YY3 - The Space Pirates 3

This story is the next in a run of classic Dudley Simpson scores. The highlight of the score is the haunting, ethereal female vocals, often appearing over the opening credits. The music is similar to that heard in Simpson's earlier The Ice Warriors, and elements of it remind me of Lalo Schifrin's score from the 1971 film Dirty Harry.

I'm also a fan of the opening credit sequences. To offset the multitude of space sequences in this story (set against a black backdrop, because, you know, space is black), the opening credits are written in black on a stark white backdrop (although it is most likely a traditional white lettering on black, with the picture turned to negative). I don't know why I've always liked these titles, but I do.

The Doctor, Jamie, and Zoe are finally getting involved, albeit tenuously, in the story by Episode Three. I'm becoming more disturbed, however, at how Jamie is being treated. His intelligence does, admittedly, fall far afield of the near-genius abilities of Zoe and The Doctor, but he's becoming resorted to being the first person to blindly rush into a situation and require The Doctor's help. In Episode Two, he receives a further slap in the face when The Doctor explains magnetism to him, then hands him two magnets to play with as if The Doctor was passing them around a class of pre-schoolers. I do enjoy the Doctor/Jamie/Zoe team as a whole, but Jamie has certainly suffered as an intelligent character since Zoe came on board.