Doctor Who’s primary appeal for me has always been its scary nature and the sinister scare factor which has defined the show. Doctor Who's best stories often thrive upon isolated locations and scary villains. Therefore, Halloween is a time of year in which you have a large number of stories fitting for the occasion, and I don’t think there is one more fitting than the Brain of Morbius. With its Frankenstein and gothic horror influences mixed with sci-fi, it’s clear this one has what it takes to terrify young children. Let’s delve into it.
The plot of the Brain of Morbius involves the Doctor and Sarah Jane being drawn to the isolated planet of Karn. The Sisterhood of Karn watch over the sacred flame and the elixir it creates. They view the Doctor and other travellers as a danger. However, you have sinister and dangerous events brewing. There is a physician called Solon, and as a follower of the ancient Time Lord conqueror and oppressor Morbius, he has for some time been producing a body for the brain that has survived and seeks the Doctor’s head as the last piece. The Doctor, Sarah Jane, and the Sisterhood of Karn must come together to put a stop to this evil.
The Brain of Morbius was originally written by Terrance Dicks but Robert Holmes rewrote it, making it more reflective of his style and the gothic horror influences of the era.
Karn is a location and environment that defines the feel of the story. It strongly fits the threat of Morbius and Solon with the Frankenstein nature of the plotline and the frightful and disturbing atmosphere. An unsettling feeling of suspense is present from the setting, making you tense and on the edge of your seat with the atmosphere expertly crafted by Robert Holmes. The planet and world have a consistent aesthetic design that matches Holmes' gothic horror tone he is trying to hit. Everything from the production design to the music and directing is all on the same page in what they are trying to emulate, and it all works perfectly together.
It’s easy to mistake Robert Holmes as unoriginal, but I would say that’s shortsighted. I adore Doctor Who stories that merge familiar genres with a science fiction and Doctor Who spin. Doctor Who is remarkable for its ability to take on practically any genre, which is why the Hinchcliffe era is one of my favourites for exploring many different kinds of stories.
The Frankenstein retelling makes this story feel so unique and distinctive and gives it its own flavour individual to it. It feels unlike any other kind of Doctor Who story which is what makes it so memorable. Robert Holmes does not copy stories; there is plenty of original stuff within the Brain of Morbius such as the Sisterhood of Karn and the history of Morbius as a villain, which adds a lot to Time Lord culture and history. However, it borrows thematic ideas to play with strongly human and relatable complex concepts in an interesting way.
Robert Holmes does a wonderful job of playing into the fittingly familiar in the audience’s memory. They use something that has worked before, and the audience has a good memory and familiarity with, and then builds upon that from a different angle. The novel of Frankenstein plays with ideas of identity, monstrosity and isolation and Robert Holmes does a tremendous job of mirroring and using the same kinds of ideas and themes but making his story its own thing.
The characters and story explore the themes in different ways, but it’s rooted in themes and imagery that an audience understands well and that resonates and connects with them. As long as you maintain a fresh perspective, which I think the Brain of Morbius does, then this approach can be very successful.
Whilst Morbius is the central villain of the story, he isn’t a major presence for most of it. You have Solon played by Phillip Madoc, who drives most of the events. Phillip Madoc played the War Lord in the War Games, but he plays a completely different kind of character in this story, and it took me years to realise it was him. He does a terrific job of playing a very twisted take on Victor Frankenstein. I like the cold and malicious aspect of Solon. There is something unnerving and sinister about Solon as a character and the performance. There is something compellingly forbidden about the idea of playing with the dead that feels horribly disturbing and disrespectful of people’s lives, and touches on a captivating and horrifying idea.
There is an interestingly bitter and disillusioned quality to Solon as a character that defines him well. He’s lacking in morality and his only goal is in scientific progress, and it’s demonstrated well in the nature of his isolation and how being shunned has warped him. The dangers of scientific curiosity are profoundly shown through Solon pushing boundaries into the forbidden, which raises great questions. He has become stagnated, rooted in his obsession, which feels believable. I like the way a lack of morality defines what it means to be human across the story, which runs through all the characters. Solon’s lack of human affection has turned him into an unfeeling monster, which makes him a captivating and curious character. Through this, thought-provoking questions are explored about whether the evil of Morbius lies with the man who resurrected him.
