Sphere of Fear (Plundering “The Pirate Planet”)

The hottest sci-fi writer on the planet in 1978 was Douglas Adams. Not only was he about to bestow upon the world the original radio plays of The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, he also wrote his first Doctor Who adventure, The Pirate Planet. There are so many similarities — in tone, plotting, and effortlessly clever dialogue — that it’s easy to tell this story came out of the same creative spigot as Hitch Hiker’s, but the recycling doesn’t detract from this incredibly ambitious story about a planet-size genocide machine commanded by a cybernetic pirate captain. But is it still as good as its author’s reputation? By the cavity-ridden teeth of the sky demon, we’re going to find out. Commentary for The Pirate Planet begins at 27:01. Rate and review Pull To Open on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! Join the conversation on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! Follow us on: TikTok! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@pulltoopen⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@pulltoopen63⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@pulltoopen63⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠youtube.com/pulltoopen⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Play ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pull To Open Bingo⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! Story Essentials Season 16, Serial 2 Story number: 98, per the The Pull To Open Codex Writer: Douglas Adams Director: Pennant Roberts Producer: Graham Williams Aired 30 September - 21 October 1978 Pull To Open: The Pirate Planet Season 4 Episode 23 Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor Music: Martin West/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Thinking Fish⁠ --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pull-to-open/support