Doctor Who and the Pirates

Big Finish: Monthly Range #43

by Jacqueline Rayner, Colin Baker (Narrator), Maggie Stables (Narrator)

All aboard, me hearties, for a rip-roaring tale of adventure on the high seas! There'll be rum for all and sea shanties galore as we travel back in time to join the valiant crew of the good ship Sea Eagle, braving perils, pirates and a peripatetic old sea-dog known only as the Doctor!

Gasp as our Gallifreyan buccaneer crosses swords with the fearsome Red Jasper, scourge of the seven seas and possessor of at least one wooden leg! Thrill as Evil Evelyn the Pirate Queen sets sail in search of buried treasure, with only a foppish ship's captain and an innocent young cabin boy by her side! Marvel at the melodious mayhem which ensues as we sail the ocean blue!

And wonder why Evelyn still hasn't realised that very few stories have happy endings...

Genres: Doctor Who, Science Fiction, Audiobook, Fiction, Time Travel, Adventure, British Literature

Audio Play

First published April 1, 2003

About the author

Jacqueline Rayner is a best selling British author, best known for her work with the licensed fiction based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who.

Her first professional writing credit came when she adapted Paul Cornell's Virgin New Adventure novel Oh No It Isn't! for the audio format, the first release by Big Finish. (The novel featured the character of Bernice Summerfield and was part of a spin-off series from Doctor Who.) She went on to do five of the six Bernice Summerfield audio adaptations and further work for Big Finish before going to work for BBC Books on their Doctor Who lines.

Her first novels came in 2001, with the Eighth Doctor Adventures novel EarthWorld for BBC Books and the Bernice Summerfield novel The Squire's Crystal for Big Finish. Rayner has written several other Doctor Who spin-offs and was also for a period the executive producer for the BBC on the Big Finish range of Doctor Who audio dramas. She has also contributed to the audio range as a writer. In all, her Doctor Who and related work (Bernice Summerfield stories), consists of five novels, a number of short stories and four original audio plays.

Rayner has edited several anthologies of Doctor Who short stories, mainly for Big Finish, and done work for Doctor Who Magazine. Beyond Doctor Who, her work includes the children's television tie-in book Horses Like Blaze.

With the start of the new television series of Doctor Who in 2005 and a shift in the BBC's Doctor Who related book output, Rayner has become, along with Justin Richards and Stephen Cole, one of the regular authors of the BBC's New Series Adventures. She has also abridged several of the books to be made into audiobooks.

She was also a member of Doctor Who Magazine's original Time Team.

Reviews

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a sixth Doctor adventure with Evelyn Smythe as his companion and is #43 in the Big Finish main range.

This is a very strange but quite brilliant little Doctor Who story. Evelyn calls to the home of a former student and blusters her way inside, even though the student clearly doesn't want her there. Then she sits her down and tells her a story. It's very clearly a story within a story, and told with deliberate mistakes and humor, and eventually, a third episode that's mostly a musical pastiche of Gilbert & Sullivan and very cleverly done by the cast. (You can find a youtube video with Colin Baker singing A Very Model of a Modern Gallifreyan Buccaneer - it's actually very good). The pirate captain is played by Bill Oddie (I was raised on the Goodies, and he does one of his classic voices as Red Jasper).

It actually ends up being very profound, so the silliness ends up being not only worth it, but critical to what's actually happening.

If you're unlikely to listen to this, what actually is happening is that the Doctor and Evelyn just had a run in with the pirates that this story is based on and Red Jasper actually had the cabin boy that Evelyn had befriended brutally beaten to death. On returning home for a break, Evelyn finds that she has a letter from her former student and it's a suicide note. The Doctor then takes Evelyn back in time to the night that her student had written the letter, and Evelyn and the Doctor take it in turns to keep her up all night and entertained by the silly pirate story with the singing, and then eventually how upset and broken Evelyn feels about the cabin boy, all while making it very clear to Evelyn's student has people that care about her as well, even if it's just a former teacher and a crazy man in a many-colored coat. As the Doctor quips, a sort of reverse Scheherazade.

I thought Jubliee was good. This one blew me away. Frankly, the Colin Baker audios are the standout in this range, particularly around the time these were done.

