text: the curse of the black spot " the curse of the black spot " is the third episode of the sixth series of the british science fiction television series doctor who . written by stephen thompson , and directed by jeremy webb , the episode was first broadcast on 7 may 2011 on bbc one in the united kingdom and on bbc america in the united states . it features the doctor ( matt smith ) and his companions amy pond ( karen gillan ) and rory williams ( arthur darvill ) . in the episode , the tardis materialises in the 17th century on board a pirate ship whose crew is being terrorised by a siren - like creature . after receiving an injury , however minor , a black spot appears on their palms and then the creature apparently disintegrates them . the producers wished to develop a pirate - themed episode for the sixth series and allow the protagonists to " sit back and have some fun " on the adventure . the episode was primarily filmed at a dock in cornwall and upper boat studios in wales . " the curse of the black spot " was seen by 7 . 85 million viewers and received generally mixed reviews from critics . it gained an audience appreciation index of 86 – considered excellent . plot prequel on 30 april 2011 , immediately following the broadcast of " day of the moon " , the bbc released a " prequel " to " the curse of the black spot " . the prequel consists of a short montage of atmospheric shots of the pirate ship , bridged by a narration in the form of captain avery 's journal for " april the first , 1699 ; the good ship fancy . " avery describes how his ship has been becalmed for eight days , and the crew are being taken one by one by " an enemy " ; he fears that they are all doomed to die there . synopsis following a distress signal , the tardis lands aboard a 17th - century pirate ship stranded in the middle of an ocean . the ship 's crew have been terrorised by a siren - like creature ( lily cole ) who marks people with black spots on their palms after they are injured . her song then lulls victims into a trance , making them want to go to her , which apparently disintegrates them . rory williams ( arthur darvill ) receives a cut during a tussle with the pirates , and finds a black spot on his hand , but is prevented from succumbing to the song of the siren by amy pond ( karen gillan ) and the doctor ( matt smith ) . the siren is using water as a portal , the doctor instructs everyone to seek refuge in the ship 's dry magazine . there , they find toby avery ( oscar lloyd ) , the son of the ship 's captain henry avery ( hugh bonneville ) , who stowed away on the ship in order to join the crew after his mother died , unaware of his father 's illicit deeds . he too has a black spot on his palm due to a fever . in an attempt to escape , the doctor and avery board the tardis , but find it is acting haphazardly , and are forced to evacuate , and they watch as it by itself . after another shipmate is taken by the siren in a dry room , the doctor realises the siren is using reflection to appear . in response they rid the ship of reflective surfaces , including the ship 's stolen treasure . when a storm begins , the crew start to set sail . toby drops a polished crown while bringing his father a coat . the siren is summoned and takes toby . soon , rory falls into the ocean , and the doctor rationalises that the siren has shown intelligence and will likely get to rory before he drowns . believing the victims are not dead , the doctor convinces avery and amy to prick themselves . the doctor 's suspicions are confirmed when the siren 's touch actually teleports them to an alien spaceship , invisible in the same spot the pirate ship is located . the doctor finds the spaceship 's crew long dead from exposure to a human virus . the trio then discover a sickbay where avery 's entire crew , toby and rory are in medical care . the siren turns out to be the ship 's virtual doctor , caring for the injured humans ; the black spots are tissue samples used as references . amy convinces the siren to release rory into her care . using rory 's nursing knowledge , amy and the doctor remove him from life support and are able to resuscitate him . meanwhile , avery decides to stay with his son and his crew , unable to go back to england himself while the ship will care for his crew . avery takes the helm of the spaceship and , along with toby and his crew , sets off to explore the stars . continuity the historical pirate henry avery was previously mentioned in the 1966 serial the smugglers , which deals with the search for " avery 's gold " . " the curse of the black spot " re - asserts unresolved plot points from the previous two episodes , " the impossible astronaut " and " day of the moon " ; amy and rory express concern over the doctor 's future death , madame kovarian appears briefly to amy , and the doctor again uses the tardis scanner to perform a pregnancy test on amy , the results of which remain unclear . production writing and casting in january 2011 , it was announced that downton abbey actor hugh bonneville would make a guest appearance as a " pirate captain " in an episode of the sixth series of doctor who . matt smith and karen gillan felt that working with the actor was " great fun . " he previously played sir sidney herbert and tzar nicholas i of russia in the seventh doctor audio drama the angel of scutari . later in february 2011 , it was announced actress and model lily cole was cast as a sea creature . the producers were looking for an actress who is " beautiful , " " striking , " and yet somewhat " spooky . " cole came early into the casting suggestions , and accepted the role when she was approached . the episode was written by stephen thompson . the producers wished to develop a doctor who episode set on " the high seas . " the episode was also made to allow the doctor and his companions to " kick back and have some fun . " as the episode was pirate - themed , the producers wanted to fit in as many elements as possible from pirate fiction , including treasure , mutinies , a stowaway boy , walking the plank , storms , swords , and a pirate with a " good heart " who " isn 't really evil . " " the