| PYRAMIDS OF MARS by Stephen Harris |
| Story 82 Synopsis: The TARDIS is invaded and lands in a Priory in 1911. The Doctor and Sarah meet a man named Dr Warlock, who is shot. They take him to a Lodge, where he is tended by Laurence Scarman. Warlock was investigating the whereabouts of Laurence's brother, Marcus, who has been taken over by Sutekh, last of the Osirans. Marcus is trying to free Sutekh from his prison on Mars, with a rocket. The Doctor determines to stop him. Warlock is murdered by Sutekh's service robots. Borrowing some gelignite, the Doctor tries to blow up the rocket, but Sutekh contains the blast by mental power. So he travels along the transmat to Sutekh's tomb, breaking the Osiran's concentration. Sutekh then finds that he will able to use the TARDIS to transport Marcus to the Pyramid on Mars, to destroy the Eye of Horus. The Doctor takes Marcus there, but cannot prevent him destroying the Eye. But due to the time difference for the radio wave to travel from Mars to Earth, the Doctor is able to rig the transmat, and send Sutekh 7,000 years into the future, where he dies. The Priory is subsequently burned down. |
| Review:- Season 13 continued its move away from the UNIT-dominated Pertwee days, with an early piece where the Doctor bemoans his attempts to return to Earth. Cue one TARDIS invasion later, and who cares about the Brigadier? This is a really good, entertaining, dramatic, suspenseful story. Yes, there are faults, but this would be as effective if repeated tomorrow as it was back in 1975. The Doctor again gives the threat all credence, often at the expense of the people he is relying on. Here, he really starts kicking in as an inhuman character, quite oblivious to Laurence's devotion to his brother. It is almost a wonder that he spares Sarah the time of day, really. He manages to make the Doctor seem like a big deal, and Sutekh as fearsome at the same time. Sarah gets to give one of the greatest companion pieces ever, moving from almost strangled to a crack shot in the space of 20 minutes. She at least gives the Doctor some grounding when he starts acting so supreme. Marcus Scarman, as the servant of Sutekh appears, makes quite a tricky performance quite credible. He has the subtle villainy that is difficult to show when playing someone possessed. Laurence is one of the greatest one-off characters ever included, both clever and foolish, and all too human. His adoration of the TARDIS and his futile attempts to break through to his brother add heaps to his performance. I assume that Marcus was the older brother, which would explain a lot about Laurence. Dr Warlock manages to make a small part lively, providing the bridge between the Doctor & Sarah and Laurence. He is no less important or well-written for such a small part. Why doesn't he mention the rocket, though? Namin, Clements the poacher, and the old butler are all well-written and acted small roles, each adding an extra layer to the story. The robots are possibly my favourites from the entire series, so well-made, and presented as so deadly. Sutekh, finally, is so brilliant he almost gets away. The whole story is one attempt after another to stop him escaping, and it's only by a slim margin that he doesn't sneak out. Small talk, but big ideas. The designs are also great, the transmat, the mummies, the rocket, the tomb, the costumes... Overall, possibly the finest story of all time, and just the sort of inspiration that any TV production team could take as a yardstick of what's possible. One to watch. Osirian fans may wish to know this story is followed up in The Sands Of Time, and to a different extent, GodEngine. |
| Disclaimer: I've seen the video, and read the book. |