The latest Sixth Doctor boxset is neatly split into two three parters, but sadly neither were all that memorable. Not bad, not great, just… average. Oh well, let’s take a look at the first one then, that being “Saoirse of the Seven Seas”, which features an Irish female pirate called Saoirse O’Grady taking on not just the greedy British fleets but aliens, too…
The Doctor (Colin Baker) and Peri (Nicola Bryant) land the TARDIS on the ship of Saoirse O’Grady (Rebecca O’Mara) who is having issues keeping her men in check due to occasionally passing out, not to mention being a woman leading men during the time period, but that all pales in comparison to a massive ship that soon appears and swallows some other ships whole. Back on shore a British navy man called Sir Kenneth Rushworth (Gareth David-Lloyd) is trying to convince some local Irish farmers that losing a bunch of their crops to go towards feeding British people is a good thing and gets mad when Saoirse is mentioned as something of a local hero, sinking British ships and the like. All these things soon come together though as Kenneth takes a call on a special amulet from an alien called Xeneroth (Barnaby Edwards) who mysteriously wants Kenneth to stop the pirates but not harm Saoirse.
It all comes to a head on the ocean as Xeneroth and his Zorathon ship appear before Saoirse just as Kenneth’s fleet arrives, and seeing the perfect opportunity to sink his nemesis Kenneth opens fire on Saoirse’s ship, causing Peri to fall overboard and get swallowed by the alien vessel, and for Xeneroth to end his business venture with Kenneth due to him breaking his word, soon destroying or swallowing all the of the British ships too. The Doctor, naturally worried about Peri, hatches a plan that involves intentionally getting swallowed, but it seems Saoirse might not be in any condition to continue…
As mentioned, it’s fine. Rebecca O’Mara does a great job as Saoirse, and a lot of the surrounding guest cast (as well as Colin and Nicola!) do a good job too, it’s just the script isn’t all that exciting, which no amount of good acting can undo.
The Continuity:
Not 100% sure why the set is called “Bad Terms” overall, I guess it sort of works as a pun for the second story… a bit. *shrugs*
Nothing to say, I mean this isn’t the first Doctor Who story to touch pirates or arrogant British noblemen, but nothing directly connects. I will say that outside of the story the writers have placed this in the “Older Peri” run of stories that began with the audio “The Widow’s Assassin”, which is nice to see that thread get picked up again, at least.
Overall Thoughts:
“Saoirse of the Seven Seas” is perfectly fine, well acted and all that, but it never got its hooks into me, it was always just… alright. Plodded along, never got boring or bad, but never got exciting or great either. A good example of “average” if I’ve ever seen it! (or heard it, I guess…)
It turns out that Saoirse’s condition is that she’s pregnant, and the father of the child? Xeneroth! Yes, turns out human and Zora (no, not that kind of Zora) physiology are compatible and they had something of a fling nine months previous, causing Xeneroth to convince his higher ups to send him to Earth to gather resources despite the planet not having enough to justify it, all so he can bring back his lover and their child. Sadly the Zora higher ups have enough of everything and pull out, Kenneth ruins any proper escape attempt once The Doctor finds Peri, and soon the Zorathon ship is set to explode. With help from a freshly-given-birth Saoirse and a now on-their-side Xeneroth they all escape in time… well, apart from Kenneth who ran off in search of fortune like a knob. They then lived happily ever after, I guess? … There were some bits with a Saoirse first mate creating a pirate alliance and a snivelling Kenneth underling who turned out to be not that bad a person in the end, but that’s the general gist of the story…
Hogan Reviews 