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| They're the same, right? |
In any case, my failure highlighted a particular bout of confusion with the title of Episode 3, "the pirate one". Called "The Curse of the Black Spot" and rivaling "A Good Man Goes to War" in both length and ambiguity, the episode requires a bit of background information, which is probably provided in the story, to understand the meaning behind the title.
What is the black spot? Well, to answer that, let's turn to the most reliable source around, besides Julian Assange. Wikipedia reports:
The Black Spot is a fictional literary device invented by Robert Louis Stevenson for his novel Treasure Island. In the book, pirates are presented with a "black spot" to officially pronounce a verdict of guilt or judgment. It consists of a circular piece of paper or card, with one side blackened while the other side bears a message and placed in the hand of the accused. It was a source of much fear because it meant the pirate was to be deposed as leader, by force if necessary--or else killed outright.
Speculation would suggest that Hugh Bonneville's pirate captain has received a black spot and believes that the Siren is about to take his soul . . . or something. Bonneville's CV has listed him as "Avery", certainly attesting to his identity as John Avery, an alias of an infamous pirate who died in 1696: the year in which "Curse" takes place.
Avery's treasure featured heavily in the Classic Series story The Smugglers. After his real-life attack on a Mughal convoy ship, a £1000 reward established the first recorded manhunt—across the world, no less! His last recorded whereabouts were in 1696, when he left the Bermudan island New Providence to set sail for Ireland. It's believed he died on some tropical island, or perhaps at the glowing hand of an ethereal Siren.
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| "Curse" most likely airs May 7th. |
7 comments :
I do hope there is a smugglers connection in the episode. I hope it is mentioned at least. Of the missing episodes it is one I have a fondness to. It was one of the target novelizations I enjoyed the most. Maybe they'll announce Smugglers was found and the black spot is an episode made to hype the release on DVD.... I wish.
I hope so, too. I always like the subtle connections between Moff stories and the classic series, like the fact that Beast Below made reference to the very same solar flares of Ark in Space.
It makes the continuity just work better in ways that are comforting to the (30-year) vet like me while not being anything that would throw off the newbies.
DWM confirms this will air on May 7th, and gives to-be-confirmed dates for the following episodes (the usual episode a week format).
I like a good pirate story. Hoping this turns out be a great episode.
when i heard black spot i though Pirate of the Carribean.
Anyone else getting flashbacks to "The Resurrection Casket"? I wouldn't put it past Moffat to start drawing on the audio books as well as the classic stories.
I just realized — this is the only brief "Brief Analysis" I've done so far.
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