NuWho Review: Series 6 Episode 3 "The Curse of the Black Spot"

By: Steven Thompson

**Spoilers**

If you have not yet seen this episode, please go and do so before proceeding.

        Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum! Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me! And all that jazz...

       This episode is definitely a guilty pleasure of mine. When it comes to the story, it's not very strong. There's lots of issues with pacing and all that, but it's pirates! HOW CAN WE GO WRONG WITH THAT?! Answer: we can't. There's nothing wrong with this episode if you just accept the shaky technobabble and hang on for the ride. We've got pirates, we've got sirens, we've got alternate dimensions, we've got The Doctor walking the plank, we've got Amy fencing, we've got alien snot, we've got just about everything that you could possibly want from a Doctor Who pirate-themed episode. It's definitely one that I watch again and again and it just becomes more fun with each repeated viewing.

Favorite Moments & Random Thoughts:

- This episode has one of the best openings ever with the pirates certain their shipmate was doomed for death that very night because of a small scratch on the hand. At first this seems very absurd and ridiculous (even the pirates from PoC weren't that cowardly) but then the titular curse is revealed and we hear the song of the siren for the first time. Then we know that we're going to be in for a wild ride.

- "Yo ho ho! ...Or does nobody actually say that?"

- It's Rory and Roman and Pond the Pirate! Implausible as Amy actually holding off a bunch of pirates with her fencing skills is, I do really enjoy this scene a lot. Especially since all of the pirates are so terrified of the smallest scratch. It's both funny and chilling.

- "If someone's going to kill you, it's nice when they drop a note to remind you." Man, The Doctor is so comforting to Rory.

- I really love the effect of the Siren leaping up out of the water. Lily Cole really gives a serene, ethereal performance as the seductive spirit. Is that really her singing? Because it's beautiful.

- "Look at these brilliant pirates. Look at their brilliant BEARDS! I'd like a beard. Amy, I'm going to grow a beard!" Why didn't Rory get enchanted on this show more? He's a riot!

- The Doctor equating the siren to a shark (and then the later revelation that she was a medical program) was a cool twist. What was so sinister makes an equal amount of sense as a helpful thing.

- Amy and The Doctor getting taken by the siren was quite a tense scene. It is, unfortunately, also the place where the episode starts to break down a bit logic-wise.

- The med bay was quite interesting. I do find it hilarious that the siren went all red-evil-eyes whenever The Doctor sneezed, though. She really did not like that he was leaving snotty handkerchiefs around.

- One of my issues with the ending to this episode is the question of WOULD the captain REALLY be able to pilot a futuristic spaceship? Really? There's quite a difference between a sailing rig and a rocket, just sayin'.

- Oh, and Rory died again...

- Rory's continued Kennyfication is starting to become a big problem, especially when it is used to force a climax like this. We don't believe that Rory is really in danger. Not really. We know that he's going to come back to life with little to no consequence, so why would we care if Amy saves him or not? It's not like he's going to be gone for good. 

- The scene where Amy saves him is either sad or annoyingly hilarious, depending on your level of attachment to the Ponds.

        This episode was a lot of fun. I do take issue with the ending, but it's harmless enough. I really, really enjoy all of the banter and jokes when they're on the pirate ship and (with the exception of the alien snot joke) all of the humor is very on point and funny. The Curse of the Black Spot is a 3/5.

What did you think? Do you agree with my rating? If not - what would you say differently?