- Title: Doctor Who – Pyramids of Mars
- wiki: link
Throwback Tuesday takes us back to a classic adventure through space and time with the Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker). Set in 1911, the adventure begins with the the opening of an Egyptian artifact on the spot U.N.I.T. will be constructed on decades later. Arriving after being thrown off-course by an entity powerful enough to project itself into the TARDIS, The Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen) encounter a scarred butler (Michael Bilton) who soon meets his demise, an irate English physician (Peter Copley), a walking mummy, and the murderous Egyptian Ibrahim Namin (Peter Mayock) spouting about destiny and fate as he works to summon a Servant of Sutekh to Earth.
With the help of Laurence Scarman (Michael Sheard), The Doctor confirms an odd signal coming from Mars. Although his efforts only end up getting him killed, Namin is able to bring a Servant of Sutekh to Earth allowing the possessed Marcus Scarman (Bernard Archard) to work with the mummies (which are actually disguised service robots) to free Sutekh from his prison on Mars. While the reanimated Marcus communicates with his god over lightyears through a sarcophagus, The Doctor and Sarah Jane look for ways to disrupt the signal and destroy the rocket the mummies are building.
The Doctor’s various plans for stopping Sutekh’s escape include dressing up as a mummy, bombing the rocket, and traveling through the sarcophagus to confront the last of the Osirans face-to-face. Understanding The Doctor’s connection to both the TARDIS and to Sarah Jane, the god attempts to use the latter as leverage, along with some mind-control, to force The Doctor to give Sutekh the former and the means of his escape from the Eye of Horus.
Only the last of the four episodes of the serial takes place on Mars with Zombie Marcus and the mummy making their way through the tomb, working through the various puzzles and defenses to keep Sutekh caged, with The Doctor and Sarah on their heels. Although the prison walls are breached, The Doctor has one last trick up his sleeve to prevent Sutekh from escaping by shunting the time tunnel into the future from which the villain will eventually emerge at the end of “The Legend of Ruby Sunday.”
Influenced by classic horror monsters, as were many of the episodes of that season, the four-part serial remains a favorite of many Who-fans from Baker’s run as the Fourth Doctor (and has even been chosen at times to represent his era as The Doctor). Fitting the Egyptian and space themes together, there are some oddities to the story to be sure (such as why was the rocket shaped like a pyramid?). Other notable moments include the mention of Victoria, the death of nearly every guest-star, and for fans who like to dig into and argue over continuity issues the episode also contributes to the UNIT dating controversy.
