The
lowdown: 'The Buccaneers' was an ITC Entertainment children's
drama series that was broadcast on ITV1 between 19
September 1956 and 12 June
1957. A total of 39 episodes were made, and starred Robert Shaw as Captain
Dan Tempest, a
former pirate. The series
is set in the West Indies in the 1720s, and it begins with Woodes Rogers,
the new Governor of the
British Caribbean province
of New Providence offering a pardon to all of the pirates in the region.
Dan Tempest and the crew
of his ship, The Sultana,
arrive at New Providence several weeks later and are arrested for piracy,
but the deputy governor Lt.
Beamish convinces Tempest
to give up his life of piracy and help to defend New Providence from pirates.
The Sultana's crew
included Armando (Edwin
Richfield), Taffy (Paul Hansard), Gaff (Brian Rawlinson) and Dickon (Wilfrid
Downing). Interestingly,
Robert Shaw himself does
not appear until the third episode, apparently due to other commitments.
The
episode: 'Conquistador' was the 23rd episode of the series
and was broadcast on 20 February 1957. The Sultana has
been attacking ships in
the region, and Dan Tempest demands that Beamish pay a ransom of £10,000
to ensure the safety
of New Providence. However,
the Sultana has been taken over by Spanish privateer Don Fernando
Estaban (Roger Delgado),
and its crew are locked
in the brig. Estaban wants to discredit Tempest and turn the people of
New Providence against him.
He offers a local councillor,
Van Brugh, a share of the ransom if he can persuade the New Providence
council to pay up the
money. The plan works and
the locals soon demand the capture and execution of Tempest and his crew.
However, Tempest
escapes and gets word to
Beamish about what is really happening; Beamish agrees to deliver the ransom
and a swordfight
ensures; Estaban and his
men are captured and Tempest's name is cleared. This was the second
of three appearances in
the series for Delgado,
who later reprised the role of Estaban in episode 25, Conquest
of New Providence.
Who
connections: A number of other Doctor Who actors
were in this series, including Roy Purcell (The Mind of Evil
and
The Three Doctors),
Derek Waring (Shardovan in Castrovalva), John Dearth (Lupton
in Planet of Spiders and the voice of
BOSS in The Green Death),
Edwin Richfield (Captain Hart in The Sea Devils and Nestor in The
Twin Dilemma), Joan Sims
(Katryca in Trial of
a Time Lord). Derek Sydney (Sevcheria in The Romans) and Neil
Hallett (Time Lash). Other actors who
became famous for other
roles include Sid James, Andre Morrell, Derek Nimmo, Paul Eddington, Alfred
Burke and Bill Owen.
Video
clips: Don Estaban
7.4mb
Tempest escapes
4.1mb
Estaban is captured
8.6mb |
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