Day 413: Pyramids of Mars Part 4

I've estimated that this point in the run of the blog marks a particular milestone, namely that I have now reached the halfway point on my journey. It's been a remarkably fun ride so far, with some particularly enjoyable episodes such as Pyramids of Mars Part 4, for example.

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.

Day 412: Pyramids of Mars Part 3

Laurence Scarman is a lovely character in this story. He represents the typical turn of the century gentleman, a man who believes in what is right. This is exemplified in the cliffhanger for Part 2, where he prevents the Doctor from activating a machine to attack the villainous Sutekh, as it would also attack Marcus Scarman, Laurence's brother and a pawn of Sutekh, arguably already dead according to the Doctor.

Laurence also gets this story's best scene, as his brother finds him working away in a hut. He talks to his brother and attempts to remind him of his past life. For a second, Marcus remembers, and tries to break free from Sutekh's power, but Sutekh takes control again and he moves towards Laurence. Then, in a chilling scene Laurence begs Marcus for mercy, but in a confused state. He can't actually comprehend that his brother has been made evil and he looks on in a state of confusion as Marcus begins to crush him to death. The scene shows that there is no room for lightness in the story, and that darkness has prevailed, with only the Doctor and Sarah Jane standing in its way...

Day 411: Pyramids of Mars Part 2

There's an age old question for Doctor Who stories. Stories that are set in the past can't turn out badly because we know that the future is alright, therefore everything will be swell. But time can be rewritten, as is discovered in the clip above. When Sarah Jane requests to be returned to 1980, she finds that it has become a desolate wasteland. Suddenly, we get a chilling realisation both of the villain's power and of the importance of fighting against evil in all time periods. This is one of the most important scenes in Doctor Who as it reveals that what the Doctor and co. do is not worthless, and that they really do help make history go on the correct course, preventing vast temporal disasters throughout their travels in the TARDIS.

Day 410: Pyramids of Mars Part 1

It's going to be somewhat difficult to comment on this story. As mentioned previously on this blog, I used to play the video game Age of Mythology, and through it I gained an interest in Greek, Egyptian and Norse mythology. Around the same time, I was discovering Doctor Who and thus I sought out episodes where these things were heavily present. One of these was Pyramids of Mars, which I used to watch incessantly, with the end result being that I feel like I know this story like the back of my hand and there's not much that will surprise me.

But that doesn't get in the way of what is a good story. As I mentioned earlier, I was obsessed with Egyptian mythology as a child, reading and learning more and more about this thoroughly interesting culture. And this isn't just restricted to me, as Mummy movies and the like have shown with the Hammer and Universal Mummy pictures. So it makes sense for the series to take something that's popular and put a 'Doctor Who' spin on it, creating something memorable and enjoyable at the same time.