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Pyramids of Mars
Pyramids of Mars is the third serial of the 13th season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by Robert Holmes and Lewis Greifer under the pseudonym of "Stephen Harris" and directed by Paddy Russell, the serial was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 25 October to 15 November 1975.
The serial is set in the year 1911 in England, Egypt, and Mars. In the serial, the burial chamber of the alien Sutekh, the inspiration for the Egyptian god Set, is unearthed by the archaeology professor Marcus Scarman. Alive but immobilised, Sutekh seeks his freedom by using Professor Scarman as his servant to destroy the jewel in a pyramid on Mars which is keeping him prisoner.
Influenced by the gothic horror genre and films such as The Mummy, the serial was met with widespread critical acclaim, being praised for its atmosphere and production. It marks the first appearance of Sutekh (voiced by Gabriel Woolf), who returned to the series 49 years later in the two-part story "The Legend of Ruby Sunday" / "Empire of Death" (2024), with Woolf reprising his role. The serial would also be briefly referenced in the 2010 "The Sarah Jane Adventures" Series 4 serial "The Vault of Secrets", when Sarah Jane, with the aid of Mr. Smith, disables the cameras on the Mars Rover so that NASA would not learn of the existence of Sutekh's pyramid on the surface of Mars.
In 1911 Egypt, archaeology professor Marcus Scarman excavates a pyramid and finds the door to the burial chamber is inscribed with the Eye of Horus. He enters the chamber and is hit by a beam of green light.
The Fourth Doctor is pulled off his flight path, and Sarah Jane Smith sees an apparition in the console room. The two are found by a butler, who reveals they are in the Scarman estate, which has been taken over by the mysterious Ibrahim Namin, claiming to represent Scarman. Scarman's friend, Dr Warlock, has also arrived at the estate to demand an explanation on Scarman's whereabouts. Namin threatens Warlock with a revolver, with the Doctor and Sarah barely managing to save him. The three escape and reach the estate lodge inhabited by Scarman's brother Laurence, whose marconiscope intercepted a signal from Mars.
The Doctor decodes the signal as "Beware Sutekh", explaining that Sutekh is the last of a powerful alien race called the Osirans. Imprisoned by his brother Horus, using the Eye of Horus, they were the inspiration for ancient Egyptian mythology. Sutekh's servant arrives via a spacetime tunnel portal, accompanied by robots disguised as mummies. He kills Namin and is revealed to be Scarman, now a corpse animated by Sutekh's will. Scarman secures the estate's perimeter with a forcefield, and begins to hunt down the humans. Scarman finds and kills Warlock, but is then ordered by Sutekh to prioritise the construction of an Osirian war missile aimed at Mars.
Following another attack by the robots, the Doctor decides to blow up the rocket, and Laurence suggests using gelignite, kept in the poacher's hut. The Doctor and Sarah Jane leave to obtain the gelignite. Scarman soon arrives at the lodge, and Laurence attempts to rekindle his brother's humanity, but gets strangled instead. The Doctor sets up the explosives, with Sarah Jane detonating it with a rifle. Sutekh telekinetically suppresses the explosion. Left with but one option, the Doctor uses the space-time tunnel to reach Sutekh and break his concentration, allowing the explosion to destroy the rocket. A furious Sutekh turns the Doctor into a thrall to transport Scarman to Mars.
Arriving on Mars, Scarman strangles the Doctor. However, the Doctor's respiratory bypass system allows him to recover and become free of Sutekh's control. He is however unable to stop Scarman from destroying the Eye, and Scarman disintegrates. The Doctor realises that Sutekh will not be released instantaneously due to the travel time required for the Eye's radio signal. Returning to the estate, he uses the TARDIS to extend the time tunnel into the far future, eventually resulting in Sutekh dying of old age before he reaches the end. This overloads the portal, the estate is consumed in flames, and the Doctor and Sarah flee in the TARDIS.
