📝8/10

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"The Age of Sutekh: A Dark and Atmospheric Sequel"

The Age of Sutekh picks up directly from the cliffhanger of Kill the Doctor! with Sutekh transforming the world into his empire, replete with his iconic robotic mummies and an ominous atmosphere of dread lurking around every corner. In many ways, it feels like a spiritual successor to Pyramids of Mars, though expanded in scale and updated with a more modern sensibility. While the similarities are clear, the story does manage to carve out its own identity with a darker tone and more character-driven moments.

Tom Baker excels as the Fourth Doctor, channeling a wonderfully brooding energy that recalls his TV heyday. Amid the gloom, his moments of wry humor and defiance stand out, particularly the Part 1 cliffhanger, where his unyielding determination shines. Louise Jameson’s Leela is once again at the heart of the action, embodying her warrior spirit as she fervently attempts to rally an uprising. Her fiery determination adds momentum to the story, making her a standout.

Gabriel Woolf’s return as Sutekh is masterful, his voice as chilling and commanding as ever. The increased prominence of his character is a significant improvement over the preceding story, and his interactions with Rania bring an intriguing dynamic to the narrative. Rania, much improved from her portrayal in Kill the Doctor!, becomes a compelling character in her own right as she battles against Sutekh’s attempt to possess her. This layered conflict adds emotional stakes to the grander, apocalyptic scenario.

The atmosphere is thick with tension, and the story takes a grim turn as Sutekh consolidates his power. Sacrifices are made in his name, and the grim reality of his tyranny is starkly depicted. Guy Adams doesn’t shy away from the horrors of Sutekh’s rule, giving the story a weighty, oppressive tone that enhances its drama.

The latter half ramps up the action, with Leela staging a fierce resistance against Sutekh’s forces. Meanwhile, Rania’s resilience and strength shine as she fights back against Sutekh’s control, adding depth to her character and ensuring a satisfying arc. The stakes feel palpable, and the tension doesn’t let up until the conclusion.

Final Thoughts:

The Age of Sutekh stands as a stronger and more engaging story than its predecessor. It leverages the oppressive presence of Sutekh to great effect, with Woolf’s performance anchoring the tale in an atmosphere of dread. While it treads familiar ground, the darker tone, compelling character work, and high stakes make it a gripping continuation.

A rip-roaring blockbuster of an audio. Sutekh has turned the entire planet into a not!Phaestor Osiris and Mummybots are roaming the streets sacrificing people. All hope seems lost and all that can be done is mustering a force of the lower class to assualt his grand palace. This audio doesn't stop to breathe at any point and it's all the better for it. Leela's confrontation with Sutekh was hilarious too, I'll be unable to watch the season one finale without thinking "hehe horseface" now. Speaking of the finale, while some might think it decanonised this two parter and his other EU appearances, I prefer to think that his defeat at the end of EoD lead to all this. Where else would he have gotten the whole tech billionaire angle from? ;)

9.5/10, delivers on the previous part excellently.

This is part of a series of reviews of Doctor Who in chronological timeline order.

Previous Story: Kill the Doctor!

Sutekh is by far the best part of this story, his performance by Gabriel Woolf is chilling and the stakes feel somewhat higher. He's a lot more menacing in this one. Unfortunately, I just don't think the stakes were high enough. 'Pyramids of Mars' showed the Doctor being genuinely afraid and angry against Sutekh, he feels a bit too jolly throughout considering their last encounter. I feel like that's more down to the direction, the 4th Doctor shows considerably less range on audio.

I also think the solution of remembering the city as it was before was a bit cheap and undermined Sutekh's abilities if 2 people could just undo what he'd done by thinking. He still had his moments and his confrontation with Leela was incredible. I also really like that the Doctor left the food machine to the people of Drummond, it concludes the Doctor and Leela's arguement about the morality of toppling governments just because they weren't entirely fair, by letting the Doctor help out in his own way.

Overall, it was not a story without it's faults and I think they should have saved Sutekh for a higher-stakes story, but it had quite a few good moments.

Next Story: Shadow of the Sun