Pyramids of Mars - Episode 2

Marcus appears for the first time since his brief appearance in the first episode and he’s very different from that first scene. It looks like he hasn’t had a good night’s sleep for quite a while. I think that Marcus is quite an effective interim villain. There’s an interesting effect done when the gamekeeper is running through the woods and its suppose to look like he has bounced off it but it’s due to editing and it looks rather odd because it’s clear that it’s been cut which is a shame. What does work is the effect of Marcus being shot at and the smoke coming from him reverses back into him and he walks towards the window. This is simply done in reverse but it’s still a great effect.

I think that there is an issue with the mummies being used to chase people. The gamekeeper is running away and the mummies are walking at the slowest possible pace to catch up with him. I can’t quite believe that they would really be able to catch him. They try and make this believable by cutting back to the chase several minutes after it started and how the mummies didn’t trip over themselves is a mystery. He doesn’t get killed until the very end when he is squashed by two of them. I couldn’t quite make up my mind about Warlock’s death. Part of me thinks it was quite grim and the other part of me thinks that it was a bit silly and I think that Peter Copley over does it. I think that Michael Sheard gives a nice performance as Marcus’ brother though his best DW performance is yet to come.

The highlight of the episode comes when the Doctor takes the TARDIS back to 1980 (where Sarah is from) and shows her what it would look like if they left Sutekh to his plan. It’s a solemn moment and one of my favourite scenes in the entire story. It’s good that they explain why Sutekh is doing what he’s doing and its explained quickly which is the right thing at this stage of the story. The idea that Sutekh is trying to set up rockets to destroy a beacon on Mars that will free him might seem like it’s a bit convoluted but I think that on this occasion it is what makes the story feel that much more better.

The cliffhanger is quite good but I think that the final shot could have been a bit better. The camera hung onto Sarah’s shocked/scared face a bit too long. Apart from that the episode was a nice solid one. The story is still very strong and the more I watch it the more I am grateful that I have got past ‘Planet of Evil’.