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 One of my favourite Doctor Who adventures was finally released on DVD in 2004, and I can’t believe it’s taken me THIS long to get round to finishing reviewing this gem ~ The Pyramids of Mars! It seems that it is also the favourite of a good many other people because it was voted as the “Most Wanted” adventure to be released on DVD by readers of the Dr Who Magazine.
We bought our copy of Pyramids from Blackstar for £14.99, a saving of £5.00 on the recommended retail price. This release has one disc - this contains the four part story (digitally remastered), along with a variety of special features. If you don’t want to look at a breif plot outline rejoin the review in two paragraphs.
I had waited for a while for it and was anxious to see if it would be worth the wait. Was it? You’ll just have to read on.
THE PLOT
Thrown off course (yet again) by some unseen force, the Fourth Doctor (played by Tom Baker ~ the voice of the wonderful series Little Britain) and his current companion Sarah-Jane Smith (played by Elizabeth Sladen) end up at the right location…but unfortunately in the wrong time period! They arrive on the site of UNIT (United Nations Intelligence Taskforce), but they are in 1911, at the old priory that used to be there. They soon realise that all is not right in the priory!
What follows is a story combines ancient Egyptian myths and magic with a powerful alien intelligence with the power to destroy the world. The Doctor and Sarah must battle with Sutekh and his followers (including some rather menacing robots dressed as mummies) to stop Earth falling victim to the bringer of “the gift of death to all mankind” - NICE!
The show was originally broadcast from 25th October to 15th November 1975 - almost 30 years ago and the story still stands up to the test of time!
THE DVD EXTRAS
***Information Text***
If you’ve read my Dr Who DVD reviews before you will guess that the infotext option is one of my favourite DVD features. You need to select this from the Special Features menu and then you will get subtitles at the bottom of the screen throughout the main feature. The text is really interesting and gives facts about the programme - for example, viewing figures, information about the actors, where things were filmed and WHEN things were filmed. I really enjoy reading these, but I would say that if you haven’t watched the story before they may be a bit distracting ~ my recommendation is to watch the main feature without selecting the infotext first!
***Commentary***
On Pyramids of Mars the commentary is provided by Elizabeth Sladen (who plays Sarah Jane Smith), Michael Sheard (who plays Laurence Scarman ~ you may know him best as Mr Bronson in Grange Hill), Philip Hinchcliffe (the producer of Dr Who at the time) and Paddy Russell (she was the director of the show). I am not really a fan of commentaries because they block out the dialogue and are usually not overly interesting. I have usually heard many of the anecdotes or jokes on other programmes or at conventions anyway. This commentary is one of the better examples, but I still prefer to watch the DVD without the comments!
***Deleted Scenes***
This feature IS just what it sounds ~ a compilation of scenes that were cut from the final transmitted programme. These vary in length and quality because some are very rough first takes and others are of almost broadcastable quality. None of these are in the same digitally remastered format as the main feature either.
***Photo Gallery***
Again, no prizes for guessing what this feature is all about! I tend to just have the briefest of scans through to see if there are any new or interesting photos, but I don’t consider the photo gallery to be one of the best features.
***Osirian Gothic***
This is a very interesting documentary about the making of the story. People who worked on the show (actors and crew) give their insights and memories about filming ~ I really enjoyed this because it was nice to see what the people involved found interesting.
***Oh Mummy***
This is my favourite bonus feature! In this comedy sketch we learn about what life was like for Sutekh after filming finished ~ a humorous look at the pitfalls of being typecast as the bringer of “the gift of death to all mankind” on all your future acting jobs! Hee hee!
***Serial Thrillers***
This is a longer documentary looking at the whole of producer Philip Hinchcliffe’s years on the show. Pyramids of Mars is generally considered to be his best (and most atmosperic) stories, so is the linking factor in the documentary. This is a very interesting and informative insight into what made Hinchcliffe’s stories work and what the people who worked with him think too. Definitely a recommended feature!
***Now & Then***
This is also a much recommended extra for the Dr Who fan! This feature is narrated by Michael Sheard (Laurence Scarman) and revisits locations from the story to see how they have changed after nearly thirty years. Interesting for those who are interested in the locations, but maybe not to those who just want to watch the programme! I am one of the former and like being nosey!
***Easter Eggs***
Once again there are a couple of EXTRA extras that you can find by selecting a secret combination of buttons on the interactive menu. These vary in quality and length, but we always end up looking for them despite ourselves! I won’t give the secrets away because trying to find them is half the fun!
CONCLUSION
I love the story so I was SO pleased to see how well they had remastered the sound and pictures. Both have been made crisp, clear and have been given a new lease of life. It is hard to believe that I was only four when this was made and the quality prevents it seeming dated.
I was also impressed (yet again) by the number and quality of the Special Features contained on the DVD. Many of the extras have become standard now, but the BBC team still manage to come up with a few new angles and are still able to surprise. The star feature this time was the comedy sketch “Oh Mummy” - I found it really funny and wasn’t expecting it at all. The quality of the features is what really makes the Dr Who DVDs worth buying (even if you have the stories already on video) - they have been an essential addition to my Dr Who collection.
I thoroughly recommend this DVD to Dr Who fans everywhere. It is a great story and a good quality DVD too. If you haven’t started collecting the Dr Who series yet, then this is the perfect place to start. It is an action packed, well acted story, that is full of suspense and adventure - a great way to introduce Dr Who to a new audience.
Greatly recommended!
» Review by Andrea Waterhouse, Copyright 2005.
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