curse of the black spot " was originally planned to be ninth in the series , but was moved forward prior to filming as executive producer steven moffat felt the first half of the series was too dark . filming and effects filming took place primarily in cornwall and the upper boat studios in wales . the exterior of the pirate ship was filmed at a dock in cornwall , while the lower decks were built from a set at the studio . the principal challenge to film at the dock was to ensure the audience would not see it . the crew set up smoke machines to simulate fog . to create the storm the crew used wind and rain machines , the latter of which went through 15 , 000 litres of water . the loud noise from the wind machines caused communication difficulties during takes . anticipating they would get soaked , the cast present on the deck wore dry suits underneath their clothes . before filming began on the storm sequences , darvill heard that he would perform the stunt where he is thrown into the sea , and was willing to perform it . the stunt would later be performed by a double . the scenes in which cole appeared on the ship were done by using a harness as if she was flying . because the actress wore green dress and makeup , the normal greenscreen was replaced by bluescreens in the studio . cole felt it was fun to fly on the harness , but found it painful after a few hours . gillan was allowed to perform several of her own stunts in the episode . she was excited to learn that her character would fight pirates with swords , and was taught how to handle one with basic moves . gillan was also allowed to swing across the ship . however , a stunt double was required to film the sequence where amy is thrown across the deck by the siren . the sickbay set was also built in a studio . because the beds were attached to strings , they were prone to swaying . the cast members who were asked to lie on the beds were instructed to stay still and not breathe heavily to limit movement . broadcast and reception broadcast and ratings " the curse of the black spot " was first broadcast on bbc one in the united kingdom on saturday , 7 may 2011 , from 6 : 15 pm to 7pm . it was shown on bbc america in the united states the same day as the uk broadcast . in the uk , the episode received preliminary overnight ratings of 6 . 21 million viewers . based on these estimated figures , viewership was up by 800 , 000 from " day of the moon " . final consolidated ratings for the episode increased to 7 . 85 million viewers , with a 35 . 5 per cent audience share . it was the second largest audience of the night , behind britain 's got talent on itv1 . in addition nearly one million viewed the episode on bbc iplayer . it was given an appreciation index of 86 , placing it in the " excellent " category . critical reception the episode was met with generally mixed reviews from television critics . dan martin of the guardian thought that " the curse of the black spot " was " a little bit anticlimactic " in comparison to the opening two - part episode of the series , though it was " a nice old - fashioned runaround bolstered by some high concepts and cute moments " , much like the classic episodes . he praised lily cole as the siren but criticised the character of avery . martin later rated it the worst episode of the first twelve of the series ( the finale , which had not aired at the time , was not included in the list ) . ign 's matt risley gave it an overall " good " score of 7 out of 10 , admitting that there were " some great lines " and the " space pirate " twist was " a refreshingly sci - fi spin on the well - worn genre plot " , but he criticised the siren for lacking qualities to become " a credible and terrifying who villain " . gavin fuller of the daily telegraph did not feel the episode was believable enough , citing bonneville 's performance , saying he " didn 't come across as a ruthless , greedy killer despite what his crew claimed of him , " and if the crew had been " nastier , " it could have given more potency to the siren threat . fuller felt that cole did " a decent enough job , " claiming that the siren was the " best - realised thing " about the episode , " only slightly ahead of karen gillan looking very fetching in a pirate outfit . " simon brew of den of geek started by comparing the episode to lost 's " massive , intriguing " cliffhangers , " and then off to other less interesting stuff , " mainly criticising that the little girl 's regeneration in " day of the moon " was left unresolved . however , brew " still enjoyed " " the curse of the black spot " , reacting positively to the episode 's production values and the reveal of the black spots . nick setchfield of the science - fiction based magazine sfx opined that the high points of the episode were that it was " high on shivery maritime atmosphere , " and the doctor for not being " in instant possession of all the facts , but who reloads his thinking as events unfold . " however , setchfield was critical of the story , claiming " pirates and who should be as a mix as gunpowder and a trusty flintlock , but ultimately this grog - time yarn falls short of its promise . " morgan jeffery of digital spy wrote " following on from that game - changing two - part premiere , this week 's doctor who provides us with a real change of pace , with a moody and atmospheric pre - titles sequence setting the scene for a far more traditional adventure . " jeffery praised the performance of bonneville , but was critical of cole 's role for her not being " given much to do except float around and look ethereal , " but added " the english model certainly looks the part , with well - judged special effects aiding her performance as the beautiful yet unsettling siren . " jeffery also thought that amy 's revival of rory was " well - acted by both karen gillan and arthur darvill , " but criticised the series for the numerous " rory 's dead " scenes , negatively comparing rory with the south park character kenny mccormick . jeffery rated the episode three stars out of five for being somewhat underwhelming in comparison with " the impossible astronaut " and " day of the moon " .