanted to meet the leaders of the planet. Later, the Doctor will say, in another story, “Romana’s not the easiest of guests…” Though the Doc’s lip was cut last story, here they give a reason as he tumbles into the console and hits his lip!? I can’t help it. I love the bluster of the Captain that hides something else. Yes, some of this comes from LOST IN SPACE-THE SKY PIRATE and TREASURE OF THE LOST PLANET and the design looks like the villain from JASON OF STAR COMMAND but what the narrative does with the Captain is what is bold and dangerous. He’s a villain to be sure but there’s more to him than meets the eye. Uhm, what does K9 mean that he stunned two Captain Guards indefinitely? Are they stunned forever? Is this a polite way of saying he killed them slowly? Or quickly? I like the look of this, I like Romana’s by the book landing, I like the mystery of the lights in the sky changing, I like the model work (not perfect but adequate to tell a good story, though yes, the Captain’s Bridge on the outside DOES look like something from the final FLASH GORDON story chapterplay FLASH GORDON CONQUERS THE UNIVERSE). I like the Avaitron bird the Captain has (see LOST IN SPACE for a flashier, better built one in THE SKY PIRATE and TREASURE OF THE LOST PLANET in Nick). I like the town and I love Romana getting somewhere when talking to strangers and having gotten jelly babies from the Doctor’s pocket. I like Kimus and Mula, too. I love the location work. The cliffhanger has the Doctor knocked to the wall TWICE by the Mentiads, who we later find did so with good vibrations (yes, I hear that song, too when Romana says it in a future episode, probably the next one or the next). For me, DW in this time, can do NO wrong. It’s pure entertainment with loads of sci fi quirky plots melding and mixing in a great way, unlike the Moffat Era’s mix of good plots into a bad melting pot. My earlier review says nothing different: I admit it. When it comes to this story I'm totally and utterly biased. I love it to pieces. From the jokey TARDIS scenes with the ripping of the Manual pages to the Doctor hitting his lip to cover up Tom's dog bite to Romana trying to make contact with the locales I just really get this story. I love DOUGLAS ADAMS and the original HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY radio shows (and the CDs are slightly cut). I get his humor and what I don't I try to. I also like that there are SO many good ideas here mixing into a good, logical mix. Okay so some of it looks like PLANeT OF THE APES (the town) and the third FLASH GORDON serial (the tower buildings) and the captain's parrot and even the captain himself is right out of LOST IN SPACE-THE SKY PIRATE and TREASURE OF THE LOST PLANET...although in LOST IN SPACE the design is far better. Written sci fi has had planets that swallow other planets for ages. And the Mentiads are just like THE TOMORROW PEOPLE, especially the break out...Pralix's changes looks just like THE SLAVES OF JEDIKIAH but slowed down in pace somewhat. Despite all of that, I just love how it all works in tandem. Romana's capture is a bit strange as she could have had K9 stop the guard from taking her but maybe she wanted to get to the heart of things? Tom is just very funny again and the whole thing was really a science mystery. I just love this story and this ep in particular.