10 Huge Doctor Who Moments Everyone Was Waiting For (That Never Happened)
9. The Original Sutekh Mask
Sutekh's surprising return in The Legend of Ruby Sunday (or not-so surprising if you're Ellie Littlechild and accurately predicted said return 24 hours before broadcast) was one of those great Russell T Davies cliffhangers that had nowhere to go but down.
The giant doggo appearing out of black smoke to clutch the TARDIS was a striking image, but it wasn't really Sutekh, was it?
Without getting into zoological specifics, the original Sutekh from Pyramids of Mars was a jackal, while Sutekh in the Season 1 finale was a giant greyhound. In the week leading up to Empire of Death, fans hoped that Sutekh may transform back into the more recognizable physical representation of a jackal-faced god, wearing a black and red Egyptian mask.
It's odd because Doctor Who has a great track record of updating classic monsters for the new era – Daleks, Zygons, Silurians, and Sea Devils were all updated while retaining what made them so memorable, while Sutekh was turned into a hulking great CGI dog.
RTD's original sketch for what he wanted Sutekh to look like more closely resembled the Pyramids of Mars jackal, so clearly something changed along the way.
Sutekh's new form still looked fantastic mind you, but it would've been great to see that original mask in all its modern glory, even just for a moment!