Posted in: BBC, Disney+, Doctor Who, Preview, TV | Tagged: doctor who, empire of death, episode 8, russell t davies, Season 1

Doctor Who: New "Pyramids of Mars" Edit, Updated FX Set for "Tales"

Viewers will get a new omnibus edit of "Pyramids of Mars" with updated FX during Doctor Who: Tales of the TARDIS on Thursday, June 20th.

Heading into the first season finale of Showrunner Russell T. Davies and stars Ncuti Gatwa (Fifteenth Doctor) and Millie Gibson's (Ruby Sunday) Doctor Who, our big bad has been revealed – Sutekh. For those of you familiar with 1975's "Pyramids of Death," you know that Tom Baker's Fourth Doctor and Elisabeth Sladen's Sarah Jane Smith tangled with The God of Death – and now, it's back for another round, and this is one fight that it does not intend of losing. But if you haven't checked out the storyline before – and you have access to either BBC iPlayer or BBC Four – then this Thursday's special edition of Tales of the TARDIS is exactly what you're looking for. With the Doctor and Ruby taking a time out from what's to come, the duo get to look back on the season – as well as the Doctor's first one-on-one with Sutekh. But even if you've seen it before – or a dozen times before – Davies is sharing a very good reason to add at least one more watch to your tally. In an Instagram post (screencap below), Davies noted that Tales of the TARDIS will feature a "new omnibus edit of the original with updated FX."

Doctor Who Season 1 Episode 8; 'Empire of Death" Preview

In the season finale "Empire of Death" (directed by Jamie Donoughue and written by Davies), The Doctor stands defeated… his ageless enemy Sutekh, the god of death, seemingly reigning supreme as a shadow falls across all of creation. There's nothing left to do but await the inevitable – right? Except there's this one woman… a woman who Davies seemed to be referencing in the intro to one of the previews that was released shortly after the season's penultimate episode. First up, here's a look back at the episode images that were released over the weekend- but that's far from all. Susan Twist takes us behind the scenes as she walks us through all of the mysterious characters that she played over the course of the season – leading to the big reveal during "The Legend of Ruby Sunday."

If we had to add another question on top of the pile of questions that we have heading into the season finale, it would be… are we sure that's the Fifteenth Doctor at the TARDIS console and not someone else? Maybe the hooded figure walking towards the TARDIS later on in the promo? We have a theory, but we're going to wait for what else we learn this week. Along with the episode trailer, here's a rundown of what else has been released for "Empire of Death":

Joining the Doctor and Ruby for the final chapter of the first season are Kate Lethbridge-Stewart (Jemma Redgrave), Melanie Bush (Bonnie Langford), "Susan Triad" (Susan Twist), Rose Noble (Yasmin Finney), Harriet (Genesis Lynea), Morris Gibbons (Lenny Rush), Colonel Ibrahim (Alexander Devrient), Corporal Sullivan (Jasmine Bayes), Mrs Flood (Anita Dobson), Carla Sunday (Michelle Greenidge), Cherry Sunday (Angela Wynter), Kind Woman (Sian Clifford), and The Vlinx (Aidan Cook, voice by Nicholas Briggs).

Of course, we all have a much more horrifically clearer picture of what Twist's deal has been this season – but keep an eye on Clifford's "Kind Woman." That has the vibe of being much more than it seems, considering no one out there would believe that the BAFTA TV Award-winning Fleabag and His Dark Materials star would be cast in a two-second walk-on role. In fact, Davies teases that the "Kind Woman" has something vital – on a far-off planet? Check out what Davies had to say near the end of the following episode of the show's official podcast – with a sneak preview kicking in at around the 35:10 mark:

"EMPIRE OF DEATH" (Writer: Russell T Davies; Director: Jamie Donoughue)

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