In addition to Solon, you also have his servant Condo, who is played by Colin Fay. He is entertainingly instinctive and unintelligent, and a character of brutish force and terror. I like Condo's dangerous and predatory nature. In the scene when Solon displeases him, you can tell he is genuinely terrified when Condo takes his knife out because there is a sense of danger about him. Yet Condo has a simplicity in the way he is portrayed that feels very innocent and likeable with his childlike nature. Solon and Condo's comedic double act is entertaining, spiteful, and dark. Condo is also a very sympathetic figure, having been punished, taken advantage of, and manipulated by Solon and strung along based on false promises as you feel a lot of pity for him. Condo has a very limited understanding of things, but I think what succeeds is that he understands what’s most important and remains rooted in his values of loyalty and trust. This is why he feels great anger when betrayed, which is a fantastic moment. His affection and fondness for Sarah Jane is also an adorable quality in him as a character, and the fact that he goes down defending her defines him well in remaining rooted in his humanity. Condo has primitive instincts but I like that he is a contrast to Morbius in that he understands the values that are right.
Yet the main villain of the story is Morbius, played by Stuart Fell and voiced by Michael Spice, who would go on to play Magnus Greel in the Talons of Weng-Chiang. It’s the lore and the backstory of Morbius as a Time Lord that defines and drives a lot of his danger and the central plot of the story. I think what I like about Morbius as a character in this story is the interesting sense of history which Robert Holmes creates, evoking a compellingly dangerous and mysterious feel. The danger of Morbius is created excellently, simply through a powerful reputation. You get this image of Morbius as this corrupt Time Lord figure, an oppressor and conqueror that sets worthy stakes in place. The voice of Morbius by Michael Spice has a dominating, unpredictable, and deeply fearful quality that works well with the dynamic with Solon. You do feel for Morbius and he has a sympathetic side to him simply having become a brain in a jar, not being able to feel anything, and feeling a sense of rejection and isolation. Morbius and Solon can relate to each other due to their shared feeling of rejection and the two are an effective mirror of one another.
The body horror of Morbius is upsetting and the cliff-hanger to Part One of Sarah Jane discovering a headless body is strikingly horrifying. I love the design of Morbius as this body of assembled pieces from various species. It has this peculiar and bizarre but upsetting feel to it that feels fitting. The whole horror nature of this is a solid reason why the Brain of Morbius is a good story for Halloween. Yet when Morbius finally has his body, then the story plays thoughtfully with themes and ideas of identity and monstrosity. Morbius has been reduced to a monster and is very much a shadow of his former self after being a ruthless oppressor. The story cleverly questions how much of the real Morbius remains. I like the way mirrors are drawn between Morbius and Condo in the instinctive and brutish nature of them. Only Condo remains rooted in his humanity, whereas Morbius has become drawn from his and lost who he is, which makes sense. Monstrosity in the story is shown through morality and how isolation warps the characters and it’s handled in a terrific manner. The intelligence of Morbius is dominated by the savage nature of a monster of instinct and you question how much they are defined by the primitive version of themselves and how much of the true Morbius remains underneath. The layers of monstrosity and immorality is fascinating both in the creature of Morbius and the intelligent conqueror of the past.
The biggest failure with Morbius is the ending. Part Four does stifle a little. At times the presence of the monster feels too dominating over the intelligence of Morbius to the point where it undermines him as a threat. The ending and the way Morbius is defeated simply feels pathetic and a very disappointing and anti-climactic way for Morbius to go out.
Whilst the Sisterhood of Karn could be seen as an ally, I would argue that across the Brain of Morbius they largely function as a threat, so that’s how I’m going to discuss them. The extremist religious cult angle of the Sisterhood of Karn in the Brain of Morbius makes them much more intriguing than their modern series interpretation. This is mainly through the character of Maran played by Cynthia Granville, who has a detached, cold, and dangerous aspect to her that makes her captivating. The sense of fear of outsiders and devotion and protection to the flame has a powerful mirror to the obsession of Solon trying to resurrect Morbius, as the characters tie cleverly into the same themes and ideas. I also enjoy the way the story takes a mystical idea with the sacred flame to flip it and give it a scientific explanation in an unexpected and refreshing way.
