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| Possessed by Sutekh. |
4 episodes. Approx. 98 minutes. Written by: "Stephen Harris," Lewis Griefer (uncredited), Robert Holmes (uncredited). Directed by: Paddy Russell. Produced by: Philip Hinchcliffe.
THE PLOT
The TARDIS is thrown off course again. This time it lands in the right place - but the wrong time, materializing in the old priory that once stood on the site of UNIT headquarters. The year is 1911, and the priory is home to Marcus Scarman (Bernard Archard), a professor of Egyptology. Marcus has been possessed by the will of Sutekh (Gabriel Woolf), last of the Osirans, who was entombed in Egypt millennia ago after attempting to destroy all life in the galaxy. Marcus' discovery of his tomb has presented the Osiran with an opportunity to free himself, and resume his reign of destruction.
When the Doctor realizes the nature of his enemy, he determines to stop Sutekh. But as his every plan fails, he finds himself faced with a desperate choice. He must face Sutekh face-to-face - a confrontation he cannot hope to survive!
CHARACTERS
The Doctor: A rare story, in that we see the Doctor genuinely scared. He knows what Sutekh is, and knows that he is no match for the Osiran. The Doctor is out of his depth and improvising madly to make up for it. His fear manifests in extreme crankiness. He is snapping left and right at both Laurence and Sarah Jane throughout the story. When Laurence interferes with one attempt to stop Sutekh out of misguided loyalty to his brother, the Doctor responds with coldness, essentially cutting Laurence out of further attempts. When Laurence is later killed, the Doctor barely bats an eye. Sarah Jane complains about his coldness, stating that he barely seems... "Human?" he says, finishing her sentence pointedly. Tom Baker is on superb form throughout, his performance vying with Genesis for his best work up to this point.
Sarah Jane Smith: The "alternate 1980" scene in Episode Two is a justly famous one in the series' history. One aspect of it that is rarely discussed, though, is how good Elisabeth Sladen is. Safely in the TARDIS, the ever-pragmatic Sarah Jane wonders why they can't just leave. After all, they know Sutekh doesn't destroy the world, since the world is still there 70 years later. The Doctor refutes her argument in the most direct way possible - by taking her to the 1980 in which they didn't stay to defeat Sutekh. As Sarah Jane looks out onto the desolation that is the new Earth, you can read every emotion on her face. When she turns back to the Doctor, she responds with denial and anger in the same breath, accusing the Doctor of trickery before finally acknowledging the truth. "We have to go back," she says with a heavy calm, as the Doctor nods confirmation. It's a terrific scene - not least because Sladen sells it, making what might have been merely an interesting detour into something that feels emotionally real.
A SHORT DIGRESSION...
Not there's really any such thing as an "unbiased review" - a review is, by nature, an opinion piece. Still, I should say up-front that any review I write of Pyramids of Mars is likely to be influenced by one big fact.
This is the story that got me back into Doctor Who, after a good 15 years away.
I had watched Who avidly during its weekly showings on PBS during the 1980's. During that time, I saw every story from Robot through to Trial of a Timelord, and had enjoyed most of them. But after Trial, they looped back to the black & white era, and my young self had no interest in watching the early programs (which have since become my favorites). So I drifted away, and more or less forgot about Doctor Who.
Until the late 1990's, when I spotted a few old Who stories in my local videostore: Pyramids of Mars, The Brain of Morbius, and The Robots of Death. I decided to indulge nostalgia, and brought home Pyramids. After cringing at the cheapness of it for the first 5 minutes or so (and even by the standards of the series, the Egyptian tomb set is appallingly cheap), I found myself quickly hooked by the story and the acting. In quick succession, I watched the other two tapes, and then began actively seeking out more. Had I brought home either of the other two, I'm doubtful that would have been the case. But Pyramids got me hooked, and from then on I stayed hooked.
THOUGHTS
This serial is one of those rare cases in which all the elements of a production - script, performances, directing, and production values - come together just right. A case of a troubled genesis leading to an excellent end product. Lewis Griefer had been commissioned to write the script, and had delivered a 4-parter involving the Brigadier and UNIT. The story was not to the liking of producer Philip Hinchcliffe or script editor Robert Holmes, so Holmes rewrote it from the ground up, with the final product credited to the pseudonymous Stephen Harris.
The result is a superior piece of craftsmanship, and it's an irony that one of Robert Holmes' best scripts doesn't even bear his name. It's a story that opens seeming like a fairly standard piece. The Doctor is pretty much his usual self through Episode One - right up until he hears the name "Sutekh." Then he becomes deadly serious and extremely short-tempered.
The effectiveness of the story depends heavily on us believing in the threat of Sutekh. In this, the serial succeeds admirably. First is the Doctor's obvious fear. He doesn't just proclaim Sutekh to be an incredible threat - He reacts emotionally to the threat, and becomes more agitated as his plans to stop him fail. We see the power of the possessed Marcus Scarman (Bernard Archard), able to isolate the area and dispatch people with a touch, and we are made to understand that what we see Marcus able to do is hardly a fraction of Sutekh's true power.
This is also a story in which the Doctor fails consistently throughout the four episodes. One gambit is scuttled by a misguided Laurence. A second is stopped because of Sutekh's mental control. Finally, the Doctor is brought face-to-face with Sutekh himself. And the Doctor is rendered powerless. When Sutekh, speaking with Gabriel Woolf's deep tones, proclaims him "the plaything of Sutekh," forcing him to his knees in agony. It becomes even more chilling as Sutekh explains the nature of good and evil from his warped perspective:
"Your evil is my good. I am Sutekh the destroyer. Where I tread, I leave nothing but dust and darkness I find that good!"
Terrifically well-paced and directed with an eye toward the visual by veteran Paddy Russell, this is easily one of the series' top twenty stories. I already mentioned the extreme cheapness of the opening scene... but that is balanced out by the very strong production values of the rest of it, with even the scenes on Mars reasonably well-realized. An excellent serial, one I would say is a near-ideal pick for a viewer relatively new to the Doctor Who fold.
Rating: 10/10.
Review Index
Wrong, wrong, wrong.
ReplyDeleteThis story is typical stupid Hincliffe-era gothic horror shit. And like anything associated with horror, is stupid and pointless.
Where's the comedy? Where's the silly, light-hearted fluffiness? Where's everything that good Saturday evening entertainment should be?
Nowhere!
Far from everything coming together just right, this is a production (and arguably, an entire producership) that gets everything wrong from the concept downwards, and the end result is something that's as drab and worthless and depressing as any horror film.
Thankfully, Williams would eventually come along and redeem the Tom Baker years. But at this point, that was still a long way in the future.
I think we'll probably be very far apart every time I review a Tom Baker story, since I find Tom to be at his best when he's being serious and at his worst when he's trying too hard to "be funny."
ReplyDeleteI will say that Hinchcliffe's not my favorite producer - too many stories that are just too much alike can create a numbing effect, when viewed in sequence. But I think the overall quality of both production and performances stands up well, and that he produced few truly *bad* stories and several very good ones.
Then again, I rather like a good horror film now and then. :)