Pyramids Of Mars (Doctor Who - Pyramids Of Mars (DVD))

Member Name: vernonpresley

Product:	Doctor Who - Pyramids Of Mars (DVD)
Date:	04/01/08 (45 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Tom Baker as The Doctor

Disadvantages: None

PYRAMIDS OF MARS is the 8th 'Doctor Who' story starring Tom Baker, and was first broadcast in October / November 1975. The story also stars Elisabeth Sladen as his companion Sarah Jane Smith, who recently appeared in her own Children's BBC series, THE SARAH JANE ADVENTURES. The story is told over 4 episodes.

The plot has The Doctor and Sarah Jane materialising in the TARDIS in 1911 where they find an Egyptologist known as Marcus Scarman, who has been possessed by the last survivor of the Osirans, Sutekh. Sutekh has been imprisoned inside a pyramid in Egypt and has got Scarman to construct robots, who in turn are to create a missile to destroy the pyramid. The Doctor has to try to stop this, but this is only the start of his problems.

One of the most interesting points of this story has nothing to do with the main story itself, but simply that this is the last time that viewers were to see the traditional control room inside the TARDIS until October 1977, 2 years later. The next few stories either did not show the control room, or showed a different one, with wood-panelling. I always enjoyed the scenes which took place inside the TARDIS more than any others (I'm not sure why, it's a fetish), and remember really missing the white-walled control room during this period, although I can now pick and choose which stories, and therefore which control room, I will be seeing thanks to the invention of DVD!

Anyway, back to the story. PYRAMIDS OF MARS shows how the 'Doctor Who' concept can actually fit any genre, as although obviously still a science-fiction story, this one features all the trappings of gothic horror, including Egyptian mummies and possessed humans. Sutekh is a chilling villain, and the cliffhangers are very effective, more so than many others in the series' history, particularly the one that ends episode 1. This is one of the stories that makes me thank the BBC for releasing these Doctor Who stories in their original, episodic, version. In the days of VHS video they tended to turn the stories into 'omnibus' editions, effectively making them one long story with no interruptions for credits. This did a real disservice to the programme as when done right, as with this story, the cliffhangers can be really good. Of course in the 'omnibus' format the cliffhanger is done away with as the next shot follows directly on from what would have been he cliffhanger,

The DVD features a commentary by Sladen, Michael Sheard (another cast member in this story), Philip Hinchcliffe (the producer), and Paddy Russell (the director). There are a number of other interesting special features too, including deleted scenes, although my favourite special feature is 'Serial Thrillers' which is a documentary looking at the era of the show when Hinchcliffe was the director, with many cast and crew from his period involved.

I highly recommend this DVD to fans of the 'Doctor Who' series. It is available from Amazon UK for less than £8.

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DOCTOR WHO - PYRAMIDS OF MARS (1975)
Starring Tom Baker as The Doctor, Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith
Written by Stephen Harris (which was actually a pseudonym for Robert Holmes and Lewis Greifer)
Produced by Philip Hinchcliffe
Directed by Paddy Russell
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Summary: Tom Baker's 8th Doctor Who story