One of the funniest stories in the entire series! It's cheesy, but in the best possible way (as with most Douglas Adams work). I laugh every time K-9 says Romana should make contact because "She is prettier than you are, Master" and when she offers the locals jelly babies, which she got "From the same place you do—your pocket." The trappings of traditional piracy add a wonderful layer of extra silliness (there's a literal plank to walk!), as do the Captain's wonderful costume and incredibly appropriate overacting.

The plot itself has more elements than it strictly needs—a hollow planet that crushes and mines smaller planets is very clever, as is a dying ancient monarch using said planets to rejuvenate herself, and even the overdramatic puppet Captain secretly creating a mechanism with which to destroy her, but by the time you get to the naturally psychic resistance cult who've lost their powers it's getting to be a bit much—but it's such a fun ride it hardly matters.

I love Romana's clever and self-important characterization, and the contrast with the Doctor highlighted when she doesn't hesitate to pick up a gun and shoot a guard. My favorite bit, though, has to be the main fight sequence, which is between Avitron the robot bird and K-9 the robot dog, culminating in K-9 depositing the "dead" bird proudly in the Doctor's hand. This is the best of the show's ridiculousness.