Day 212 — July 31st 2021
The Brain of Morbius Parts One and Two
The Brain of Morbius — Part One
The Brain of Morbius is another one of those Doctor Who stories — like Pyramids of Mars — which is often talked of as being an out and out ‘classic’, but which I’ve never particularly cared for. In the 2014 Doctor Who Magazine poll it came in at number 41. That’s slightly lower than I was expecting, in truth, and while I can’t remember what I thought about it last time around I don’t recall thinking it was brilliant or rubbish, it’s probably somewhere in the middle; a bit forgettable for me. I mentioned this to a friend this morning and he confirmed that it wasn’t just me — he finds this story ‘fine’ but nothing to write home about, and didn’t understand the love.
Still, this marathon has thrown up some surprises for me in the past — stories like The Highlanders have performed much better in my ratings than I was expecting them to, so there’s everything to play for with this one. Sadly, I don’t think it’s going to have a miraculous turn around in my opinion.
I think it suffers a bit by coming directly off the back of The Android Invasion. That story was filled with loads of really nice location shooting (indeed it had one of the longest location shoots in the series to date) and it all looked pretty spectacular in the sunshine. Whatever the let downs with the script you had to admit that it looked pretty good. This story, by contrast, was shot entirely in studio. They’ve tried to make the best of the situation and there’s some nice enough set designs on display, but it’s always going to come off a bit poor compared to the village of Devesham.
The world of Karn is at its best here when they start overlaying the rain effects towards the end of our time outside — it creates a nice contrast to the last story and it brings the studio set to life a little. They’ve lit it nicely (it’s almost entirely in darkness!) but everything still looks a bit flat; it’s certainly not up to the standards of the jungle from Planet of Evil, which was something of a masterclass in how to create a studio-bound alien world. The rain helps to hide it a little, and makes the whole place look that bit more real. I’m also keen on the model shot we get when Sarah looks out over the spaceship graveyard — it’s a great idea, and I’m surprised it’s not cropped up in the series more.
I have to say, though, that I take a bit of an issue with the graveyard and it’s all to do with the only creature we see surviving a spaceship crash; a Mutt from The Mutants. Now don’t get me wrong, I think the design and execution of the Mutts is brilliant (when I watched The Mutants I lamented that the Figurine Collection hadn’t made one yet, but since then they’ve announced one and it looks fantastic. I’ve got one on order), but I think they’re a really odd choice to have here as part of a space-faring race. Doctor Who makes it sound like they fly around the universe all the time;
Doctor Who: ‘Looks as if he escaped in the ejection bubble, and while he was wandering around dazed someone or something attacked him. Poor Mutt.’
Sarah: ‘Mutt?’
Doctor Who: ‘Yes, a mutant insect species. Widely established in the Nebula
of Cyclops. I thought I recognised the stars.’
It just feels bizarrely at odds with the creatures as we saw them before. If I’m remembering correctly, there they were the (incredibly brief) intermediate stage in the transition to super beings, and broadly lacking in intelligence. Here, they’re presented as having an empire of their own. I know it’s a silly thing to get hung up on, but I found myself thinking about the logistics of this when I should have been enjoying the story in its own right. I think I’d have gone with it if they’d simply reused the costume and not gone out of their way to suggest it was the same creature we saw before!
Anyway, let’s end on a high note. I’m not a huge fan of the way Doctor Who snaps at Sarah while he’s having his strop about being redirected to Karn, but I do love their later exchange at the castle;
Solon: ‘Superb head.’
Doctor Who: ‘Well, I’m glad you like it. I have had several. I used to have an old grey model before this. Some people liked it.’
Sarah: ‘I did.’
All in all, a 5/10 for this one. I’m hoping I’ll be more invested as the story plays out, but I suspect that The Brain of Morbius just isn’t for me…
The Brain of Morbius — Part Two
I wonder if I was just in a bad mood when I watched Part One this morning, because I’ve found a lot more to enjoy in this episode, including some of the things that I was complaining about before! The set for the outside of Karn looks much more effective here than it did yesterday, and watching our heroes escape across the rocky landscape feels quite fun, in spite of the serious subject matter, in which Sarah Jane discovers that she’s gone blind.
That sort of sums this episode up really — it’s surprisingly funny for an episode which is so dark at times. Even when Solon is on a rampage, screaming insults at Condo and the situation in general, they come across as quite funny. I’m definitely going to be calling people ‘chicken-brained biological disaster’ for the next few weeks. And then you get great serious moments like Doctor Who and Solon discussing the irreparable condition of Sarah’s retinas rubbing up against this sequence in which the Time Lord goads the Sisterhood;
Doctor Who: ‘How did you get [the TARDIS] here, by the way?’
Ohica: ‘The power of the Sisterhood.’
Doctor Who: ‘Really? What, you mean you still practise teleportation? How quaint. Now, if you got yourself a decent forklift truck…’
Part of the reason that I’ve enjoyed this one is that watching Doctor Who with the Sisterhood is so much fun. His natural anarchy brushes up well against their adherence to tradition and religion, and Baker’s incarnation feels especially suited to playing this part. He’s also on top form here — putting in possibly the best performance he’s given all season, and that’s high praise given that he’s rarely slipped from being brilliant.
I complained the other day that in spite of Pyramids of Mars constantly trying to tell me that Sutekh was the greatest threat in the world, I simply didn’t believe it. There was nothing about him which felt in any way menacing. This story doesn’t have the same problem. When Doctor Who starts to clear his head and work out what’s going on you genuinely feel his concern. The story doesn’t need to go out of its way to convince me that Morbuis’ survival is a bad thing, I totally believe it;
Doctor Who: ‘The last thing I remember, I was taking a glass of wine with Solon and Morbius.’
Maren: ‘Morbius is dead.’
Doctor Who: ‘That’s right. Morbius is dead. How did I get that impression?’
Maren: ‘The Time Lords destroyed Morbius for his crimes here on Karn.’
Doctor Who: ‘Solon had a clay model of his head. But it was more than that. A living mental contact. I felt the mind of Morbius.’
Ohica: ‘Morbius was executed for leading the rebellion. His body was placed in a dispersal chamber and atomised to the nine corners of the universe.’
Doctor Who: ‘I know that. But I tell you, Maren. Just for a second, before I
passed out, his mind touched mine. I felt his burning hatred and anguish. Morbius is alive.’
Maren: ‘I suppose you think raising these old fears can somehow help you, but
I was present at his execution. Morbius is dead, Doctor, and you will join
him very shortly.’
When Morbius does show up here and he’s just a brain in a tank it really packs a punch, which is impressive given that I suspect it could have been a bit silly. I think what impresses me the most is that the cascade of bubbles filling the tank happens in sequence with the scream of the closing titles — you can really tell that some thought has gone into that moment. It shouldn’t come as a surprise as we’ve got Christopher Barry back on directing duties, and he usually turns in a solid piece of work.
I’m particularly fond on the shots of Doctor Who being burned at the stake, too. They look effective in as much as Tom Baker looks like he might really be in danger — he’s far closer to the flames than I’d have expected him to be. It’s surprising how little we seem him being tied to a stake, really, and especially when you consider that it happened in the last story too!
A much more engaging episode, which gives me hope for the future… 7/10.
