The Pirate Planet
(DVD)

 

Starring Tom Baker
4 Episodes
1978
101 minutes (color)
Single Disc




 

 

Production Notes
Doctor Who
Tom Baker

Romana
Mary Tamm

Voice of K9
John Leeson

Written by
Douglas Adams

Directed by
Pennant Roberts
Produced by
Graham Williams

Original Airdate
Sept 30, 1978 - Oct 21, 1978

US Video Release Date
October 2002

Warner Home Video
#E1338

Key To Time Box Set


 

 



Cover Blurb
As the Doctor, Romana and K9 head for the planet Calufrax in search of the second segment of the Key to Time, they are in for a surprise when the TARDIS brings them to Zanak, an entirely different planet occupying the same space coordinates. 

Did Romana take a wrong turn when she navigated by the book? No, the tracer registers that the segment is near. Nothing is as it seems in this story by Douglas Adams (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy). The populace of Zanak lead affluent lives, thanks to the mysterious mechanizations of the Captain. He regularly announces a new age of prosperity, and most of the people accept the extraordinary turn in their fortune without further examination. 

Little do they imagine that their benefactor – hidden on a forbidden mountaintop – is a roaring space pirate whose best friend is Polyphase Avitron, a cyber-parrot that brings death to anyone who displeases its master. All these elements will come together to reveal the greatest crime in the galaxy and the second segment of the Key to Time as well.



 


 

DVD Features
  • Information Text:
 Lots of trivia and tidbits of Whovian detail are provided.  The text appears intermittently along the bottom of the screen and is written by Richard Molesworth of the Doctor Who Restoration Team
 

 
  • Commentary:
 Commentary is provided by Pennant Roberts (director) and Bruce Purchase (the Captain).  An interesting commentary (as usual).
 

 
  • Photo Gallery:
 Color stills showing many publicity stills from the production of this story.  Many of the pictures are rare or even never before seen.
 

 
  • Who's Who:
 A feature unique to the North American DVD releases.  It lists short biographical information on many of the actors involved in the story.
 

 
  • Film Clips:
 Mildly interesting.  Most of the film footage presented is used in the program.  However, there are a couple of interesting scenes that didn't make it in.  Specifically, an effects shot of the Mentiads where their eyes were meant to glow.
 

 
  • Easter Eggs:
 None.  For a full list of known Easter Eggs and screen grabs of them click HERE.



 

 

Additional Notes

  • The second story in the Key to Time arc, "The Pirate Planet" was written by Douglas Adams who was gaining attention at that time for his radio comedy series "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."

  • Tom Baker's lip injury had become increasingly worse during the filming of the previous story (the makeup used in the first story inflamed the injury and made it even more noticeable for this story.  A short scene was written to explain Tom Baker's injured lip (which had originally occurred prior to filming the new season).  In it, the Doctor smacks his face on the console, thus causing the injury.
  • Douglas Adams would later go on to become script editor for the next season of Doctor Who and would pen two other adventures before he left.
  • In a break with tradition, this story (along with all of the stories from the Key To Time umbrella season) is being released on DVD here in North America BEFORE the U.K.  Apparently, the North American market is much more focused on Tom Baker's era of Doctor Who.  As a result, BBC Worldwide is making a concerted effort to release more Tom Baker DVD's over here.
  • The Doctor Who Restoration Team did some limited clean-up work on this story.  However, due to time constraints, this release is very light on extras.
  • This story can be purchased individually or together with the other stories from season 16 (i.e. The Key To Time Boxset).