Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pyramids of Mars - Tom Baker's Best??, 9 Mar 2004
Well, at last! The brilliant Pyramids of Mars on DVD. This story ranks as one of my favourites of all Dr Who stories. It comes from arguably the best era of Dr Who, with Philip Hinchcliffe as producer. The quality of production is evident, as is the strength of the writing. The combination of gothic atmosphere, Egyptian mythology & the fate of the cosmos (again!) creates a classic story. Any Dr Who fan really should have this in their collection - no excuses! The extras are good, with the documentaries about the making of Pyramids & the Hinchcliffe era especially good.
The commentaries are good, as is usual with most of the DVD releases. It's just a shame they couldn't get Tom Baker to share his thoughts. The other good thing is that this is the complete print - if you are like me & have the original VHS release from the 80s then you'll be doing double takes at the scenes that appear in the DVD that were edited from the VHS!
In conclusion, I simply can't recommend this enough - it's essential. Buy it now!
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ancient Gods Return, 12 Oct 2004
This is a really classic Dr Who with both the Dr and Sarah Jane involved in the successful conclusion of the plot. The only serious problem I had was the final unveiling of Sutekh, who looked like he was constructed out of a particularly solid lump of overcooked kebab meat. Despite this, Sutekh is a suitably scary character, one who has the power to make the Doctor look impotent.Despite this, this story has another uberclassic Who quote when Sarah Jane gets angry at him for not being overly concerned with Litefoot's death: "I'm a Time Lord... You don't understand the implications. I'm not a human being. I walk in eternity.". We also get to look at the changing attitude that the Doctor has of the immutability of the Time stream when he takes Sarah Jane back to her present to find it a blasted wasteland. The final denouement on Mars had its moments of tension too and the clues to the various doors were interesting enough to give moments of doubt.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A well-regarded slice of classic "Who", 29 Jul 2006
Story: 4/5 - Extras: 5/5
"Pyramids of Mars", by Stephen Harris, a.k.a. Lewis Greifer and Robert Holmes, is often hailed as a classic of the Tom Baker / Philip Hinchcliffe era of Doctor Who, and in many ways the reptuation is probably deserved. However, whilst I find the story to be a very enjoyable slice of Who, I don't consider it quite deserving of the full five stars.
What "Pyramids" does offer is an intelligent and witty script with strong performances from all concerned. Tom Baker puts in an intense performance here, Gabriel Woolf is chilling as the voice of Sutekh, and Bernard Archard is equally so as the possessed and occasionally conflicted Professor Marcus Scarman. The cast also features the likes of Peter Copley and Who veteran Michael Sheard.
The greatest strength of the first three episodes, however, is the moody location work in the wooded grounds of the old Victorian priory where much of the action takes place, coupled with an imaginative interior set riddled with Egyptian artefacts. Unfortunately, the action moves away from this atmospheric setting for the fourth and final peisode - which is one of my criticisms of "Pyramids", in that it seems to tail off rather than reach the exciting climax that it deserves, in a puzzle sequence a little too reminiscent of "Death to the Daleks" (a resemblance that Elisabeth Sladen even identifies in an astute ad-lib during the final episode).
Still, with a chilling central villain, an atmospheric location and creepy, silent mummies, "Pyramids" is definitely elevated above the lesser offerings of this era. The DVD is well-laden with special features, too, including a commentary by Sladen, producer Philip Hinchcliffe, director Paddy Russell and the late Michael Sheard, as well as lengthy documentaries on the Hinchcliffe era in general and the making of "Pyramids of Mars" itself, plus one or two other bits and bobs.
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