{"id":744,"date":"2018-11-05T22:45:30","date_gmt":"2018-11-06T03:45:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.davidredd.com\/doctorwho\/?p=744"},"modified":"2023-07-15T22:38:17","modified_gmt":"2023-07-16T02:38:17","slug":"pyramids-of-mars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.davidredd.com\/doctorwho\/fourth-doctor\/pyramids-of-mars\/","title":{"rendered":"Pyramids of Mars"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThat’s the world as Sutekh would leave it. A desolate planet circling a dead sun.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor
\n<\/em>
\n\"\"<\/a>Another of the classics of the Tom Baker era because it is a very strong and well-paced plot with notable tense (even horrific) moments, engaging characters, and some important larger concepts for the show. Like the story before, it pulls thematic inspiration from an old horror film (in this case The Mummy<\/em>\u2014though the scene with the organ is also reminiscent of Phantom of the Opera<\/em>) but then takes it in the direction of an alien invasion scheme.<\/p>\n

It having been some time since the Doctor faced an all-powerful being, it is disturbing to see our hero writhing in agony before \u201cthe might of Sutekh\u201d. The Doctor\u2019s evident fear of him signals more about his power than anything Sutekh actually does, but there is definitely a chilling edge in the specificity of the threats that he makes: \u201cI can, if I choose, keep you alive for centuries, racked by the most excruciating pain\u2026 In my presence, you are an ant, a termite. Abase yourself, you groveling insect\u201d and \u201cAny further insolence, Doctor, and I shall shred your nervous system into a million fibers\u201d. Quite beyond the normal bluster of past villains in the show.<\/p>\n

The design has a few odd moments but the rainbow effect of the time-space bridge is iconic and the steaming footsteps at the arrival of Scarman quite cool. There is also a fairly good use of reverse camera in the scenes of the exploding missile and Scarman being shot. While the actor playing Marcus Scarman does a great job (and his makeup is so gaunt that he\u2019s hard to look at), it\u2019s the character of Scarman\u2019s brother Laurence who stands out more because he is portrayed in such a likable and sympathetic way. His giddy delight at entering the TARDIS is endearing, and you really feel bad for him being unable to accept that his brother is truly dead. He refuses to give up belief and is proved a bit right but sadly it gets him killed.<\/p>\n

By contrast, it\u2019s disturbing to see how callous the Doctor seems both to Laurence\u2019s grief and then to his actual death. As the story points out, the Doctor has the weight of millions that he has to focus on instead, but this is one of the early examples what would become a common theme of exploring the sometimes inhuman side of the Doctor. Sarah meanwhile keeps coming up with plucky retorts and one-liners in the face of danger, and you can see why she grew to be such a popular character.<\/p>\n

Probably one of the most interesting parts of the episode is when it addresses the concept of time and changing the future. Apparently, the show was getting to the point that it had to start addressing some fan questions like if Sarah is from the future then why do they need to worry about a threat in the past since they obviously win. As the Doctor takes Sarah back to the future to see the shell of what once was Earth he makes it clear: \u201cEvery point in time has its alternative, Sarah. You’ve looked into alternative time.\u201d While there had always been a lack of clarity between the immutability of time versus free will to change the future, this story addresses by taking a middle ground when the conversation continues with Laurence:<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you mean the future can be chosen, Doctor?”
\n\u201cNot chosen, shaped. The actions of the present fashion the future.\u201d
\n\u201cSo a man can change the course of history?\u201d
\n\u201cTo a small extent. It takes a being of Sutekh’s almost limitless power to destroy the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Best (or worst) unsettling moments:<\/h4>\n

There are three particularly unsettling moments for me in the story. The obvious one is the intentionally horrific first cliff hanger when the black robed figure arrives and grasps Ibrahim who writhes whimpering in agony at \u201cSutekh’s gift of death to all humanity.\u201d Another that affected me more as a kid was when Sarah is shown the decimated 1980s earth; it was disturbing to think of the end of the world, especially noting the Doctor\u2019s blank stare into the distance as he revealed it. On an emotional level, however, it\u2019s seeing Laurence Scarman to the last trying to reconnect to Marcus and still not understanding why his own brother is hurting him as he simply begs, \u201cMarcus, please.\u201d<\/p>\n

Firsts:<\/h4>\n
    \n
  • Trip to Mars<\/li>\n
  • The Doctor is cool in the sight of death<\/li>\n
  • Mention of 1666<\/li>\n
  • Pointed laws about time change<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Regrets:<\/h4>\n

    I find the design of the mummies with their large chest pieces to not only be a bit clumsy but also rather embarrassing. I was so excited to rediscover the show on TV in college after years of not getting to watch it. My roommate saw this episode and couldn\u2019t get past how they looked. \u201cThis is what you\u2019re so excited about?\u201d he asked. I\u2019m not sure why they couldn\u2019t have just made them look more like classic movie mummies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    \u201cThat’s the world as Sutekh would leave it. A desolate planet circling a dead sun.\u201d \u2013 The Doctor Another of<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[12],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davidredd.com\/doctorwho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/744"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davidredd.com\/doctorwho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davidredd.com\/doctorwho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidredd.com\/doctorwho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidredd.com\/doctorwho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=744"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidredd.com\/doctorwho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/744\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1399,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidredd.com\/doctorwho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/744\/revisions\/1399"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davidredd.com\/doctorwho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidredd.com\/doctorwho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidredd.com\/doctorwho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}