Doctor Who: The Pyramids of Mars (1975)
Starring: Tom Baker and Elisabeth Sladen
Director: Paddy Russel
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars
When the Doctor, an alien time-traveler (Baker), and his human companion Sarah-Jane Smith (Sladen) are drawn to the year 1911 by a strange distruption, they discover that a destructive alien who inspired the legends of Seth, the Egyptian god of death, is plotting an escape from his enternal prison... and that he'll destroy Earth in all future timelines if he escapes!
"The Pyramids of Mars" consists of several half-hour episodes of the long-running "Doctor Who" sci-fi/fantasy TV series that have been edited together seamlessly to form a 90-minute movie (well, almost; there's one weird jump-cut that illustrates where one of the original cliffhanger-endings had been). The pace is faster than many of the old "Doctor Who" stories, the acting by the supporting cast somewhat better... and the storyline is one that should entertain horror and fantasy fans alike.
This storyline is also one of those that clearly establishes why the Doctor was viewed as a "harbinger of doom" by internet conspiracy theorists in the first episode of the revived TV series... the only people who walk away alive from this adventure are the Doctor and Sarah-Jane.
This tale is definately one of the highlights of the original "Doctor Who" series.
(It is also interesting for some to see how creators other than those responsible for the "Stargate" movies and series spin tales with Egyptian mythology and the notion of super-aliens being mistaken for gods.)
