Pyramids of Mars: Part One 

The Doctor and Sarah are drawn off course and, instead of UNIT HQ, they arrive on the same site in 1911.

Director:

Paddy Russell

Writers:

Lewis Greifer (by) (as Stephen Harris), Robert Holmes (by) (as Stephen Harris)

Stars:

Tom Baker, Elisabeth Sladen, Bernard Archard

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
Tom Baker	...	Doctor Who
Elisabeth Sladen	...	Sarah Jane Smith
Bernard Archard	...	Marcus Scarman
Michael Sheard	...	Laurence Scarman
Peter Copley	...	Dr. Warlock
Peter Mayock	...	Namin
Michael Bilton	...	Collins
Vic Tablian	...	Ahmed (as Vik Tablian)
Nick Burnell	...	Mummy
Melvyn Bedford	...	Mummy
Kevin Selway	...	Mummy

Storyline

Returning to Earth after their latest adventure, the Doctor and Sarah Jane arrive at the site of UNIT headquarters, but in 1911 long before its existence. They find themselves in a room filled with Egyptian artifacts in a house owned by Egyptologist Marcus Scarman. They rescue Marcus' colleague, Dr. Warlock, who was shot by Marcus' servant Ibrahim Namin, a fanatical believer in the impending return of the his god, Lord Sutekh. When Sutekh's essence arrives through a space-time portal, he takes control of Marcus Scarman.

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Plot Keywords:

doctor who | edwardian era | fourth doctor | egyptian god | egyptian | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Family | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

TV-Y

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 October 1975 (UK)

Filming Locations:

Stargroves, East Woodhay, Hampshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

25 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The original version by Lewis Greifer was considerably different from the final version. In it, the Doctor and his companion (generically referred to as "Jane") attend a conference on food reserves at the British Museum, along with UNIT's Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart (who it was suggested might be killed off during the adventure). The Doctor's friend Professor Fawzi and his partner, Dr Robertson, are there to unveil their work on a new type of grain which can flourish on the surface of the Moon, thereby solving the world's hunger problems. However, the conference is soon attacked by the crocodile-like Egyptian god Sebek and his army of mummies. Sebek and his master, Seth, are aliens who came to Earth millennia ago intent on conquest, but were placed in suspended animation via a powerful artefact called the Eye wielded by Horus, another of their kind. Having reawakened, they now intend to replace Fawzi and Robertson's grain with one which will result in the Moon's disintegration - which, in turn, will have catastrophic effects on Earth. The Doctor manages to locate Seth's resting place beneath an Egyptian pyramid, and is assisted by Horus and another deity, Isis, in defeating Seth and destroying the probe in mid-flight.

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Goofs

As Sutekh stands from his chair, a crew member's hand can be seen holding the cushion in place and then disappearing.

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Quotes

The Doctor: Something's going on contrary to the laws of the universe; I must find out what.

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Connections

Featured in The Lively Arts: Whose Dr. Who (1977)

User Reviews

Contender for best Doctor Who story ever - dark, thrilling and astonishingly high quality in all aspects!

Review of all 4 episodes:

One of the finest Doctor Who stories of all time without doubt, this is pure genius throughout.

An Egyptologist, Marcus Scarman, enters an Egyptian tomb in 1911 and is taken over by a powerful being. This being, Sutekh was a God to the ancient Egyptians but it is later revealed that the Egyptian Gods including Sutekh and his brother Horus were actually ultra-powerful alien beings called Osirans. Sutekh is evil and exceptionally powerful. He wants to destroy all intelligent life he considers a threat and he was imprisoned thousands of years before by Horus and hundreds of other 'Gods' who united their powers to defeat him. Sutekh now begins to use Scarman to enable him to finally escape. The Doctor and Sarah arrive in 1911 England where Scarman is returning to his home. They must stop Sutekh or the Earth and many other worlds face destruction.

Sutekh is one of the best villains in Doctor Who. The power and evil shown by him is scarily impressive, The Doctor appears genuinely in fear of him and so is the audience. The sinister realisation of Sutekh himself is brilliant and Gabriel Woolf plays the part incredibly effectively. Those in his power also carry out some tremendously scary and effective scenes of evil. There are too many magnificent scenes to mention in this story and the effects are extremely well done, adding to the impact of many scenes. Just one great example is the smoke emitting from boots and gloves of a creepy black-clad villain as he kills a servant no longer considered useful.

The story itself is genius and the dialogue is marvellous, with so much intelligence and interest imbued in every scene. The acting matches the quality of the material with every main part being played perfectly. Michael Sheard as Laurence Scarman is a particularly interesting, endearing and wonderfully acted part whilst that character is also used to bring out some great insight into The Doctor himself. The dark side of The Doctor is explored fully in this story and light is shed on how he balances care for individuals with an ability to weigh up the 'bigger picture' of what is at stake. There are superb character based scenes across all 4 episodes. There is also a chilling and imagination capturing scene when The Doctor goes forward to 1980 to show Sarah what the Earth will be like if they left without stopping Sutekh. This scene is to prove that Sarah's knowledge (and the audiences) that the world was not destroyed in 1911 is based on facts that can change depending on their actions or lack of action. A scene of massive importance in bedding the whole series in some logical context. Another incredibly good aspect in this story is the exposition. Never in any TV show have motives, actions and events been so effectively and intelligently explained whilst still keeping you entirely captured within the drama.

Tom Baker and Elisabeth Sladen are perfection and the whole adventure is enthralling in every way. This is a real front-runner to be the best story of all time and it is set within series 13, a contender for best series ever.