Top 20 Episodes of Doctor Who #16: Pyramids of Mars

And now we come to the first Tom Baker episode of the list. Though I personally am partial to David Tennant and Sylvester McCoy myself, if there is one Doctor that is unanimously recognized by New Who fans, Classic Who Fans, and even people who have never seen the show, it’s the Fourth Doctor, Tom Baker. With seven years worth of episodes under is belt, Baker is arguably the most iconic Doctor of the entire franchise.With his trademark extra-long scarf, curly hair, and bag of jelly babies, the Fourth Doctor looked, and at times acting like a crazy homeless man, but despite, or perhaps because of that, his personality and limitless eccentricities were hopelessly endearing. Despite coming across as childish, the Fourth Doctor could still be wise, noble and when the situation called for it, a force to be reckoned with.

In this episode, The Doctor and his companion, Sarah Jane, played by the late Liz Sladen, arrive in London in the year 1911, where a man named Scarman has been taken over by a mysterious Egyptian artifact and is trying to resurrect and ancient god. This god is revealed to be Sutekh, the last of the Osirans, a powerful alien race that the Egyptians once worshipped as gods. For the record this is nearly 20 years before the movie Stargate came out. For the past several millennia, Sutekh has been sealed inside a Pyramid on Mars, hence the title, and if he is ever unleashed upon the Earth, he will surely lay waste to the entire planet, unless the Doctor can do something to stop him.

This is a phenomenal episode from the Tom Baker era. Baker and Sladen are great together as always, and the guest cast brings their a-game, but the one who really steals the show is Sutekh himself. He’s played by an actor named Gabriel Wolf, who also voiced The Beast from the David Tennant Episode, The Satan Pit. Every line this guy delivers is the height of awesomeness. Sutekh is powerful, confident, and he thinks of The Doctor as little more than a potential plaything. The Doctor is almost out of his league here, and it shows. For a great story with one of the best one-appearance villains in the series, definitely give this one a watch.

Well we've just burned through the first quarter of this list haven't we. Well, why don't we slow down a bit and look at another audio drama. This time, it's one that gives us three Doctors for the price of one.