Review of Doctor Who: The Pirate Planet (1978) by Tim L — 10 Oct 2010
I was so dissillutioned after seeing The Ribos Operation, that I was probably over-negative about this serial too. In the first 2 episodes of this serial the same problems remain - the acting is embarrassing, the Doctor doesn't seem to care anymore and the assistant is irritatingly smug and obnoxious.
But either my standards dropped or the serial improved (I like to think the latter) and by the end of the serial it wasn't too bad at all. Still not a patch of other Tom Baker stories like The Hand of Fear or Genesis of the Daleks; but the captain himself is a well designed and interesting character, as are the telepathic natives of the planet.
The production has a real pantomime feel to it, and fans of Doctor Who at it's most camp and over-blown (such as Happiness Patrol from the Sylvester McCoy days) will no doubt enjoy this, and I'm sure it is also much more enjoyable to young kids; which, let's face it, is who Doctor Who is really aimed at after all ha!
A huge improvement on the Ribos Operation, but still not up to Doctor Who at it's best.
This review of Doctor Who: The Pirate Planet (1978) was written by Tim L on 10 Oct 2010.
Doctor Who: The Pirate Planet has generally received positive reviews.
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