The Space Pirates

049 – The Space Pirates
Doctor Who serial
Milo Clancey, on board his ship, the LIZ 79.
Cast
Doctor Patrick Troughton (Second Doctor)
Companions Frazer Hines (Jamie McCrimmon) Wendy Padbury (Zoe Heriot)
Others Gordon Gostelow — Milo Clancey Lisa Daniely — Madeleine Issigri Esmond Knight — Dom Issigri Jack May — General Hermack Donald Gee — Major Ian Warne George Layton — Technician Penn Nick Zaran — Lt Sorba Anthony Donovan — Space Guard Dudley Foster — Caven Brian Peck — Dervish Steve Peters — Pirate Guard
Production
Directed by	Michael Hart
Written by	Robert Holmes
Script editor	Derrick Sherwin
Produced by	Peter Bryant
Executive producer(s)	None
Incidental music composer	Dudley Simpson
Production code	YY
Series	Season 6
Length	6 episodes, 25 minutes each
Episode(s) missing	5 episodes (1, 3-6)
Date started	8 March 1969
Date ended	12 April 1969
Chronology
← Preceded by Followed by → The Seeds of Death The War Games

The Space Pirates

Author	Terrance Dicks
Cover artist	Tony Clark
Series	Doctor Who book: Target novelisations
Release number	147
Publisher	Target Books
Publication date	15 March 1990
ISBN

The Space Pirates is the mostly missing sixth serial of the sixth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in six weekly parts from 8 March to 12 April 1969. This is the second story written by Robert Holmes, one of the show's most successful scriptwriters, who would subsequently rise to become Script Editor on the show in the Tom Baker era. Only one of the six episodes is held in the BBC archives; five remain missing.

Space beacons on the space lanes are being blown up and plundered for precious argonite by a gang of space pirates led by Caven, and his associate Dervish. The Earth Space Corps cruiser V-41 notices the destruction of the beacon and, with General Hermack and Major Warne in charge, sets out to apprehend the pirates. Another beacon is destroyed despite their best intentions, and the fragments are stolen using rocket propulsion. Hermack deploys troops to all nearby Beacons to prevent another robbery.

The TARDIS crew arrive on Beacon Alpha Four shortly before the pirates reach it. Caven and his men murder the security force on the Beacon, and the pirates seal the time travellers in part of the Beacon before blowing it to pieces. Fortunately the beacon falls into discrete, sealed pieces and the Second Doctor, Jamie, and Zoe find themselves inside one. The eccentric Milo Clancey, in his aged ship, the LIZ-79, rescues them – but they cannot retrieve the TARDIS, which is in a separate segment taken by the pirates.

The nearest inhabited world is Ta, dominated by the Issigri Mining Corporation, whose leader is Madeleine Issigri. The firm was founded by her father and Clancey, and the latter is now suspected of Dom Issigri’s murder, though nothing has been proved. Hermack visits Ta, believing that Clancey, whom he suspects of being the pirate leader, will end up there in due course – and he is right. However, Hermack leaves just as Clancey and the TARDIS crew reach Ta. Zoe has plotted the trajectory of the segments of Beacon and believes they were destined for Ta too, and as per usual the Doctor and his companions soon find the pirate headquarters. They evade capture and make contact once more with Clancey.