Cover Blurb

Patrick Troughton's Doctor gets involved in galactic intrigue and piracy in this exclusive recording of a 'lost' televison adventure with linking narration by Frazer Hines.

"We've landed ourselves in the middle of some sort of war in Space!"

The Doctor, Jamie and Zoe become victims of piracy when they materialize on a space beacon, minutes before it is literally blown to pieces.  So begins their quest to be reunited with the TARDIS, whilst treading perilously across the paths of the Interstellar Space Corps and a gang of murderous bandits.

The eccentric prospector Milo Clancey gives the travelers passage in his ageing spaceship, but the old man is himself the focus of Space Corps investigations.  Could he possibly be behind the destruction and salvage of so many beacons in the sector?  What is the position of Madeleine Issigri, who runs her father's mining corporation on the planet Ta - and how might a locked room provide the answer to this mystery?

Half the galaxy is spanned in a game of cat and mouse between the law enforcers - led by no-nonsense General Hermack and his V-Ship crew - and the pirates Caven and Dervish, who will apparently stop at nothing to continue their lucrative racket.

This six-part adventure, brimming with visions of space travel in the 21st century, offers excitement on a grand scale and was the penultimate story of the second Doctor's TV era.

• "The Space Pirates" is considered by many Who fans to be a real stinker of a story.  The pacing is excruciatingly slow and is accompanied by an annoying, high pitched vocal score.
   
• Although not highly regarded, this story was penned by one of the most prolific and popular Who authors, Robert Holmes.
   
• Episode 2 still exists in the BBC vaults and was released on VHS in the compilation tape, "The Troughton Years.
   
• A much improved and restored version of episode 2 is available on DVD in the boxset Lost in Time.
   
• In its time, "The Space Pirates" boasted impressive model shots of space ships.  Ironically, most of that footage is now missing thanks to the BBC.
   
• Watch for the rather creative characterization of Milo Clancy (played by Gordon Gostelow).
   
• Donald Gee (who played Warne in "The Space Pirates") would return to the show 5 years later to play the pivotal character Eckersley in "The Monster of Peladon." 
   
• The audio recording of this story was done separately by David Holman, Richard Landen, Richard Freeland, Rohan Byrnes and David Butler using their own home audio equipment. 
   
• Mark Ayres, of the Doctor Who Restoration Team, did extensive work on this audio release by digitally remastering these recordings.