[Polly Batchelor · Rating 5 out of 5]

"It can’t possibly get any worse! The dialogue is totally over the top as well as anachronistic. Is there a story at all?"

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fourth listen to this! Definitely one of my favourite bF stories of all time! They don't make companions like this any more. History professor, knitter, and Evil Pirate Queen! The line about her blood red cardigan kills me every time! Brilliant and funny and sad. This is the first time I've listened to it since I've lost someone to suicide and that made it extra poignoint.

Third time today as it's really the perfect thing to listen to in hot weather! Wonderful silly fun and sad at the same time too!

Listened to this again today. I love how bad Evelyn is at the storytelling. She's just such a wonderful character. The Doctor and Evelyn squabbling is brilliant. I do wish she'd show up with cake to tell me a story! The pirates are hilarious. Bill Oddie was definitely the right choice for the villain, it took me back to my childhood. It does drag a bit in the 2nd chapter but still lots of fun overall. And the singing!!!!

A silly story with an interesting message. Camp for the sake of being camp with some fantastic songs but I still throughly enjoyed this. Evelyn is just brilliant (as always) and Colin was truly wonderful.

http://youtu.be/hIdDXQ2h1Pc

[Taksya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Abbiamo il sesto Dottore, Evelyn, pirati e un tesoro nascosto ed è un episodio musical, una parte su quattro almeno... come si può non dare il massimo del pallinaggio disponibile?
La motivazione del perché Evelyn si metta a raccontare una sconclusionata storia su pirati e isole del tesoro ad una sua allieva lo capiremo nel corso della storia. Quello che conta, oltre alla colonna sonora a la Gilbert and Sullivan, è la leggerezza della trama, necessaria per sopravvivere ai drammi di alcuni audio che seguono e precedono questo divertissement.
Ma, nonostante il tema leggero, assistiamo ad una presa di realtà di Evelyn, un riassestamento delle suo rapporto con le avventure vissute con il Dottore, che proseguirà anche nei prossimi audio della coppia.
Anche se non amate i musical date una possibilità ai pirati, è divertente.

[Saturnberry · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Ohhhh, nooooo! You ARE going to sing?!"
- Evelyn to the Doctor

[April Mccaffrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

DOCTOR, sung: Her name is Evil Evelyn,

I've stuck with her through thick and thin.

Her cardie is a shade of red that recollects the blood she's shed.

These factors she will verify.

Now could you try to terrify?

EVELYN, sung: I'm doing my best.

It's not my scene.

Whose mad idea was this Pirate Queen?

DOCTOR, sung: For she is a Pirate Queen.

-



If you're a fan of Gilbert and Sullivan, this audio is certainly for you.

This audio was so much fun, but I also love the hint of themes about grief.

Maggie Stables and Colin Baker are just simply a delight.

[Susanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was BRILLIANT!!! There’s a lot of comedy and THERE IS SINGING!!! If you like Gilbert & Sullivan musicals, you will like this. If you like Treasure Island, you will like this. I loved it.

Caveat: The humor almost disguises the fact that this is a very dark story, in which multiple characters whom the Doctor and Evelyn meet die. TW for one character’s suicidal thoughts. The theme of the story is self-forgiveness, and reaching out to those who need emotional help. So it’s a good theme, but it has to be dark to get there.

[Evie · Rating 4 out of 5]

*this* is how you do doctor who as a musical rtd.

genuinely clever, funny, well put together and the music is directly tied to and develops the narrative, as well as the characters involved.

plus it’s actually good music, that always helps.

[Frank Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This started off as a lot of strange fun but eventually devolved into a series of disjointed musicals. The pirate story was extremely silly but loads of fun.

It seems obvious that Big Finish were trying to keep it fresh by experimenting with the range of story themes and production styles in the series, it has seemed evident for the last dozen or so releases and I generally commend the effort. I even think that adding an element of musical theatre was fine initially but eventually it overshadowed the rest of the production.

I'd rate this as a good mediocre overall. The Doctor's and Evelyn's stories seemed to have a too obvious point of connection and the distraction of the musical interludes combined with that of the third story emerging from Evelyn's friend in the framing narrative were enough to reduce my enjoyment of the whole picture even though the core narrative was quite enjoyable. #LongAssSentenceAlert

It's still recommendable because some of y'all are just going to adore the musical element.

