Doctor Who: The Pirate Planet

I love the Tom Baker Dr. Who, but not all episodes are equally good. This series is one of the better ones -- not unexpectedly, since Douglas Adams wrote it.

The plot involves a sinister Captain who brings prosperity to his people by doing something really evil -- and I won't tell you what it is for fear of giving away the plot.

The budget for special effects and sets for this series must have been about fifty pounds per episode (makes the original Star Trek series look slick in comparison) but for a true Dr. Who fan, the cheesiness of the sets only adds to the charm. This video has a classic laughably funny scene, with a ride in an "air car" that is obviously a cheaply constructed prop tilted to one side, with a blue back drop, and a fan blowing on the characters to imitate flight. But there are also some very witty lines, beautifully delivered by Tom Baker and others in the cast.

If you collect Dr. Who videos, this one is a "must have."

You hear, "Mr. Fibuli!!!!" alot in this excellent Dr. Who adventure. Out of my vast collection of Dr. Who tapes that I own, this adventure has to be the most watched. This entire story is so well done and it is such a unique tale that you will want to watch it again and again. The story starts with the Doctor in search of the 2nd key to time, which takes him to the planet Calufrax. Calufrax is actually a planet this is just about to be consumed by the very evil Pirate Planet. The captain of the pirate planet and the evil queen Zansea move about the cosmos eating other planets for their minerals. (Our Earth eventually becomes one of their targets... YIKES!!!) Of course, this is completely unexceptable to the good Doctor and the ever lovely Romana. After landing on the Pirate Planet they quickly become involved in aiding the mentiads in overthrowing the evil captin and queen. This story has a lot of adventure and excitement. The story is very engrossing and the special effects are actually not to bad this time around. The acting is well done and you will fall in love with the captain, queen and the comical Mr. Fibuli as they race toward their inevitable destruction. I won't tell you how this ends but I will tell you that it is an amazing surprise! Definately get this episode for your collection and you, like me, will find yourself walking around your house yelling ... MR FIBULI!!!!!! MR. FIBULI!!!!! hehe.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy writer, Douglass Adams, wrote this, the 2nd story in the "Key to Time" adventures. Set after "The Ribos Operation", The Doctor and Romana land on Zanak. Zanak is not your run-of-the-mill planet. The whole planet is a giant ship which can go anywhere in the universe. Zanak is hollow, so another smaller planet can fit inside of Zanak and they mine the inner planet. The first doctor who i watched in a long time!