The Mummy Who Would Be
King – The Saga Of Pharaoh Rameses I
(Nova)
Picture: C+
Sound: C+ Extras: C- Film: B-
The interest in the past is amazing; especially when it
comes to civilizations we do not totally understand and sometimes cannot figure
out. With Ancient Egypt, between the
rituals of mummification and the still-mysterious pyramids, new findings and
theories are happening all the time. The
Mummy Who Would Be King – The Saga Of Pharaoh Rameses I is a recent
installment of the great PBS/WGBH series Nova that tells the sometimes
amusing, sometimes frustrating story of how one mummy landed up in a museum at
Niagara Falls!
What was any mummy, Egyptian or otherwise, doing in
Canada? That becomes one of the big
questions that keep the confirmed identity of the mummy out of reach for
decades, decades in which the artifact could have been lost or left to
rot. The saga of the title refers to
what happens to the remains more than when what turned out to be the title king
throughout the 20th Century until someone is finally able to confirm the truth
of origin. It also shows how much
so-called “experts” can be wrong, especially in a field where discoveries are
still being made. This runs about an
hour and is a really good show.
The 1.78 X 1 image is not anamorphically enhanced,
something WGBH seems to think is not necessary, but the program is nicely shot
with the usual addition of stills and historic footage. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo has no real surrounds,
but is also nicely recorded. Except for
the usual DVD-ROM printable materials, weblink and (sometimes as in this case)
video descriptive services, there are no major extras.
- Nicholas Sheffo