[Ritchie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this story but I hate musicals. The majority of musicals grind to a narrative halt when song breaks out and all I want is for the story to keep moving. Remove the songs and gain at least three stars.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Doctor Who and the Pirates is an interesting little bit of audio for many reasons. First and foremost, I am fairly certain that this was the first ever musical Doctor Who episode. This is a prospect that normally wouldn’t make me too excited, as musicals really aren’t my thing, but somehow they make it work here. The key to their success is honestly the way this story is written, which is a variation of a classic embedded narrative. The story opens in a college dormitory of all places, when Dr. Evelyn Smythe outright imposes herself on one of her students and practically forces her to listen to a whimsical story about an adventure that she and The Doctor had facing off against ruthless pirates. What follows has to be heard to be believed! Starring Colin Baker as The Sixth Doctor and Maggie Stables as Evelyn Smythe, this was sure to be a fun story no matter what they threw at us.

That opening scene is quite jarring at first, because as Evelyn starts narrating her adventure, one can tell that the student, Sally, wants absolutely no part of this intrusion. Evelyn makes it clear that she HAS TO listen to her no matter what. It takes a while for the audience to get an idea of exactly why she, and later The Doctor, are there in the first place. Evelyn is also, quite humorlessly, not exactly the most reliable narrator. She leaves information out and often fills gaps in with goofiness that is obviously made up on the spot. My favorite instance of this was a scene involving a crew of pirates basically introducing themselves, all with the same voice actor and named such imaginative names as John Johnson and Jim Jimson. Other characters are quite camp, voiced in a way that even John Waters would feel is a bit too much. While what we hear are voice actors putting on these voices, one can assume that Evelyn is sitting there doing her best community theater version of how a pirate would talk.

Once The Doctor arrives, fashionably late of course, all bets are off. He apparently has a real itching for musical theater and has created his own versions of musical numbers from the HMS Pinafore by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. One of the cliffhanger stings is literally everyone being upset that he was about to start singing! The third episode is basically entirely a musical and the cast does a great job of making everything sound far bigger than what I’m sure the production was, as well as telling a compelling narrative. It is at this time that we finally learn why this episode is even happening, which involves Sally and is actually quite sad. I’m not one hundred percent sure that the light-hearted, often whimsical, nature of this story matches the overall tone of why it is happening, but by balancing the two halves the production staff did an excellent job.


While Big Finish could have delivered a bog-standard Pirates of the Caribbean rip-off with this story, they went the extra mile to create something weird and off-the-rails and by doing so may have created one of the more enjoyable little experiments in the whole line-up. Despite not being a “musical guy,” I thought this was pretty enjoyable, largely due to the humor and absurdity of what was happening at times. There is a great bit of sadness involved with why the story is happening, but nothing ever feels oppressive or hopeless. Colin Baker and Maggie Stables once again cement the fact that they are one of the best pairings in the history of the franchise, and I really can’t get enough of them!

Check out my blog for more!

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written beautifully by Jaqueline Rayner, Doctor Who And The Pirates is a fun-filled historical for Colin Baker's Sixth Doctor. As the title suggests, it sees the Doctor and Evelyn (Maggie Stables) become embroiled in a typical pirate quest to find the location of some buried treasure. Jaqueline Rayner's story features many of the iconic pirate tropes, like walking the plank and treasure maps, which lends it an authentic historical feel.

One of the episodes in this four part audio serial takes the form of a musical. The approach seems quite fitting, considering how thematically it makes sense, with sea shanties being a common trope when it comes to the high seas. Most surprising is that Colin Baker actually has a decent singing voice. His performance of Gallifreyan Buccaneer is impressive, and it's a wonderful catchy number.

Doctor Who And The Pirates features a brilliant star turn from the iconic British comedy actor, Bill Oddie. He brings some larger-than-life comic menace to the pirate captain, Red Jasper. Many of the best scenes within this audio drama come from when the Doctor and Red Jasper butt heads, because Colin Baker and Bill Oddie play off each other so well. I'm glad Big Finish were able to get such a well-known actor to make a guest appearance, as the audio benefits from the tons of personality and character he brings to Red Jasper.

