Monster of the Day #626

Sarah is menaced by Dolly Parton’s mummy.*

[*Unfunny, thuddingly obvious and references 30 years out of date. Welcome to Jabootu!]

‘Jokes’ aside, this  is my single favorite Doctor Who adventure ever. The newer stuff is magnitudes higher on the sophistication scale, but this right here is Doctor Who to me.

  • Flangepart

    Hummm…why do I think there is a robot under there?

  • Ericb

    Actually, isn’t Sara just chatting with Doctor disguised as a mummy in that shot?

  • Gamera977

    Not sure if I have a favorite episode but the early Tom Baker episodes starting with ‘Robot’ running though ‘The Key of Time’ season were the first Who episodes I saw way back when the brand spanking new SF Channel ran them so they have a special place in my heart. They may not be as sophisticated but they were just plain FUN!!!

    I believe the bad guy’s brother here was Micheal Sheard, probably best known as Admiral Ozzel in ‘The Empire Strikes Back’. Met him at a con years ago, charming, wonderful guy- pasted away a few years back.

  • Cullen Waters

    Actually there’s a Time Lord under there. The robot has been removed.

    And yes, I am that anal.

  • Cullen Waters

    If this isn’t the best of Tom Baker’s stories, it’s damn close. It does have one of the best villains in Sutekh. The mummies, though, are kind of silly looking.

    I keep hoping for the new series, but so far the stories for me haven’t been a patch on these Baker ones. Not that I’m complaining too much, mind you. The new stuff still has me coming back for more.

  • Beckoning Chasm

    My favorite story will always be the very first one I saw, “The Talons of Weng-Chiang.”

  • Since we have some Who experts, can someone clear something up for me? As a kid, I saw an episode of what I assume was a Baker Who episode that featured these vampire monoliths. I mostly remember a scene of a guy and girl together, and the guy places his hand against this big yellow rock and he screams in pain. Seems like the spot on the rock’s surface where it was touched turned red. Does this sound right? Did I see a Who, or was it something else I can’t remember?

  • Ericb

    It as from the story/serial “Stones of Blood.”

  • Ericb

    Oh, I should have said the Dr.Who story/serial “Stones of Blood.” You can get it from Netflix

  • Thanks for the info! I could ever be sure all these years, and what I remembered didn’t sound familiar to my brother, who’s very into Who!

  • Cullen Waters

    Crap. Reading comprehension needs to be enforced on me.

  • Cullen Waters

    Talons of Weng-Chiang’s excellent. Despite the rats.

  • Luke Blanchard

    But did they actually dress Baker up in the bandages, or is the actor an extra, with Baker supplying its dialogue from off-shot? It might be possible to tell from the actor’s way of moving. If it’s an extra, it’s probably one of the guys who played mummies in other scenes.

  • Gamera977

    Well he did get into the robo-mummy suit for a few scenes where he was talking to Sarah Jane with the suit on and no headpiece. After he put on the helmet I’m assuming they used a stuntman.

  • Beckoning Chasm

    Well, it was my first introduction to Leela. (I named my cat after her.) When she left after “The Invasion of Time” I felt sucker-punched.