Singing Pirates and a Lesson

Doctor Who and the Pirates, Or the Lass that Lost a Sailor is quite a mouthful and also the first Big Finish play I ever listened to. I first learned about it when I was browsing the Doctor Who TV Tropes Page and saw something about a musical audio drama. I promptly bought it off iTunes (don't do this--you pay $4 more than what the Big Finish site offers) and listened to it just for the singing. I thought it was wonderful and hilarious, although the Doctor and Evelyn didn't make much of an impression on me.

And here's where the lesson part comes in. For a month or so, this was the only Big Finish play I owned. I bought others, yes, but I saved them for the longest time and didn't listen to them. I've probably heard ...and the Pirates about fifteen times, which is not the thing to do with these plays. If you're going to re-listen, WAIT A WHILE. The impact and enjoyment just decreases each time. Yes, I practically have ...and the Pirates memorized, but I barely listen to it now because it's just gotten old.

I'm not saying don't listen to this play (I mean, besides The Scorchies it's the only Big Finish musical) but I'm saying that you shouldn't listen to Big Finish plays too many times. And don't spoil important parts of the plot for yourself, either, which will take away the gasp-and-ohmygosh-ing factor of the cliffhangers. People always say the best way to listen to a Big Finish play is to wear big headphones and sit down and listen with no distractions, but more important is to not listen to a play too many times. Pay attention and you won't have to listen to it again to understand it. You can only experience the shock of the end of Jubilee part two or The Kingmaker part three once.