There are two major points that come to mind when thinking of this episode. The first is the beginning, which features the Doctor being tortured by the villainous Sutekh. It's a shocking scene as we see the Doctor put under intense pain. We aren't used to seeing the Doctor quite clearly losing, as he is forced to become one of Sutekh's playthings. This shows two things. One is that Sutekh is quite clearly a powerful force, and that we are all going to be doomed if the Doctor cannot prevent him from being set free. The second is that Tom Baker is a marvellous actor, fully conveying the intense pain that he is undergoing and making the audience feel greatly disconcerted in the process.
The second major point is more of a personal one. The majority of this episode concerns the Doctor and Sarah Jane chasing Marcus Scarman through a pyramid, completing little riddles as they go along. To an older eye this comes across as padding, and lacks much of the tension that was present in the first three quarters of the story. But when I first saw it, I loved it. I loved riddles and puzzles as a child, and so this sequence appealed to me, particularly as it showed the Doctor and Sarah Jane using brains instead of brawn to complete each obstacle. And so whilst I may have problems with this story as an adult, I can never take away the joy that it brought me as a child and I always enjoy thinking back on watching Pyramids of Mars and kneeling before the might of Sutekh.
No comments:
Post a Comment