After a blistering two-part opening combo of “The Impossible Astronaut” and “Day of the Moon” that saw the end of a massive conspiratorial takeover of Earth in 1969 America, the on/off pregnancy of Amy Pond, Richard Nixon (and his disturbing penis-nose makeup), little girl regenerations, and even the death of the Doctor, series six of the longest-running sci-fi show in television history could probably use a break, or at least a break from the overreaching story arch that seems to have been embedded inside the entirety of Doctor Who’s sixth season.
One thing that immediately springs to mind as soon as The Curse of the Black Spot begins is the most obvious – there be pirates! And they’re inside the Doctor Who universe! Thanks to a certain Johnny Depp-starring blockbuster franchise (whose own fourth chapter is due back in theaters this month, go figure) dirty, smelly pirates have once again become popular in movies and – we hope – TV shows. The Doctor (Matt Smith), Amy Pond (Karen Gillan), and Rory (Arthur Darville) have somehow found their way onto the deck of a real pirate ship after the TARDIS picked up the distress call of another ship, which our intrepid crew first misinterpret for the hulk populated by it’s bearded inhabitants. Mix up or not, the ship is certainly in distress, as its crew is being picked off one-by-one by the Siren (a dreamy-eyed Lily Cole), a mysterious green-tinted lady of the sea who marks the injured person’s hand with the titular “black spot”, only to then entrance them with her melodious singing…before evaporating them into oblivion.
Captain Henry Avery (Hugh Bonneville) is not only tasked with saving his crew, but also his stowaway young son (Oscar Lloyd), who hints that there’s more to his estranged father than his grizzled pirate exterior let’s on. Of course there is, this being something of a family show, and it’s not long before our time traveling heroes join forces with what’s left of these scurvy dogs to solve the mystery if the singing Siren and try to make it back to their own time alive.
As much as we love traveling the galaxy with the Doctor and visiting new worlds and meeting strange alien races, sometimes it’s nice to just sit back and experience something a bit more….terrestrial for a change. I suppose a 17th century pirate ship out in the middle of the ocean, and one supposedly haunted by an aquatic demon will have to suffice. The dual-ship sets (three if you count being inside the TARDIS, which looks and sounds more like something out of Willy Wonka than ever) are pretty good and appropriately filthy. Likewise, everyone gives fine performances, especially Hugh Bonneville as the determined lead pirate Captain Henry. It also gives the typically space-age show a chance to have a different sort of fun, and there’s more than enough pirates-themed moments to keep fans on the look throughout. I mean, who knew that Amy Pond could swash-buckle with the best of them? She certainly didn’t pick up that skill doing kiss-o-grams.
While I certainly wasn’t expecting a Pirates of the Caribbean-sized adventure, I guess I was hoping for something a bit more piratey than what we got here, which was a smaller, more intimate adventure. At least the dual-ship sets (three if you count being inside the TARDIS, which looks and sounds more like something out of Willy Wonka than ever) are pretty good and appropriately filthy. Likewise, everyone gives fine performances, especially Hugh Bonneville as the determined and gun-toting lead pirate Captain Henry.
A big disappointment was the lack of context for the Siren and how she might have influenced so many of the classic ‘lady of the sea’ tales of the past, particularly the ancient Greek tale of the fabled Siren of the sea. Hardly any mention is even made of this, apart of the Doctor’s quip that most curses were just humans’ way of acknowledging that “bad things are happening but you can’t be bothered to explain them.” One of the most enjoyable things about the best Who episodes is how they tie some of the most ancient and mythological mysteries (and monsters) inside the realm of time and space, and it was a shame that theme wasn’t explored more in depth here.
And why do they keep referring to the siren as mermaid-like? Apart from her tendency to emerge from water (which is soon explained away) there isn’t much about her that screams “mermaid”. I mean, where’s the fish-like tale, the scales, or the flippers?
Also, it was a little disappointing to see the old ‘make it up’ type of problem-solving show up not once, but (at least) twice during this one episode. Without giving too much away spoilers!) let’s just say the Doctor and crew take a considerable leap of faith when left with few choices to escape the Siren, which leads to another enormous gap in logic immediately afterwards; why, after said leap ‘o faith, were they not subject to the same ‘fate’ as the rest of the crew that fell victim to the Siren? And why do so many mysteries always have to end with the most obvious (in Who terms) solution?
As disappointed with several elements running through The Curse of the Black Spot, I can’t deny that seeing our heroes playing on a pirate ship was fun, and I’m willing to forgive the script’s laziness in really taking advantage of every pirate possibility it could have. If nothing else, it was relaxing to see a complete episode that wasn’t completely laced with must-watch moments, lest you feel left out on the entire season’s underlying story-arch. Next week’s giddiness-inducing “The Doctor’s Wife” promises to return things back to normal, or at least as normal as things could ever be in a series starring a forever-man who travels through space and time inside a small wooden box (that’s bigger on the inside).