13.3 Pyramids of Mars

Rating: 5/10

Alternate Titles: Mars' Pyramids

Now don't be messing with my Egyptian stuff!  If I were old and rich, that's what the inside of my house would contain. 

They're actually back in time, at the Priory which was to become UNIT's headquarters.  Why can't UNIT be in this? Why? I hate it when they tease me like that.

Moral of this story?  Don't keep Egyptian antiquities in your house, and don't be friends with guys named Warlock and Scarman. 

Sutekh is this crazy freak of nature, who thinks everyone is out to get him, and therefore wants to destroy the world.  So these mummies turn out to be robots.  Whew!  For a moment there I was worried that these guys were actual mummies brought back from the dead, designed to cast plagues on people and wreak havoc wherever they went.  It's like they wanted to make the episode more realistic by making them robots.  Because this was already a very realistic plot, she says sarcastically to no one in particular.  I can't really say that the episode would have improved with actual mummies.  But it would have been gosh darn funnier.

So pretty much they have to travel back in time to keep this crazy alien from destroying the universe. Just another day in the life of Tom Baker! 

Doctor Who terminology that I do not understand:

Marconiscope: Thingy that you use to intercept radio signals.  Oh, it's also called a radio telescope.

Lodestone: A hidden portal

Osirian War Missile: Well, that one I get.

Gelignite: Um...is that like dynamite?  Oh that really exists.

The problem I've noticed when they use strange words, is that because I'm ignorant I do not know if these things exist, or if it's made up.  I'm uncomfortable with that.  Is this show supposed to stretch my mind, or reveal my stupidity?  I can't imagine most of the viewer population leaping from the couches, exclaiming, "Dude, where's my dictionary? I want to know if Gelignite actually exists!"
 
Why go to Mars? Aren't the testy Ice Warriors living there?  AND DOES NO ONE CARE ABOUT VENUS?  They never write stories about Venus, Uranus, or Jupiter.

HAH!!! I'm not dead! I have a respiratory bypass system!! Does this make sense to you? So is there a way that you *can* kill this Doctor? If someone were to throw a knife at him, would it deflect from his body?  Did I mention I have a Deflection of Sharpened Materials System surrounding my body? Basically it's a force field.  I was just trying to make it sound more intelligent.  I digress, but it's kind of amazing to me how you can kill this Doctor in every freaking episode and he doesn't actually die.  Set him on fire! See if that will do the trick. No wonder the Master gets so frustrated.

So erm...Sarah Jane is wearing Victoria's old dress. That's not weird.  In fact the Doctor accidentally calls her Vicki in a fit of musing.  That's kind of creepy.  I didn't want to be reminded of either of those two companions.  Thanks for that.

Why were the Doctor and Sarah okay with her shooting a gun?  Do they have a shooting range in the TARDIS?

I knew the Doctor was going to be a mummy at some point!  I knew it!

The Eye of Horus.  Let's desecrate all of Egyptian mythology while we're at it.

Actually UNIT was built on the remains of a burned down priory.  Apparently he also caused the Great Fire of London.  That's funny.  So, the Doctor can add pyromaniac to the long list describing his multiple talents as weirdest character in television history.  Wouldn't you have called the fire department or something before you left?

Next Up: The Android Invasion