Dr Who The Pyramids of Mars

DR WHO THE PYRMIDS OF MARS

Distributor: Roadshow Entertainment
The Doctor: Tom Baker | Companions: Lis Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith

Broadcast Dates: 25 October - 15 November 1975
Extras: Yes
Easter Eggs: Yes

The third story in season 13 and from Tom Bakers second season with the show ( a time when he still cared about the character) The Pyramids of Mars takes us back to the turn of the 20th century, the Doctor and Sarah Jane drawn there by seemingly dark forces. The Doctor discovers that an Egyptian expert Marcus Scarman (Bernard Archard) has been possessed by the spirit of Sutekh, last of the alien race the Osirians, who has the power to destroy all mankind.

Despite some twee dialogue and dodgy effects The Pyramids of Mars is genuinely scary at times. Produced by Philip Hinchcliffe and co-written by script editor Robert Holmes under a pseudonym Pyramids was an early indication of the way the series would develop as a Gothic tour de force under the direction of Hinchcliffe and Holmes. With an understated performance from Tom Baker and a generally intelligent script Pyramids of Mars is an entertaining entry in this most popular of series.

EXTRAS: A whole batch of deleted scenes with accompanying explanation of why they were dropped. Osirian Gothic is a very interesting 20 minute feature looking back at the serial with contributions from the likes of director Paddy Russell (who I always thought was a man) and actor Michael Sheard; Serial Thrillers This is a very good indepth documentary about Dr Whos Philip Hinchcliffes Gothic era (pretty much recognised as one of the best ever eras for Who stories), Now and Then is a look at the locations used in the serial and there is as usual a very interesting audio commentary from Lis Sladen, Philip HInchcliffe, Paddy Russell and Michael Sheard (who plays Laurence Scarman in the serial). You can also watch the movie with production notes subtitles (very interesting actually).

Easter Eggs are the usual continuity announcements, I dont know about you but I love these announcements, they really transport back in time to the shows original broadcast.