The Curse of Ptah-Hotep

Summary:

Sam leaps into archeologist Dale Conway, who has just discovered the tomb of Ptah-Hotep II. According to Al, the whole dig crew will disappear, but Sam refuses to leave because otherwise the tomb would never be rediscovered. Then a series of mysterious accidents occurs. Maybe there's more to the warning of the curse than Sam wants to believe ...

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Episode Number: #4.20 / #72

German Title: Der Fluch des Ptah-Hotep

Italian Title: La Maledizione di Ptah-Otep

French Title: La malédiction du pharaon

Personal Review:

It's one of my favorite episodes because it's exciting and creepy. I think the atmosphere and the dialogues are just great and I like the way you're kept in the dark about what's really going on until the very end.

Original Air Date: Wednesday, April 22, 1992

Writer: Chris Ruppenthal

Director: Joe Napolitano

Co-Producer:

Deborah Pratt
Michael Zinberg

Producer:

Jeff Gourson
Tommy Thomson
Chris Ruppenthal
Paul Brown

Regular Cast:

Scott Bakula as Sam Beckett
Dean Stockwell as Al Calavicci

Guest Cast:

Lisa Darr as Dr. Jeanny Will
John Kapelos as Dr. Mustafa El Rasul
Chaim Jeraffi as Ali
Ali Dean as Gamal
Rodger LaRue as Dale Conway/mirror

Guest Cast Notes:

John Kapelos played Detective Donald Schanke on the first two seasons of Forever Knight. He was born March 8, 1956 in Ontario, Canada.

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Place: excavation site near Luxor, Egypt

Leap-date: Saturday, March 2, 1957

Leapee's Name: Dr. Dale Conway

Date at the Project: 1999

Project Trivia:

As a hologram, Al can't see in the dark, which indicates that the holographic image doesn't cast any light.

Some foreign chip is acting up and causing problems. They later discover it's a new program Ziggy just got - from Egypt.

Sam Trivia:

Sam dreamed about standing in an ancient Egypt tomb his whole life.

He can read Egyptian hieroglyphics and has a doctorate in Egyptology. He did a thesis about Ptah-Hotp II.

When Sam was a kid, he couldn't believe that there was anything as old as the pyramids. He enjoyed reading and studying about them very much.
"It's kinda like leaping back in time."

Sam doesn't believe in curses and was quite vehement at defending his beliefs.

Al Trivia:

He called a camel a horse.

Al knows "The Purloined Letter" by Edgar Allen Poe.

He's truly spooked by all of what's going on and he believes in curses.

Al is a pilot.

He gets a little claustrophobic when they are stuck in the tomb.

Miscellaneous Trivia:

This episode is rumored to have caused earthquakes in Southern California because two big quakes in April and June of 1992 coincided with the two airings of it.

Songs: usual background music

Predicted Outcome:

In the original history, the whole dig party disappeared and was never heard of again. The tomb of Ptah-Hotep II was never rediscovered and probably destroyed when the Aswan dam was build.

Altered History:

Dale and Jeanny live but will never find the tomb again.

Kiss With History:

Al mentions the building of the Aswan dam in the 1960's.

Sam mentions the discovery of a papyrus in 1963, six years ahead from his current time.

Al's Outfits:

red jacket and slacks; white shoes; red shirt with multicolored pattern; narrow black tie

Sam's Outfits:

khaki shirt and trousers; light brown shoes; khaki scarf; brown belt

Al's Women:

An Egyptian girl Al once dated. She thought she was the reincarnation of Cleopatra.

Quotes:

As for anyone who will disturb the tomb of King Ptah-Hotep, death will swallow him. (inscription in Ptah-Hotep's tomb)

"Okay, I'm scared. Let's go." (Al)

Sam: "This is a chance of a lifetime."
Al: "Well, so is inventing a time machine. But, you know, quit while you're ahead."

"I can see 'em, too. Genius has death wish. Nobel Prize winner is really a knuckle head." (Al)

Al: "Sam, I'm telling you - it's the curse of Ptah-Hotep."
Sam: "It's not the curse."
Rasul: "Dr. Conway, my dear friend, 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."

Sam: "Al, if you can't be helpful, why don't you leave, okay?"
Al: "Helpful? I'm being helpful. I'm keeping you company down here in the tomb of King Heeby-jeeby."
Sam: "It's just a room."
Al: "Yeah, it's a room. Well, how about the canary, how about Ali, how about the car. Those were just coincidences, I suppose."
Sam: "That's right."
Al: "Yeah, unless -"
Sam: "Unless what?"
Al: "They were all planned."

"Well, if I were you I would sleep with my eyes open tonight." (Al)

Al: "So I guess for the time being I'm more or less -"
Sam: "Useless."
Al: "Well, I'm-"
Sam: "Useless."
Al: "I'm sort of suffering from some down time, that's all."

Sam: "Al, we can't leave now. This is a major, major discovery."
Al: "This is gonna be a major, major catastrophe."

"Oh, yeah. Oops, it was an accident. I accidentally killed everybody." (Al)

Al: "Sam, did I tell you that this place gives me the heeby-jeebies?"
Sam: "Only about a million times."
Al: "Yeah, well, now you know."
Sam: "Yeah, well, you don't wanna be here, you can go, you know."
Al: "No, well, I wanna watch your back."

Sam: "I just said, at least things can't get any worse."
Jeanny: "Well, there's the optimist."

May Nephtis and Isis direct my way. (inscription on the 'Heart of Ptah-Hotep')

"Sometimes it's not a good idea to tempt Fate twice." (Sam)

Open Questions and Logic Flaws:

Just one thing, how can a 3500 year old dead man get up and walk around?

He doesn't seem to have much on his appointment book either since he joined the hackers and found the time to toy around with the Imaging Chamber door.