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49) THE SPACE PIRATES

8 March - 12 April 1969

Average Viewing Figure: 5.9M

Plot

Arriving in the far future, The Doctor and his companions are caught up in a conflict on the frontier of space

Cast

Patrick Troughton (The Doctor), Frazer Hines (Jamie McCrimmon), Wendy Padbury (Zoe), Dudley Foster (Caven)

Gordon Gostelow (Milo Clancey), Esmond Knight (Dom Issigri), Jack May (General Hermack), Lisa Daniely (Madeleine Issigri)

Brian Peck (Dervish), Donald Gee (Major Ian Warne), Gordon Layton (Technician Penn), Nik Zaran (Lt Sorba)

Anthony Donovan (Space Guard), Steve Peters (Pirate Guard)

Crew

Robert Holmes (Writer), Dudley Simpson (Music), Ron Grainer (Title Music), Brian Hodgson (Special Sound)

John Wood (Visual Effects Designer), Peter Hall (Film Cameraman), Martyn Day (Film Editor), Nicholas Bullen (Costumes)

Sylvia James (Make-Up), Peter Winn (Studio Lighting), David Hughes (Sound), Derrick Sherwin (Script Editor), Ian Weston (Designer)

Peter Bryant (Producer), Michael Hart (Director)

Broadcast

Filming Locations

  • Ealing Film Studio: Stage 2

  • Lime Grove: Studio D

  • Television Centre: Studio 4

  • Television Centre: Studio 6

Deaths

  • Dervish [killed when the Beta Dart is destroyed]

  • Caven [killed when the Beta Dart is destroyed]

  • Lt Sorba [gunned down by Caven]

  • Space Guard [gunned down by Caven]

  • Pirate Guard [killed when the Beta Dart is destroyed]

  • Dervish and Caven Men [killed when the Beta Dart is destroyed]​

Production Days

  • 13 Days between Friday 7 February - Friday 28 March 1969

Production Errors

  1. Zoe apparently doesn't know how candles work yet in The Mind Robber she recognises candles without haste

  2. At the cliffhanger of episode three, The Doctor and the others' screams are heard for ages, but at the start of the next episode they've only fallen a few feet

  3. There are numerous noisy explosions in space when sound can not travel in space

  4. Numerous model shots of space appear to be missing stars

Working Titles

  • [no known working titles]

Verdict

Cannot give review because serial is missing from the BBC Archives ​

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