To get the another episode from the same series as the last review was certainly unexpected, this randomiser is unique to say the least, I wonder what episode it will take us to next time?
Anyway I've had chance to watch this episode and my review is below, hope you all like it and I hope that some of you will join in and write a review too, I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this episode. Anyway on to my review...
Take Off With T. Bag Episode 4: The Curse of the Mummy - My Review
The plucky trio arrive in Egypt on the search for T-Bag’s Birthday surprise. Tow-Ling is playing on a wooden flute, but T-Bag tells him to stop it. This innocuous start to the episode plays an important part later on and is another example of the foreshadowing that has been layered in to this series. T-Shirt’s line of ‘She may be hoity but she’ll never see toity again’ guarantees the episode is going to be full of great one-liners and the episode does not disappoint in this respect.
Claude DeTerre, a French explorer, and his guide Gunther Kashbag are trying to find the location of a great tomb. Claude, fed up with Gunther’s lack of being able to find the tomb thus far, decides to sack the useless guide. He then spots some hieroglyphics on the side of a pyramid and declares that Gunther has finally found the tomb. The hieroglyphics look fresh and we see that Gunther drops a chisel and hammer showing he is not the reliable guide he first appears, setting him up as the episode’s rogue character.
Special mention must go the John Savident who plays Claude DeTerre. John Savident is excellent as Claude and returns to T-Bag from his last appearance in Revenge of The T. Set as Monsieur Claude. Again Savident plays a French man but plays it extremely well in a (almost) believable French accent.
Upon landing and in the disguise of Kit Bag and Sir Paisley Shirt, T-Bag and T-Shirt try to divert the attention of Claude DeTerre and Gunther but they end up arguing as Claude thinks they are trying to discover the tomb for themselves. The banter between T-Bag and Claude ‘The Queen, The President, The Queen, The President,’ is one of the highlights of the episode. Bringing back the characters of Kit Bag and Sir Paisley Shirt from Sunstones of Montezuma was a masterstroke by the writers and gives some connection between the series giving avid fans another in-joke that newcomers to the series would miss out on.
Back in the flying saucer, T-Shirt is emptying out sand from his shoe, this indicates that a lot more attention to detail has been put into this episode; this may not be something you notice but shows the layers of depth added to every scene. T-Shirt asks what T-Bag’s plan is but T-Bag has not got one as of yet.
Night falls and we see Claude and Gunther preparing for a decent night sleep in the desert, Claude has his own tent but Gunther makes do with lying on the ground. Later on a large stone block is mysteriously moving through the air and lands on the tent, fortunately for Claude he was elsewhere. They conclude that it must be the English rogues and Claude confronts them, he calls up to the flying saucer but T-Bag throws a bucket of water over him in traditional children’s television style – something T-Bag has always done well.
Later on in the night someone, or something, enters the saucer and leaves a snake in T-Bag’s bed and quickly disappears unnoticed. T-Bag screams for help and T-Shirt and Tow-Ling wake up, quick thinking Tow-Ling plays his flute to charm the snake, linking the story back to the start of the episode when Tow-Ling is first playing the flute.
Thinking that Claude and Gunther are responsible for the snake trick they then confront them outside. Whilst they argue, Tow-Ling wanders off and discovers a small hole in the side of the pyramid. Tow-Ling enters the pyramid and we see the magnificence and splendour of the tomb’s main chamber, decorated with jewels and with statues throughout the chamber. Tow-Ling then finds the exit and tells everyone what he has just discovered.
They all enter the tomb and Gunther starts to steal the jewels, Claude warns him they are scientists and not grave robbers but Gunther is determined to keep the treasure. T-Bag tells him they are not his as they belong to her. Tow-Ling then warns them both about the curse of the Mummy. Gunther walks backwards holding the others to gunpoint but gets caught by a Mummy and is instantly turned into a pile of sand. T-Bag then worried puts a necklace back and the Mummy leaves.
The design of the sets, especially the inside of the tomb, is significantly improved over the past series. The attention to detail is astounding and credit must be given to the designer and the rest of the crew involved. Watching through this episode this time I’ve noticed the same Sarcophagus that was used in
C.A.B., another children’s TV series from the late 1980’s.
The appearance of The Mummy is certainly scary (to children anyway) and quite a surprise as later in the episode you do not expect another ‘character’ to appear. With ‘The Mummy’ this is another episode with three guest actors, this is certainly a rarity but worthwhile for the episode.
T-Bag quips that Kashbag will now be ‘Sandbag now’, and they part company with Claude. Outside of the tomb T-Bag is scared and wants to leave but all of a sudden Tow-Ling finds a chest in the sand containing ‘another golden envelope’. T-Bag cries ‘I want my Mummy, I want my Mummy’, the last Egyptian joke of the episode. The golden envelope discovery seems hastily added to the end of the episode to give the episode continuity into the next episode but this is necessary for the plot to continue throughout the series. The lack of urgency finding the envelope gives the writers more freedom within the episode to tell the story and I think this episode in particular benefits from this.
There is further foreshadowing to the end of the series when T-Bag assures T-Bag that they will find T-Bag’s Birthday surprise and he winks and smiles knowingly to Tow-Ling. These subtle hints that T-Shirt and Tow-Ling (and Granny Bag in episode one) know all about the ‘greatest gift of all’ are sprinkled throughout the series, these often insignificant moments (that I never noticed back in 1992) make re-watching the episodes even more enjoyable. Episodes of T-Bag have so much depth to them, this depth is essential to the enduring popularity of the series all these years later, the depth is in all the series up to and including this very last series.
Overall this is one of the more enjoyable episodes from this series and I’ll leave you with this classic quote between T-Shirt and Tow-Ling:
Tow-Ling: I’ve just made up my first Egyptian joke.
T-Shirt: Well let’s hear it then.
Tow-Ling: My Pyramid’s got no nose.
T-Shirt: How does it smell?
Tow-Ling: It Sphinx!
I just have to tell you this episode certainly doesn’t Sphinx!
... For all my requests for a good disagreement with someone, feels much better that on this episode, we're again agreeing about a lot of things!