Tom Baker, as the Fourth Doctor, is simply magnificent and there is a solid reason he is the most well-known classic Doctor as he has such a presence about him. The immature brooding and moodiness of a teenager as he steps out of the Tardis is a moment I really like being angered at the Time Lords. I like the immature silliness and reckless, unpredictable aspect of his Doctor so this feels appropriate with a relatable rebel character and personality. There is a comedy quality to Tom Baker’s Doctor that feels fitting and contrasts to the darkness of the story and the setting well. Yet Tom Baker can brilliantly flip between comedy and darkness so effortlessly which is what makes him such a wonderful Doctor. The quips and entertaining gags and one-liners of Tom Baker’s personality and performance is always a highlight in his character, and I love the unexpected humorous moments in the way he mocks both Solon and the Sisterhood of Karn.
However, what is more compelling is the sense of history, sadness and loneliness that lies beneath that personality. Tom Baker's portrayal of the Fourth Doctor is full of humour, yet he has a fascinating and underestimated sense of loneliness and vulnerability under the surface which is present when danger emerges. These layers make the Fourth Doctor a complex and gripping character. Furthermore, I love the moral gravity and sense of severity Tom Baker brings in the dominance of this performance when the stakes are high, especially in his confrontations with Solon. When he first meets Solon, he is suspicious but keeps things under his hat which Tom Baker plays wonderfully. You can see every stage of how his mind processes and figures Solon out and what sort of person he is. It’s engrossing seeing how that relationship progresses as the Doctor becomes more blunt with him and more angered and harsh as he grows to detest what he represents. The best scene in the story though is the Doctor's confrontation with Morbius with the mind-bending contest. It’s a big moment for presenting pre-Hartnell Doctors for the first time but also in the conflict it powerfully creates between the two characters.
Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith is a delight in this story as she always is. There is always such a believable friendship and chemistry between the Doctor and Sarah Jane, and this also thrives here. What I particularly like about Sarah Jane from the moment she steps out of the Tardis is her stubborn personality. When the Doctor is in a mood Sarah Jane is not willing to tolerate it, she refuses to take him seriously and has her own initiative, curiosity, and sense of adventure, which I like. Sarah Jane has an agency, she simply views the Doctor as a friend and that defines her sensibilities well. Her ability to rescue the Doctor from the Sisterhood of Karn shows her powerful sense of drive and her becoming temporarily blind puts her through real and difficult struggles where you feel for her. Elisabeth Sladen sells this with raw and emotional believability and her performance has a solid level of fear and vulnerability, but also determination as she attempts to help the Doctor when he has been drawn into a trap. The key to Sarah Jane is even through her determined qualities, she feels like a convincing and vulnerable person who is relatable throughout.
You have Douglas Camfield directing the story who had successfully helmed many stories such as the Rescue, the Romans, the Daemons, and Robot. He gives the story a powerful atmosphere and sense of horror, and I like the way the frame moves with the characters in many scenes making the movement and story progression feel very natural, and a lot of scenes very conversational. The introduction of Solon is perfect and made into a good dramatic moment. You have some greatly presented cliffhangers both with the headless body of Morbius and the revelation of the brain of Morbius presenting powerful scares. Douglas Camfield also does a great job throughout the story on holding his shots on the character's reactions which helps build the stakes of the story on an emotional level in a very effective way as the frame slowly converges upon the character. It’s a simple mechanism but it makes things feel very emotionally connected and driven. There is a reason Douglas Camfield is known as one of the best directors of the classic era and the Brain of Morbius demonstrates it.
So overall, how do I feel about the Brain of Morbius? I simply feel it’s a fantastic piece of writing and production by Robert Holmes and a story that perfectly presents the brilliance of the Hinchcliffe era of Doctor Who. It feels like everything in the style and atmosphere of what the story is trying to present is perfectly in harmony with one another, and the Frankenstein and gothic horror feel is well emulated. Beyond that, you have terrific villains with Solon, Morbius, and the Sisterhood of Karn who have character themes that cleverly mirror and tie into one another, and really great performances from Tom Baker and Elisabeth Sladen as the leads. It explores ideas of identity and what it means to be human, with each character presenting a different side. You do have a disappointing and anti-climactic conclusion that does unfortunately let down an otherwise superb story. It’s a horrifyingly scary story with disturbing body horror and interesting ideas, making it a fitting choice for a Halloween story.
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