Doctor Who's The Brain of Morbius: Controversial Pre-Hartnell Doctors & Frankenstein Fun
Doctor Who's The Brain of Morbius: Controversial Pre-Hartnell Doctors & Frankenstein Fun
Tom Baker and Philip Madoc elevate a goofy horror homage to delightful heights.
Plot Summary
A mysterious scientist on a distant planet sets his sights on using the Doctor’s body to resurrect an evil Time Lord dictator.
Notable for:
First appearance of the Sisterhood of Karn.
First exploration of interplanetary politics of the Time Lords: their former alliance with the sisterhood
Mind-bending contest between the Doctor and Morbius strongly suggests there were several (8) incarnations of the Doctor prior to William Hartnell, a.k.a. the “Morbius Doctors.” This subsequently served as the basis of the Timeless Child arc.
Philip Madoc previously played the War Lord and Eelek in The Krotons. He also played Fenner in The Power of Kroll and Brockley in the second Dalek movie.
Robin Bland was a pseudonym of Terrance Dicks and Robert Holmes. Holmes was
The chemistry to produce cyanogen is accurate.
Pete commentary:
The story seems like it has a lot going on here, but it’s basically a remake of Frankenstein, and a pretty brilliant one at that. The weaving in of Time Lord lore really elevates the whole affair, and gets you to look past its derivative nature.
Thematically, the story is all about mortality and how if we try to overcome it, there are terrible costs. All things must end, and that’s not a bad thing. Even the Time Lords have recognized there needs to be a limit on regenerations, or society will stagnate. That appears to be what has happened to the Sisterhood, and why their civilization has declined. This is never really fleshed out, even in the new series (Do they still live forever? Or have they taken the lesson of this story to heart?), but Maren’s sacrifice shows they can gain a new understanding, change, and, yes, die.
The other side of that coin is Morbius: Incapable of accepting he could be wrong or mortal, he refuses to die or surrender, willing to become a horrific creature if it means he can live on and conquer. He dismisses his appearance as irrelevant, though it perfectly represents who he his: ugly, chaotic, made for violence. A true monster.
They seem to have spent a little money on this one: There’s a great big set (looks like the Panopticon set?) for Solon’s castle. You also have his lab, his secret basement, the Sisterhood’s place, and a creepy, craggy landscape with random spaceship parts and creatures.
That said, the ’70s flower petals in Solon’s castle are funny to see.
They re-use the “mutt” monster here, which was probably a budgetary choice, but it brings a host of questions: Is it the same species from The Mutants? If so, why would a mutt be traveling in space? That episode suggested the mutt is a transitional stage of the evolution of the people of Solos, and they weren’t intelligent (though it’s unclear how much influence the Skybase mining had on “proper” evolution of the planet). Also: why does the Doctor use the term that was pretty clearly a racial slur?
Using the mutt is a good way to show the peril our leads are in when they accept Solon’s offer of hospitality. You can also show a beheading without, you know, showing a beheading.
Tom Baker’s “joke” of asking for a glass of water when it’s pouring rain is a good example of how random his humor is.
Man alive does Philip Madoc steal the show. His performance as Solon is gleefully understated, with an intensity in the eyes that personifies the “mad genius” perfectly (it’s a shame they were behind spectacles in The War Games). Everything from his casual cruelty to Condo, to his admiration for the Doctor’s head, to his delight at his own pun (a borderline fourth-wall-breaking moment) is delicious — just a tour de force as a guest star. It’s kind of nuts they never say what happens to him (I somehow think the cyanogen didn’t kill him).
I really love how he plays his lustful look at the Doctor’s head — it’s the kind of look a stamp collector gives when he sees that stamp with the upside-down plane. Solon has some self-awareness, though, and feebly tries to clamp down his obsession.
Is it because the Doctor is a bit weird and obsessive, too, that he perhaps trusts Solon more than he should? If so, that at least gives Sarah an opportunity to show her smarts: She’s the one that pours out Solon’s wine, but the Doctor (stupidly) drinks it.
So the Time Lords vaporized Morbius, but somehow his brain survives? They never explain this, or Solon’s role in his escape, though other media have explored Morbius’ earlier life, notably the novel Warmonger. The vaporization machine in Arc of Infinity seems to be the same method the Time Lords used to execute Morbius.
The Sisterhood of Karn have never looked better. It’s funny that the new series’ brief glimpses of Karn show the Sisterhood to be almost cave-dwellers, mostly standing around holding urns or chalices. Here they have nice outfits and enough resources to give everyone great make-up (except Maren), great dancing ability, and at least one decent building.
