Doctor Who/Recap/S32/E03 The Curse of the Black Spot: Difference between revisions

Captain Avery is understandably skeptical that the TARDIS crew picked up a distress call from them, since the pirates sent no signal and none of them has the faintest idea what a "sensor" is. Avery quickly gets fed up of all the Doctor's technobabble in trying to explain how the three got there in a blue box. Instead, he and pulls a gun on them. He settles on the more simple solution -- theysolution—they're stowaways. What shall we do with them?

The boy is in fact Avery's son, Toby, whose mother had died. He's under the impression that Avery is a celebrated naval officer, and he stowed away on the ship so he can join his fabled dad's crew. Which Avery isn't too happy about, to say the least. The boy also has a nasty cough and... the black spot. He doesn't have any cuts, though. The theory about the Siren being attracted to blood is out the window; instead she focuses on the wounded and sick. Humans being as weak and fragile as they are, it's only a matter of time before they all damage themselves in some way and become the Siren's prey. All the more reason to get out of here. The Doctor and Avery have another little test of wills. The gun comes out again. Toby, meanwhile, feels thirsty, and since there's a barrel of water, he lifts the lid to get a drink -- anddrink—and the Siren's arm comes out. The Doctor forces the lid back down on it.

On their way back to the others, they're waylaid by Mulligan. Complete with guns. It's a mutiny. He's got the last of the supplies, but Avery's more concerned about his treasure. A chase ensues, ending with Mulligan locked in a little room, lighting a candle -- andcandle—and burning his fingers. The Siren's song starts, but she's not here for the two outside the room. The problem is, since there's no water in there, how did she get in?

=== Tropes ===

** This isn't the first time that {{spoiler|[[Doctor Who/NS/Recap/S1 E9S27/E09 The Empty Child|malfunctioning alien medical technology]]}} has caused problems.

** This isn't the first time that {{spoiler|[[Doctor Who/NS/Recap/S1 S27/E12 Bad Wolf|people who were apparently being disintegrated -- including a companion -- were actually being teleported to the threat-of-the-week's ship]]}}.

** This isn't the first time that the solution has involved {{spoiler|[[Doctor Who/Recap/S16 E3/E03 The Stones of Blood|being transported to a spaceship that's in the same place but another dimension]]}}.

** This isn't the first time [[Doctor Who/Recap/S4 E1/E01 The Smugglers|a pirate called Avery has been mentioned.]]

** [[Doctor Who/Recap/S31 /E05 Flesh and Stone|Comfy sofa!]]

* [[ColourColor-Coded for Your Convenience]]: The Siren. Green means everything's fine, nothing to worry about. [[Turns Red|Red means be very afraid.]] {{spoiler|Or be more hygienic.}}

** [[Pirate Booty]]: Justified, for once -- theonce—the historical Henry Every really did capture a haul of gold and jewels (worth about US$400 million in modern money).

** {{spoiler|The reveal about an alien crew being killed off by human diseases may or may not be one to [[The War of the Worlds (novel)|The War of the Worlds]].}}

** It might also be partially the Doctor doing a [[Continuity Nod]] to [[Doctor Who/NS/Recap/S2 E2S28/E02 Tooth and Claw|a certain werewolf]].

** He figured out what a few of the instruments do. That's nothing like knowing how to pilot something -- justsomething—just because someone can spot and know what the wheel, compass, and gyroscope of a plane do doesn't make him a qualified pilot.