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Pyramids of Mars
Pyramids of Mars is the third serial of the 13th season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by Robert Holmes and Lewis Greifer under the pseudonym of "Stephen Harris" and directed by Paddy Russell, the serial was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 25 October to 15 November 1975.
The serial is set in the year 1911 in England, Egypt, and Mars. In the serial, the burial chamber of the alien Sutekh, the inspiration for the Egyptian god Set, is unearthed by the archaeology professor Marcus Scarman. Alive but immobilised, Sutekh seeks his freedom by using Professor Scarman as his servant to destroy the jewel in a pyramid on Mars which is keeping him prisoner.
Influenced by the gothic horror genre and films such as The Mummy, the serial was met with widespread critical acclaim, being praised for its atmosphere and production. It marks the first appearance of Sutekh (voiced by Gabriel Woolf), who returned to the series 49 years later in the two-part story "The Legend of Ruby Sunday" / "Empire of Death" (2024), with Woolf reprising his role. The serial would also be briefly referenced in the 2010 "The Sarah Jane Adventures" Series 4 serial "The Vault of Secrets", when Sarah Jane, with the aid of Mr. Smith, disables the cameras on the Mars Rover so that NASA would not learn of the existence of Sutekh's pyramid on the surface of Mars.
In 1911 Egypt, archaeology professor Marcus Scarman excavates a pyramid and finds the door to the burial chamber is inscribed with the Eye of Horus. He enters the chamber and is hit by a beam of green light.
The Fourth Doctor is pulled off his flight path, and Sarah Jane Smith sees an apparition in the console room. The two are found by a butler, who reveals they are in the Scarman estate, which has been taken over by the mysterious Ibrahim Namin, claiming to represent Scarman. Scarman's friend, Dr Warlock, has also arrived at the estate to demand an explanation on Scarman's whereabouts. Namin threatens Warlock with a revolver, with the Doctor and Sarah barely managing to save him. The three escape and reach the estate lodge inhabited by Scarman's brother Laurence, whose marconiscope intercepted a signal from Mars.
The Doctor decodes the signal as "Beware Sutekh", explaining that Sutekh is the last of a powerful alien race called the Osirans. Imprisoned by his brother Horus, using the Eye of Horus, they were the inspiration for ancient Egyptian mythology. Sutekh's servant arrives via a spacetime tunnel portal, accompanied by robots disguised as mummies. He kills Namin and is revealed to be Scarman, now a corpse animated by Sutekh's will. Scarman secures the estate's perimeter with a forcefield, and begins to hunt down the humans. Scarman finds and kills Warlock, but is then ordered by Sutekh to prioritise the construction of an Osirian war missile aimed at Mars.
Following another attack by the robots, the Doctor decides to blow up the rocket, and Laurence suggests using gelignite, kept in the poacher's hut. The Doctor and Sarah Jane leave to obtain the gelignite. Scarman soon arrives at the lodge, and Laurence attempts to rekindle his brother's humanity, but gets strangled instead. The Doctor sets up the explosives, with Sarah Jane detonating it with a rifle. Sutekh telekinetically suppresses the explosion. Left with but one option, the Doctor uses the space-time tunnel to reach Sutekh and break his concentration, allowing the explosion to destroy the rocket. A furious Sutekh turns the Doctor into a thrall to transport Scarman to Mars.
Arriving on Mars, Scarman strangles the Doctor. However, the Doctor's respiratory bypass system allows him to recover and become free of Sutekh's control. He is however unable to stop Scarman from destroying the Eye, and Scarman disintegrates. The Doctor realises that Sutekh will not be released instantaneously due to the travel time required for the Eye's radio signal. Returning to the estate, he uses the TARDIS to extend the time tunnel into the far future, eventually resulting in Sutekh dying of old age before he reaches the end. This overloads the portal, the estate is consumed in flames, and the Doctor and Sarah flee in the TARDIS.