The dancing in particular looks great. It’s a couple of simple moves they repeat, but all the extras were paying attention and appear to be natural dancers. The dance sequence, the costumes, the forcefulness of Ohica’s performance (her eyes are a close second to Madoc’s in intensity) — they really sell this cult thing.
But wait, there are only five of them? Or rather, only five will survive? There’s a lot to extrapolate about the Sisterhood — who they are, how they came to be, their relationship with the Time Lords. Given that there are no men, it seems a given that they need an unnatural way of furthering themselves, and that’s the sacred flame. But they can still be killed, so it’s also apparent that their numbers will dwindle over time no matter how much elixir they get. That said, they must be an off-shoot or sub-group from another civilization, one that swore allegiance to this sacred flame and the philosophy it represents. It stands to reason they would recruit others to be a part of the Sisterhood over time. As they’re aware of the Time Lords, they can’t be “primitive” in the conventional sense.
You wonder why the Sisterhood tolerates Solon, but given the proximity to the sacred flame, it makes a tiny bit of sense that he sets up camp here. He also provides a service, in a sense: As beings arrive on Karn (perhaps to take advantage of the sacred flame?), he harvests their remains.
The Sisterhood stalking Morbius with torches is a perfect ending to this Frankenstein-themed adventure. You have to admire the level of homage here.
Sarah trying to wander and be useful while blind doesn’t quite work. Why would you wander into an unknown room when you hear a strange voice?
Another logical leap: Why would the Doctor trust Solon’s word that Sarah’s eyes have been irreparably damaged? You already know this guy is weird, worships Morbius, and really likes your head for some reason. Also: I guess that medical degree the Doctor got from Lidster in the 19th century didn’t go over ophthalmology?
The body horror stuff is really good, and puts a nice unsettling layer over the whole thing. The looming threat that Solon will behead the Doctor, Condo pining over his lost arm — then realizing it was used for the creature (funny how he never noticed before), the headless “thing” that ends up being Morbius’ body. You have to wonder how it would have looked with Tom Baker’s head up top!
That said the brain case: really nice design. The eye stalks echo the Daleks well without being too derivative. I would love to see an updated version that’s even grosser, with a pulsating brain.
OK, let’s talk about it: The previous incarnations of the Doctor. It’s been well-documented that Philip Hinchcliffe always intended the faces to be “before Hartnell” Doctors, though of course very little other material syncs up with this — that is, until the Timeless Child arc, which of course explicitly includes the Morbius Doctors in the whole “head explode” moment in The Timeless Children. So these Doctors are supposed to be part of a previous regeneration cycle (or several cycles, even).
HOWEVER, given the Toymaker’s statement that he “made a jigsaw” of the Doctor’s history, there may be other interpretations: Perhaps these are false memories, implanted by the Toymaker. Or perhaps the Doctor’s time in the Inferno universe gave him a connection to alternate “unbound” versions of himself. That might be an opening to retcon the Timeless Child storyline while still saying it happened. Flux would remain an issue, however — need to explain Tectuen. Perhaps she was lying all along.
Is Karn the same as Sarn? Both have natural flames that produce restorative gas/liquid. It’s possible that the name changed over time.
What did Pete’s family think?
Grace liked it! Held her attention and not too scary. She thought Condo was the best character.
Four Questions to Doomsday - Pete
Why did the Randomizer take us here? It’s alive! As in 42, here we have unexpected living things showing up where they shouldn’t. Also, beheadings from The Reign of Terror are echoed in the first scene!
What if the evil plot had succeeded? You have to imagine Morbius doesn’t go for the mind-bending contest. The Sisterhood still attack, but since he’s not just a mindless brute, he manages to get away by taking the Doctor and Sarah hostage. He flees Karn, ditching the hostages, thus kicking off a “Morbius arc,” where the Doctor must marshall forces, track Morbius down, and defeat him once and for all. But it turns out Morbius was being truthful about inspiring millions to follow up, so it becomes a winner-take-all battle for the cosmos. You get the Time War 30 years early!
Where's the Clara splinter? Clearly one of the sisterhood, helpfully lending Sarah her pink cloak. Maybe she decides to take a shower right then so as not to arouse suspicion.
Dalek, Ogron, Professor Hayter, Viscount Banger, Fixed Point in Time, or Lady Cassandra? Viscount Banger, the galactic emperor! A pure delight, from start to finish.
Chris commentary:
Almost a Philip Madoc bingo! We just need Power of Kroll.
Sisterhood of Karn bingo. I'll miss those crazy dames. Glad they got revived in the new series, and they're never more interesting than in Night of the Doctor, though they look great here.
Speaking of the sisters, should we even talk about the, uh, odd shape of the cavern with the sacred flame?
