Quantum Leap
Season 4, Episode 20:
The Curse of Ptah-Hotep
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.
Sam: 3500-year-old dead men don’t just get up and walk around.
Written by Chris Ruppenthal
Directed by Joe Napolitano
Airdate: April 22, 1992
March 2, 1957
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?
Tropes:
- All for Nothing: Discussed.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.
- Booby Trap: 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.
- Bottle Episode: Only four guest stars (two very minor), one exterior and one interior set.
- Call-Back: 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.
- What's more, Sam's interest in Egyptology averts New Powers as the Plot Demands - but hasn't been mentioned since season 1 episode 2!
- 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.
- Curse of the Pharaoh: “As for any who would disturb the tomb of King Ptah-Hotep, death will swallow him.”
- Face–Heel Turn: 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 he did not kill Ali and Gamal and in fact, assumed either Sam or Ginny had done so.
- Gory Discretion Shot: We see Ptah-Hotep's hand grabbing Razul's shoulder... and cut to the outside of the tomb where we hear his terrified screams.
- Grave Robbing: 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.
- Historical Domain Character: 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.
- 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.
- Nothing Is Scarier: Ptah-Hotep attacking Razul. All we see is the Wham Shot 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.
- Race Against the Clock: 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.
- Real After All: Ptah-Hotep’s magic and his promise to come back from the dead turn out to be real. Dr Razul finds this out firsthand.
- Red Shirts: The deaths of Ali and Gamal do little more than show the situation is serious.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: As the vault starts to open up again after Razul's been killed, Sam urges Ginny to run while they still can.
- Unexpectedly Real Magic: Sam never believed the curse or the stories of Ptah-Hotep's magic were real. Oh, boy... was he wrong.
- Wham Line: "He's killing him."
- Wham Shot: After Razul is trapped in the tomb, Sam 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.
- 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.
- Wrong Genre Savvy: 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.
Razul: (pretending to read hieroglyphics) “For a good time, call Nefertiti.”