The plot is one of those Big Finish tales that would probably have worked better as a TV episode. Indeed, the main series would go on to explore pirates a few times, such as in Curse Of The Black Spot and Legend Of The Sea Devils. This audio pirate storyline can be hard to follow at times, due to the format's limitations meaning you obviously can't see the swashbuckling action. If any Big Finish were to be animated in the future, Doctor Who And The Pirates could benefit from it.

Although it's mostly a light romp through the age of piracy, Doctor Who And The Pirates does get surprisingly dark. The story is framed through the Doctor and Evelyn recalling the pirates trip to a university student named Sally (Liz White). At the end of the story, it is revealed that Sally was going to commit suicide, and had written a farewell letter to Evelyn. Sally's depression and suicidal thoughts give an emotional anchor to Jaqueline Rayner's script, and also serve to give some deep context as to why the Doctor and Evelyn are telling this pirate tale.

The Doctor knew about Sally's letter and their recollections to Sally are an attempt to give her enough hope to continue living. It's more thoughtful and profound than you'd expect from Doctor Who doing pirates, and is a precursor to the TV show later exploring these kind of weighty issues in episodes like Vincent And The Doctor, where Vincent Van Gogh's dealings with depression are shown.

[Seb Hasi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can see why this story is beloved by Dr Who fans, and unfortunately because it does things I hate. I don’t mind the singing and the whole musical aspect, nor the way its framed as a narrated story so much, it’s the fact that the actual plot is paper thin; with them banking on the fact that Bill Oddie is playing the villain, to make you actually interested in the thing. The story could be written on a post-it note ‘evil pirates raid a ship and go searching for treasure, Doctor on the ship trying not to get killed Evelyn follows. Doctor tricks them, the end’. I was stupefied by how little happens and I am meant to taken in by the plight of this character who Evelyn is visiting in the greater plot than the narrated tale. We barely get to know this girl for almost three episodes bar her constantly complaining about wanting to be left alone and then of course talking about how she committed manslaughter. It’s certainly an odd use of meta-textual writing and I think even as the story tries to have its more intelligent and self-referential moments, it just gets more and more stupid. Colin Baker and Maggie Stables are as great as ever, so charismatic and so charming together and are frankly the only thing that held it together for me. The supporting cast do what they’re doing well, but nothing of any great note or significance happens and a few sea shanties make no story perfect.

Evelyn’s companion for the story is so clearly set up to be the emotional crux that it’s glowing neon from the start what his fate will be. Bill Oddie gives a very pantomime performance and personally I found that going over the top, with something already overwrought with cliche, just makes it grating. It was also very odd to me that Evelyn feels so responsible for the death of her sort of companion, and goes to cheer up a student who did quite literally murder someone. There isn’t any real resolution to that side of the story, it just sort of ends and they go off to have more adventures. There were some fun cliffhangers and there was some very original music used, elements give the story a unique feel and do provide some good amongst all the borderline painful aspects. In all, this story is a campy adventure with a heavy focus on comedy, and a fraction of attention paid to a well written narrative. I didn’t hate it, I was just mostly bored that scenes such as pirate mutinies repeat themselves over and over. The framework story doesn’t really the emotional beats it’s trying to so it renders the whole thing redundant really.

[Steven Shinder · Rating 5 out of 5]

This audio has gotten a resurgence in popularity recently as it has been approaching its 20th anniversary. I can see why. Evelyn and The Doctor tell Sally a story of one of their adventures, with the unreliable narrator trope coming into play now and then, but not in an overbearing manner. Midway through, there's some fun singing, and there's even a nice rendition of the Doctor Who theme at the end. It's also funny how Evelyn mentions The Doctor having met Winston Churchill. I automatically imagined the Ian McNiece portrayal. Such a fun story all around.

[Chris · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really don't understand how this has almost 4 stars. After starting with Evelyn telling one of her students a pirate story for no apparent reason, it takes about an hour before we kind of find out why, and it still makes no real sense. Then at the halfway point this turns into a musical for a half hour. WTF! Plus you have an annoying dandy as the captain. Perhaps this works as a story for children, but for me, this ranks among the worst Doctor Who audios or TV episodes.