Lis Sladen ad-libbed the bit about liking the Doctor's old head. Bless her. I hope Pertwee bought her a drink …
The ornaments on the Sisterhood Shrine set were made with plastic tea spoons taken from the tea lady. The most BBC thing ever!
The Solon set was supposed to evoke Gaudi. All the money went into those two sets and it was all shot on video … which actually works in the studio.
Terrence Dicks wanted a vampire story at first. Then he wanted a reverse Frankenstein where a robot builds a man. But that was too expensive. He was really pissed at Holmes' edits and had to vent to his old friend over drinks.
The mind-bending contest was taken from Dicks' stage play, which is why it seems such a deus ex machina.
Holmes clearly intended the extra faces to be Doctors pre-Hartnell. So did Hinchcliffe. So what if it contradicted Three Doctors? Who cared at the time? It's the finest tradition of DW canon on the back of a napkin!
Hinchcliffe and Holmes are now both former Doctors, that's canon and nobody cares … could you imagine the outcry if Chibnall had inserted himself in Timeless Children?
Four Doctors with facial hair! (The Big Finish series nobody asked for). Ncuti's not the first with a mustache!
I love the over-the-topness, and would definitely give this a higher rating if not for Condo. Young Frankenstein was 1974 … how could anyone do a serious Igor after that?
"Some of the sickest and most horrific material ever seen on children's TV" – Mary Whitehouse. Funny how standards change …
That said, the Guardian did a whole letters page defending against her. And out of 385 kids in a school in Tooting in the Evening News, only 10% were scared.
Boy oh boy, does Tom Baker's Doctor drink! None of this 90% sobriety of the Hartnell era or the pretension of Pertwee with the fine wine in Day of the Daleks. Nope, it's straight into the drugged wine. "I had a little drink about an hour ago …" is the full song well known?
So many great lines for Baker with the sisters. "Now, if you got yourself a decent forklift truck …"
and calling Ohica "matron" is a nice touch that may not translate these days, but spot on for those familiar with boarding schools and the NHS at the time.
Let's talk about brains … they're not that big. Unless Morbius was as huge as his sculpted head.
"What about Pompeii?" Now the Fires of Pompeii looks like a Sisterhood reference …
Baker's scarf caught fire when he was burned at the stake. And again I renew my call for the BBC to do Adventure in Space and Time as a Crown-like serial …
"If you're going to sit there wallowing in self-pity, I'll bite your nose" may be the weirdest line the Doctor ever uttered to a companion. Marvelous.
Surprising that we haven't had more Morbius spin-offs? Just the one Big Finish …
"The impossible dream of a thousand alchemists dripping like tea from an urn." The Doctor, surprisingly, rejects the idea of the elixir being synthesized: "death is the price we pay for progress." Irony alert … although maybe this is an overarching thread to all of Who (post TC especially) that we haven't examined. The original Time Lord who goes on living longer than they know or want … "I suppose one more lifetime wouldn't kill anyone."
He does make the sisterhood look a bit dumb by reviving the eternal flame with … a flash-bang? From his pockets?
Morbius doesn't like Solon's humanizing head pun: "the crowning irony."
"The female brain case is too small?" ouch. Yes, women have 11% smaller brains, but more connections between the hemispheres. The male amygdala is only 1% larger. A brain could be transplanted between men and women just like any other organ, in theory …
Love how Solon tries to be all hippocratic oath with the brain case – side effects may include severe pain, seizures, perhaps even madness … then Morbius insists. OK then!
"Broca's area" is real – controls speech
Let's talk about the Doctor leaving Solon to do the disconnection. You can headcanon it …
Never leave the sonic in the TARDIS, Doctor! You brought a flash-bang but not the sonic?
A Sarah cocktail: Hydrogen cyanide, aka Prussic acid, becomes cyanagen … and the Doctor gasses Solon! Harsh!
"No custard" when the Doctor takes the Elixir … the origins of fish fingers and custard? Did he just sort of regenerate?
Reminds me of my theory that the Elixir in NotD is what supercharged the regenerations in New Who
Four Questions to Doomsday - Chris
Why did the Randomizer take us here? They're really both stories about energy crises! Also it really wants us thinking about Chibnall and the Timeless Child … and Ncuti's facial hair? And clawwwwwws …. And braaaains? Because we talk so much about headcanon, and like Solon, it can't resist the pun? The Sarah cocktail!
What if the evil plot had succeeded? Listen to the podcast!
Where's the Clara splinter? Listen to the podcast!
Dalek, Ogron, Professor Hayter, Viscount Banger, Fixed Point in Time, or Lady Cassandra? Just a Dalek. Sorry Solon! The deus ex machina, the lazy Igor-ness of Condo just tip it below Banger for me. But a good solid story regardless.