The Space Pirates

] [cite web
url= http://www.drwhoguide.com/who_2y.htm
title= PAGENAME
publisher = Doctor Who Reference Guide
author =
date =
accessdate = 2008-08-31] [cite web
url= http://www.shannonsullivan.com/drwho/serials/yy.html
title= PAGENAME
publisher = A Brief History of Time Travel
last = Sullivan
first = Shannon
date = 2007-08-17
accessdate = 2008-08-31] This serial was written as a replacement for "The Dream Spinner" by Paul Wheeler, which for technical reasons was dropped at a late stage in production.

Patrick Troughton, Frazer Hines and Wendy Padbury were all away on location filming "The War Games" during the production of episode six and appear only in pre-filmed inserts. Thus, this is the only 1960s episode (except for the 1965 story "Mission to the Unknown") to have none of the regulars present for a studio recording.

Missing episodes

All episodes of this story, except Episode 2 — preserved as a 35mm film telerecording — are missing from the BBC archives. Pre-filmed inserts from Episode 1 also exist, as well as the audio soundtrack for all episodes.

In 1998, an episode of this story was discovered in the collection of an amateur video enthusiast from the south of England. The episode is the earliest known existing off-air domestic videotape recording of an episode of "Doctor Who", but unfortunately was of the already-existing Episode Two. [http://www.btinternet.com/~m.brown1/boffin.htm]

Doctorwhobook
title=The Space Pirates
series=Target novelisations
number=147
featuring=


writer=Terrance Dicks
publisher=Target Books
coverartist=Tony Clark
isbn=0 426 20346 1
set_between=
pages=
date=15 March 1990
preceding=The Happiness Patrol
following=Remembrance of the Daleks|

Commercial releases

Episode 2 was released on VHS in 1991 on "Doctor Who - The Troughton Years". In November 2004, it was released on Region 2 DVD in the three-disc "Lost in Time" box set. The DVD also includes surviving pre-filmed inserts from Episode 1.

In February 2003, the audio soundtrack was released on CD with linking narration by Frazier Hines.

In print

A novelisation of this serial, written by Terrance Dicks, was published by Target Books in March 1990 and was the last Troughton-era story to be published in the traditional Target format. It was also the last novelisation written by Dicks.

References

External links

*BBCCDW|id=spacepirates|title=The Space Pirates
*Brief |id=yy | title=The Space Pirates
*Doctor Who RG | id=who_2y | title=The Space Pirates

Reviews

*OG review | id=yy | title=The Space Pirates
*DWRG | id=spacp | title=The Space Pirates

Target novelisation

* [http://www.personal.leeds.ac.uk/~ecl6nb/OnTarget/1990/space/90space.htm On Target — "The Space Pirates"]