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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. It materializes in the right place, but the wrong time, arriving in the 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 discovered an ancient tomb linked to the prison of Sutekh (Gabriel Woolf), the last of the Osirans. When the archaeologist opens the site, Sutekh is able to reach out with his mind to possess him, giving him a chance to free himself from his prison and resume his reign of destruction.
After he witnesses the possessed Marcus, the Doctor quickly realizes the nature of this enemy. Sutekh's power is greater than any adversary he's ever faced. He has help from Marcus's brother, Laurence (Michael Sheard) - but Laurence's concern for his brother makes him unreliable. As the Doctor's every plan fails, he is forced into a direct confrontation with Sutekh. It's a battle he cannot hope to survive...
CHARACTERS
The Doctor: This is a rare story in which we see him genuinely scared. He knows that he is no match for Sutekh, and his fear manifests in extreme crankiness. He snaps left and right at Sarah Jane, and even more at Laurence. When Laurence's hopeless desire to save his brother disrupts one improvised plan, the Doctor reacts with cold fury. Sarah complains about his coldness, stating that he barely seems... "Human?" he says, finishing her sentence pointedly. The desperation lends urgency to Tom Baker's performance, which vies 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. Safely in the TARDIS, the ever-pragmatic Sarah Jane wonders why they can't just leave. After all, they've seen the future, and they know Sutekh doesn't destroy the world. The Doctor refutes her argument in the most direct way possible - by taking her home. But since they didn't stay to stop Sutekh, this alternate 1980 is a wasteland. Sarah Jane looks out onto it, and you can read the emotion on her face. She retreats into denial, accusing the Doctor of trickery, before resigning herself to reality: "We have to go back." It's a terrific scene - not least because Elisabeth Sladen sells it superbly, making what might have been merely an interesting detour into something that feels emotionally real.
A SHORT DIGRESSION...
There's no such thing as an "unbiased review." Reviews are, by nature, opinion pieces. Still, my bias for Pyramids of Mars is greater than any other single piece, because this was the serial that sucked me back into Doctor Who, 15 years after I had viewed it religiously as a child.
I had watched Who avidly during its weekly PBS showings during the 1980's. I saw every story from Robot through to Trial of a Timelord, and I enjoyed most of them. But after Trial, my local PBS station looped back to the First Doctor. The Hartnell era is now my favorite, but my young self had no interest in watching a creaky old black & white show. So I drifted away and more or less forgot about the series.
In the late 1990's, I discovered a few old Who stories in the collection of my local video store: Pyramids of Mars, The Brain of Morbius, and The Robots of Death. Pyramids was the most interesting-looking of the three, so I brought it home to indulge some nostalgia, figuring that I'd laugh at the cheapness of the program and at myself for ever having enjoyed it.
I did exactly that... for about the first five minutes (it should be noted that the opening Egyptian tomb scene is appallingly tatty). But once that opening scene was done, I found myself drawn in by excellent performances and a well-scripted story. After that, I quickly rented the other two tapes, and then I began actively seeking out more. Pyramids got me hooked. Though I've taken a few breaks from Doctor Who since, and I will again in the future, it's a show that I know I'll always come back to.
THOUGHTS
This is one of those rare cases in which all the elements of a production come together just right. This is almost a surprise, given its chaotic origins. Writer Lewis Griefer was commissioned delivered a 4-parter involving the Brigadier and UNIT, which was not to the liking of producer Philip Hinchcliffe or script editor Robert Holmes. Holmes proceeded to rewrite it from scratch, with the final product credited to the pseudonymous Stephen Harris.
The result is a superior piece of craftsmanship, one of Robert Holmes' best scripts even if it doesn't bear his name. At the start, it seems as if it's going to be standard fare. The Doctor is pretty much his usual self through Episode One, casually clowning about as when he does an exaggerated "crouch walk" under the priory windows. Then he sees the possessed Marcus and hears the name "Sutekh," at which point all facetiousness vanishes. From that point to the end, he is focused, snappish, and grim.
The story's effectiveness heavily depends on us believing that Sutekh truly is such a threat, even though he doesn't directly do much. The biggest factor in making him so formidable is the Doctor's own reaction. He doesn't simply proclaim Sutekh to be powerful - He reacts viscerally, growing ever more agitated as his plans fail. The serial also shows the fraction of Sutekh's power that is wielded by the possessed Marcus Scarman (Bernard Archard), who isolates the area in an invisible dome and dispatches people with a single touch.
Critically, the story sees the Doctor failing repeatedly. One gambit is scuttled by a misguided Laurence. Another is stopped because of Sutekh's mental control. Finally, the Doctor is brought face-to-face with the Osiran... and he is rendered powerless, with the dark god sneering that he is now "the plaything of Sutekh" before explaining 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!"
OVERALL
Pyramids of Mars is one of the series' best stories. Veteran director Paddy Russell helms it with an eye toward the visual, from the Doctor's introductory shot which sets a tone from the off, to the grounds of the priory, to the bleakness of the alternate future in which the villain isn't stopped. It's flat-out excellent, and I think it's a nearly ideal pick for viewers new to the Classic Series.
Rating: 10/10.
Previous Story: Planet of Evil
Next Story: The Android Invasion
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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. :)