Space Pirates (series)

Space Pirates
Space Pirates promotional poster
Directed by	Bridget Caldwell
Starring	Luke Toulson Kirsty Rider Connor Panayi Adam Carter Dominic Byrne
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	30
Production
Producer(s)	Tony Reed
Running time	28 mins
Release
Original network	CBeebies
Original release	3 November 2007 – 22 March 2008
External links
www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/spacepirates/

Space Pirates is a British children's television series originally shown on CBeebies. It is a mixture of live action and animation, set aboard a space ship which orbits Earth. It stars Luke Toulson as Captain DJ, and features the voice of Radio X (United Kingdom) newsreader Dominic Byrne as an alien news/weather/travel reporter called Zorst. There are 30 episodes which were first shown from 3 November 2007 until 22 March 2008.

Space Pirates was commissioned for the BBC's CBeebies channel. The show is primarily aimed at children aged from four to six years old, although the show is designed to reach all ages and "bring the whole family together to explore a diverse range of musical performances." According to the BBC, for six weeks from 9 November 2007, viewers could press the red button on their TV remote controls and choose which of the three songs they wanted to listen to at the end of the show. The show has also featured on the CBeebies slot on BBC Radio 7.

In 2008, the episode "Music to Paint to" was nominated for a Banff World Television Award. The show was also nominated for Best Pre-School Live Action Series at the 2008 BAFTA Children's Awards.

The space ship Guisto is led by Captain DJ, who is very vain and stupid. It orbits planet Earth searching for music for the radio show, Guisto Radio. The tenuous storyline in each episode usually involves two space-wise kids, Honk and Tonk, who are played by children. They trick Captain DJ and/or Lippy by selling him something worthless for lots of doubloons or junk food. Lippy is a cheeky microphone who often makes fun of Captain DJ. Captain DJ's real name is occasionally revealed (it is "Leslie"). Also featured is a newsreader/weather forecaster/traffic reporter, Zorst, who is an alien barnacle who clings to the stern of the ship (near the exhaust, hence his name). He always ends his reports with bad jokes. There are three musical acts per episode, one performed live on set (or specially recorded), one pop-video, and one cover song by puppet rats called The Jingles - Windy, Stringy and Brassy. A group of children on Earth, the Pirate Posse, get to vote on which song was the best and who they want to hear again, which plays out the show.