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User:Pokelego999/sandbox/Sutekh (Doctor Who)

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Sutekh is a fictional character from the Doctor Who television series. An alien who hails from the fictional Osiran race, Sutekh despises life, and thus seeks to destroy all life in the universe. In the past, he was sealed away by his brother, Horus, and imprisoned for his destruction. He appeared on-screen in the 1975 serial Pyramids of Mars, where Sutekh attempted to free himself from his prison, only to be defeated by the Fourth Doctor. Following this defeat, he latched onto the Doctor's TARDIS and planted copies of a woman named Susan Triad throughout time in an effort to destroy the universe across all points in time and space. Sutekh has been voiced by actor Gabriel Woolf since his debut.

Conception and development[edit]

When designing Sutekh for Empire of Death, the design team wanted to recreate the original "aesthetic" of Sutekh, while also making him not resemble any particular culture or time period, instead portraying Sutekh as an "ancient" and "malevolent" force. Davies stated that Sutekh was no longer an Osiran, as in Pyramids of Mars (1975), but had evolved into a God through prolonged exposure to the time vortex after clinging to the TARDIS. The team looked at sketches for Sutekh's design provided by Davies, and then worked to iron out the final design. Once the design was finalised, the team used various tools to visualise Sutekh's appearance in 3D space, including virtual reality headsets. The team would also use key art to visualise how Sutekh would appear when confronting the characters.[1] In the episode, Davies uses a metareference to describe the Egyptian motifs of Pyramids of Mars as cultural appropriation; the narrative of the earlier story states that Ancient Egyptian culture was derived from the Osirans.[2][3]

Gabrielf Woolf voiced Sutekh in Pyramids of Mars,[4] and reprised the role of Sutekh 49 years after Pyramids of Mars for the main television series in "The Legend of Ruby Sunday." Woolf recorded the lines without being near any of the other actors, and only got to see how his lines worked within the episode when he attended a special viewing of the episode before its release.[5]

Appearances[edit]

Prior to the events of Pyramids of Mars, Sutekh was once the leader of the Osirans, alongside his brother, Horus. In the past, Sutekh destroyed the planet Osiris, the home planet of the Osirans, and destroyed half the galaxy, leading him to be referred to by many names. (Such as Set, Sadok, and Satan) He was captured and imprisoned on Earth for his crimes by Horus, and sealed away for 7000 years.[6] The ancient Egyptians fashioned their mythology around the battle between Sutekh and Horus.[7]

During the events of Pyramids of Mars, a man named Scarman stumbled onto Sutekh's prison and came under Sutekh's influence. Sutekh began to attempt to free himself from his prison. Sutekh revives ancient Osiran service robots, covered in bandages and resembling mummies, in order to carry out his will. Sutekh seeks to destroy the pyramid that lies on Mars, which sends out a beacon that keeps him imprisoned.[8] The Doctor eventually succeeds in capturing Sutekh and imprisoning him inside of a "time tunnel," which sent Sutekh forwards in time to his own death.[9]

Sutekh survived the time tunnel, and latched on to the Doctor's TARDIS, where he began placing copies of a woman named Susan Triad around every location the Doctor landed.[10] His power grew after as he latched onto the TARDIS, eventually attaining god-like powers. This led to him becoming the strongest of the "Pantheon of Discord," a collection of god-like figures in the Doctor Who universe, with members such as The Toymaker and Maestro fearing him.[11] Sutekh came to be known as The One Who Waits by the Pantheon as a result.[11] Sutekh was present on the Doctor's TARDIS throughout his life, but when the Doctor went to rescue an infant Ruby Sunday from Goblins, Sutekh was unable to discern the identity of Ruby's mother, who he believed to be highly powerful, which greatly irritated him.

Sutekh eventually revealed himself during the events of "The Legend of Ruby Sunday," and proceeds to destroy all life in the universe in the following episode, "Empire of Death," only letting the Doctor, Ruby, and Mel Bush live so they can discern the identity of Ruby's mother. Sutekh attempts to manipulate Mel into joining him and is able to see through her eyes, eventually gaining control of her and using her to bring the Doctor and Ruby to him. The pair end up tying a piece of "molecular rope" to his collar, and they drag him through the time vortex using the TARDIS. Sutekh's death bringing abilities bring life to the death he previously wrought, and the Doctor eventually kills Sutekh by releasing him into the vortex.[12]

Reception[edit]

The book Religion and Doctor Who noted how Sutekh fit under the concept of a "false god," analyzing the juxtaposition between how characters under his will represent him and how Sutekh himself refers to himself as someone who wishes to destroy life. It notes how this creates an "absolute division" between Sutekh and the Fourth Doctor, and how it showed viewers how "false gods can lead to ruination."[13] The book The Humanism of Doctor Who: A Critical Study in Science Fiction and Philosophy noted that by placing the battle between Sutekh and the Osirans in the ancient past, the show asserted that people of the modern day evolved from and moved beyond the concept of gods.[7]

Sutekh's return in "The Legend of Ruby Sunday" and "Empire of Death" received significant coverage. of the Radio Times believed Sutekh's return to be a great choice, citing that Sutekh's status as an Egyptian god made Sutekh a "universal foe" even to those unfamiliar with him, with the popularity of Pyramids of Mars contributing to Sutekh's ability to work despite the long gap between appearances.[4]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Doctor Who (22 June 2024). Behind the Scenes | Empire of Death | Doctor Who. Archived from the original on 22 June 2024. Retrieved 22 June 2024 – via YouTube.
  2. ^ Taylor, Chris (21 June 2024). "'Empire of Death' changed 'Doctor Who' history — here's what you missed". Mashable. Archived from the original on 22 June 2024. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  3. ^ Zhan, Jennifer (21 June 2024). "Doctor Who Season-Finale Recap: Old Dog, New Tricks". Vulture. Archived from the original on 22 June 2024. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Doctor Who's Sutekh is the perfect classic villain return". Radio Times. Retrieved 2024-06-26.
  5. ^ "Voice of Doctor Who's Sutekh Gabriel Woolf on bringing the character back to the Whoniverse". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
  6. ^ Cornell, Paul; Day, Martin; Topping, Keith (2013-10-31). The Doctor Who Discontinuity Guide. Orion. ISBN 978-0-575-13318-1.
  7. ^ a b Layton, David (2014-01-10). The Humanism of Doctor Who: A Critical Study in Science Fiction and Philosophy. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-8944-2.
  8. ^ Bosco, Rocco; Jordan, Darran (2018-04-18). Defining the Fringe of Contemporary Australian Archaeology: Pyramidiots, Paranoia and the Paranormal. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5275-1073-9.
  9. ^ Cardin, Matt (2014-11-17). Mummies around the World: An Encyclopedia of Mummies in History, Religion, and Popular Culture. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN 979-8-216-12019-3.
  10. ^ "49 Years Later, The Oldest Sci-Fi Show Ever Reveals a Dark Truth About Its Main Character". Inverse. 2024-06-22. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
  11. ^ a b Ori, Jack (2024-06-21). "10 Essential Things To Know About New Doctor Who Big Bad Sutekh". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
  12. ^ "Who is Sutekh? The identity of Doctor Who's One Who Waits explained | Radio Times". www.radiotimes.com. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
  13. ^ Crome, Andrew; McGrath, James F. (2013-11-14). Religion and Doctor Who: Time and Relative Dimensions in Faith. Wipf and Stock Publishers. ISBN 978-1-62564-377-3.

External links[edit]


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