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Doctor Who: Pyramids Of Mars
01/12/2006 . Source: Geoff Willmetts 
DVD Region 2. Pub: BBC BBCDVD 1350. 1 DVD 4 episodes 97 minutes plus extras. Price: £19.99 although can be got for less than £10.97 if you know where to look (UK). stars: Tom Baker and Elisabeth Sladen. Buy Doctor Who: Pyramids Of Mars in the USA - or Buy Doctor Who: Pyramids Of Mars in the UK  check out website: www.bbcshop.com
The Doctor and Sarah-Jane Smith arrive back on Earth a century early after being drawn off course by a mysterious force. Just as a side note here, as the villain of the piece doesn't actually know who the Doctor is when they are introduced, could one suppose that what they are actually encountering is actually his fate in the last episode of this story?
Anyway, the TARDIS arrives at the place where UNIT will be one day be headquartered only amidst Egyptian artefacts and get involved in stopping Sutekh, the last of the Osirians, from escaping captivity from sending a missile at the power source imprisoning him on Mars. Actually, the only pyramids we actually see are on Earth in Egypt and the missile being prepared to launch. We'll have to take their word for it that there is a similar one on Mars.
Sutekh enthrals his slaves by mind control and is nearly utterly ruthless in killing off anyone whom he sees as a potential threat...even his supporters. Ultimately, the way the cast is whittled down almost has a feeling of a bottle show. Mind you, considering how garrulous and rich the Egyptian look is perhaps that can be excused.
Of all the Doctor's opponents, Sutekh is probably the only one to sit down through most of his performance but this doesn't under-estimate the threat he poses and even the Doctor isn't immune to his power.
Accompanying these four episodes is an audio commentary from actors Elisabeth Sladen and Michael Sheard, producer Philip Hinchcliffe and director Paddy Russell. Topics discussed include a requirement for warm underwear for outside filming to who owned the mansion, some rolling stone called Mick Jagger.
That has to be one for trivia questions. The extras range from a serious look at Hinchcliffe's tenure as producer to a funny sketch by Sutekh and how his career prospered after this story. There is also a ten minute stills gallery and out-takes from the episodes, not because they were funny but lost in the edit. The lesson learnt from these is really that the cast has to act for the moment and hope that it survives to the final edit.
The story holds out very well. Only having four episodes reduces the need for padding and I suspect if there had been six there would have been a lot more running about. Although this story has been out for a couple years now you might not own a copy yet. With Sarah Jane Smith going to get her own TV series, getting some of her earlier adventures with that Doctor chap might seem a good idea before they sell out.
GF Willmetts
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