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I was a bit sceptical at the beginning of the story. I did not really get it. But the longer the more invested I got. It was a really good story by the end. I could do without the singing but I see why it fits in this story. 4.5/5
Really enjoyed it! Love the singing, the story itself (with some nice meta-elements) is pretty engaging, actors do their best. The whole thing just feels… alive. Jacqueline Rayner did a marvellous job with the script! The cliffhanger where the Doctor is about to sing is certainly one of my favourite cliffhangers in the Main Range. I could probably find some downsides of this one, but I just don’t want to do that. It was very fun, and who am I to not give it an excellent score for all the enjoyment I felt during the listening process! 10/10
Musical “episodes” are very hit or miss for me. There are a few like from Buffy and Scrubs that really hit home, but a lot, like Raising Hope, Community, or Futurama have come out a bit lacking. Pirates, for me, leans towards the latter. The songs didn’t grab me and the story threw me off. It’s not bad, but was a solid 6/10 experience.
Sheer beautiful perfection. That’s all I have to say. Yes it’s silly but at the same time, there’s a really beautiful story underneath it and that’s what I really love.
Was going to write another one of my overlong comments, but this one had started to become even longer and ‘review-y-er’ than usual so i leaned into it. Tahdah! I think it’s turned out not too bad!
Jack Sparrow and Lloyd-Webber fear, the singing Doctor Who is here!
It was finally time to tackle Doctor Who and The Pirates! This has been hyped up and recommended to me several times over the past year (one crazy Danish pirate captain is particularly responsible).
I love s good pirate story, and Doctor Who isn’t sadly the best source for those. A good pirate story is made even better by either featuring Johnny Depp or musical numbers. I suspect that BF couldn’t afford Depp, so they had to resort to the latter, and I find that a wise decision.
Because Doctor Who and The Pirates is the best pirate story Doctor Who has ever done. Rayner combines her knack for lighthearted historical writing, highlighted in The Marian Conspiracy, with surprising dramatic depth and tragedy that slowly creep into the story. Part 1 is delightfully funny, and Part 2 is very talky, but then Part 3 delivers the tonal shift that turns the story into a musical. The songs are superb and everyone sings surprisingly well (Baker especially, and Helen Goldwyn!). And The Devil’s Chord pales in comparison to what BG is doing here. Why haven’t they made more musicals?
The framing device of Evelyn telling the story to one of her students, who constantly interrupts her, slowly but steadily develops into the most important aspect of the narrative, in what I would call a brilliant turn of events. It ensures that this story isn’t simply silly fun, but holds real emotional depth.
Red Jasper is such a fun pirate and I love Nicholas Pegg’s incompetent captain as well.
It pales so much that the White Guardian even says “Steady on!”. It pales so much that Turlough looks like he’s overslept in a tanning salon in comparison! It pales so much that Jesper Christensen’s character in James Bond has been renamed Mr. Black!
There can be no comparison!
“They call me Evil Evelyn!”“Hurray for the Pirate King”“Gallifreyan Buccaneer!” Vs
“There’s always a twist at the end”
And that fourth part, by your very own teeth is that the way to do emotional storytelling!
How could I have forgotten that famous Gallifreyan Buccaneer??
9/10
