Line #34 Recap/QuantumLeapS4E20TheCurseOfPtahHotep


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5	'''''Series/QuantumLeap'''''\
6	'''Season 4, Episode 20:'''
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8	!The Curse of Ptah-Hotep
9
10	->'''Razul''': You are a student of Egypt, but you are not one of its sons. And until you have heard what I have heard and seen what I have seen, I would not expect you to believe that such a thing as a curse could be true, but it is.
11	->'''Sam''': 3500-year-old dead men don’t just get up and walk around.
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13	Written by Chris Ruppenthal
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15	Directed by Joe Napolitano
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17	Airdate: April 22, 1992
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21	March 2, 1957
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23	Sam finds himself in Southern Egypt during the excavation of the tomb of a pharaoh, but strange occurrences ensue. Is it the result of the mummy’s curse?
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25	!Tropes:
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27	* AllForNothing: Discussed.
28	-->'''Razul''': 3500 years ago, other men and woman sat around campfires near here, waiting to bury their great pharaoh. And now, they are like the grands of sand around us. It makes one wonder what all out efforts are about.
29	* BoobyTrap: Stealing the Heart of Ptah-Hotep, a diamond scarab the size of a baseball, sets off a trap that seals the thief inside the burial vault.
30	* BottleEpisode: Only four guest stars (two very minor), one exterior and one interior set.
31	* CallBack: In-universe – Dr. Conway’s canary was eaten by a cobra. According to Al, the same thing happened to Howard Carter during the excavation of King Tut’s tomb.
32	** What's more, Sam's interest in Egyptology averts NewPowersAsThePlotDemands - but hasn't been mentioned since ''season 1 episode 2''!
33	* {{Claustrophobia}}: Sam and Ginny being trapped in the tomb starts to unnerve Al. He attempts to leave the imaging chamber, but a sudden malfunction leaves him stuck.
34	* CurseOfThePharaoh: “As for any who would disturb the tomb of King Ptah-Hotep, death will swallow him.”
35	* FaceHeelTurn: The charming and friendly Dr. Razul decides to turn on Sam and Ginny and take the treasure for himself. Though he makes it clear that [[EvenEvilHasStandards he did not kill Ali and Gamal]] and in fact, assumed either Sam or Ginny had done so.
36	* GoryDiscretionShot: We see Ptah-Hotep's [[RaisedHandOfSurvival hand]] grabbing Razul's shoulder... and cut to the outside of the tomb where we hear his terrified [[ScreamDiscretionShot screams]].
37	* GraveRobbing: When it appears that the sarcophagus is missing, Ginny and Razul assume this is what happened to Ptah-Hotep’s remains. Sam correctly deduces that there is a second burial chamber within the tomb.
38	* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Ptah-Hotep II (also known as Ptahhotep Tjefi) was a real-life royal vizier who lived near the end of the Fifth Dynasty. Here, he is given an historical upgrade to pharaoh and evil sorcerer.
39	* {{Irony}}: Ptah-Hotep comes back to life, only to be buried alive in his own tomb by a sandstorm possibly caused by his own curse.
40	* NothingIsScarier: Ptah-Hotep attacking Razul. All we see is the WhamShot and then we just hear the screams. Only Al sees what's happening, and what little of it he witnessed before running back out completely horrifies him.
41	* RaceAgainstTheClock: The approaching sandstorm will bury the area under 50 feet of sand, thus preventing anyone from ever finding the tomb again. Sam intends to stay and keep working as long as possible, due to the likelihood of the tomb being accidentally destroyed by the construction of the Aswan Dam. This trope becomes even more serious when Sam and Ginny become trapped in the tomb with only 12 hours to escape the storm.
42	* RealAfterAll: Ptah-Hotep’s magic and his promise to come back from the dead turn out to be real. Dr Razul finds this out firsthand.
43	* RedShirts: The deaths of Ali and Gamal do little more than show the situation is serious.
44	* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: As the vault starts to open up again after Razul's been killed, Sam urges Ginny to run while they still can.
45	* UnexpectedlyRealMagic: Sam never believed the curse or the stories of Ptah-Hotep's magic were real. [[BorrowedCatchphrase Oh, boy...]] was he wrong.
46	* WhamLine: "''He's killing him.''"
47	* WhamShot: After Razul is trapped in the tomb, Sam [[SaveTheVillain begins instructing him on how to open the wall from his side]]. As he follows Sam's instructions, we zoom in on Razul's back... as a withered, grey hand promptly grabs his shoulder.
48	** What's worse is that, soon after Al reports on his death, the tomb's wall begins to rise on its own, forcing Sam and Ginny to try and escape.
49	* WrongGenreSavvy: For much of the episode, Sam ignores the idea of a curse in favor of the much more mundane possibilities: simple accidents plaguing the site or someone committing murder in order to claim the tomb's riches. The ending reveals the curse was quite real.
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Context Recap / QuantumLeapS4E20TheCurseOfPtahHotep