[Pietro Rossi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Evelyn goes to visit a student at home and starts to tell her a story about when she accompanied the Doctor when he met the infamous pirate Red Jasper. As the story progresses it becomes more preposterous as clichéd. But that's not the true meaning of this visit. It's about loss, guilt, acceptance.

Everyone is on top form in this goofy story, with the gear change being very effective. 8/10

Scoring: 0 bad; 1-3 poor; 4-6 average; 7-9 good; 10 excellent.

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

教え子のサリーの元を訪ねたイブリンは迷惑がるサリーをよそにドクターと経験した海賊に遭遇した時の冒険の話を始める。途中からドクターもやってきてイブリンと共にその冒険について語り始める。


当初、イブリンが話す海賊の話とサリーがどう結びつくのか謎だったのが、その理由がわかったとき、どどーんとイブリンの思いやドクターの優しさにやられる感じ。 Episode 3では突然ミュージカルモードになるのだけれども、すごく本格的で面白くそれだけでも聞く価値あり。当初、イブリンの語る物語の詳細を聴き取るのに苦労したけれども、そこを乗り越えるとわかりやすい話で、物語としてのバランスもよくとってもよかったと思う。ラストは希望を持っていいのだと信じたいところ。ドクターがめちゃくちゃかっこいい！ ドクター・フーのクリスマス・スペシャルとかでみたいようなお話。

[Katrina]

I am a lifelong fan of Doctor Who. Literally been watching the show since infancy.

And I am a HUGE musical theater fan. I see them all. I listen to cast albums on repeat. I am obsessed.

But this book... I don't know what it's supposed to be... I feel like I SHOULD be its target audience. I was just confused the whole time. What is even going on here? And more importantly... Why!?

[Sara Habein · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a mostly very silly one that reminded me a little bit of that episode of The X-Files with the vampires (and Luke Wilson), though this involves pirates. Part 3 is a Gilbert & Sullivan-style musical, but there are touching moments throughout, including the ending. The Sixth Doctor and Evelyn remain a great pair.

[Kelly McCubbin · Rating 3 out of 5]

THis has some charm at the beginning and the cliffhanger of the first episode, that The Doctor may SING is hilarious. Sadly, however, the promise of it falls apart after a few songs and it all becomes far too winky-winky clever for it to sustain the meta-narrative that is supposed to feel so deep.

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Evelyn and the Doctor tell one of Evelyn's students a tale set on the high seas to give them comfort after a traumatising time. With an entire episode of musical numbers. This one has everything, comedy, music, sadness, and a crazy pirate captain who is bloodthirsty and treasure hungry.

[Duncan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ever since Buffy the Vampire Slayer's musical episode most fantasy/sci-fi shows like to have their own go. Here it is Big Finish's Doctor Who ranges go. Colin Bakers really has a great knack with the Gilbert and Sullivan style songs. So It's episode three that will stay with you in this interesting take. the whole story follows on perfectly from "Jubilee" as both have dark twisted elements offset by humorous moments. I won't spoil the ending but it's simple yet heart wrenching. Bill Oddie puts in a marvelous performance that swerves from pantomime to pure unadulterated evil.

[Duckpondwithoutducks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Doctor Who meets Treasure Island meets Gilbert+Sullivan bookended with a mental health message. After listening, I was just like, what was that? 😂 But it was great fun.

[Luiz Santiago · Rating 3 out of 5]

Crítica | Big Finish Mensal #43: Doctor Who and the Pirates: https://www.planocritico.com/critica-...

[James Hynes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Continued proof that the Evelyn Smythe era is some of the best stuff Doctor Who has to offer.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

The musical parody threw me for a sec, but I love the frame story arc. <3 Evelyn is a great unconventional companion!

[November · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one's got everything. Pirates, silly comedy, serious drama, surprise musical third act...
CW for all but explicitly stated suicidal ideation. That's technically a spoiler, I guess.

[Viviana · Rating 1 out of 5]

[Audiobook]
Too much singing haha

[K · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was a good story until it turned into a musical.

[Charles Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

For anyone who has wanted a musical episode of Doctor Who, here you go. Excellent fun with the 6th Doctor (Colin Baker) and Dr. Evelyn Smythe (Maggie Stables)... and pirates!