Subject: Retrospective: Doctor Who: The Brain of Morbius (1976)

From: Tim Voon <[email-masked]>
Date: 13 Oct 1997 04:07:16 GMT

DOCTOR WHO: THE BRAIN OF MORBIUS 1976
                      A film review by Timothy Voon
                       Copyright 1997 Timothy Voon
                        1 :-)  for the Time Lord

My favourite Doctor is not one who works in a clinic or hospital, but
one who journeys the universe in a blue telephone booth. This popular
BBC science fiction series of the 60's, 70's and early 80's, carries
with it the delights of a home made movie. The sets are shoddy, but
environmentally friendly. Props are recycled and reused in every episode
– that wall looks familiar, and that monster looks like the last one
except the hand is where the nose should be. The Doctor always wears
the same clothes, which makes him as familiar and well worn as your
favourite pair of socks. Lighting seems to be a perpetual problem on the
dark woeful planets visited by The Doctor and his companions. Most of
the time the cast seem to be stumbling about in a dark haze, groping
about in caves, leaving the viewer wandering whether they need to
develop exceptional night vision in order to see
what is happening. What about the special effects? Well, it has the same
feel of a churning washing machine come thunderstorm.

Despite it's shortcomings, I continue to enjoy the look, the feel, and
above all the adventures of these familiar household characters at play
in the backyard. Tom Baker with the characteristic hat and scarf is
almost synonymous with The Doctor, although the character has had been
played by up to 7 different actors. If you are wandering what I'm
mumbling about, The Doctor is a Time Lord travelling through time
and space, battling the likes of any evil alien thrown in his path. In
this particular episode, the villain is Morbius, an ex-Time Lord
executed by the High Council for being evil. Naturally, Morbius has a
band of followers to help resurrect his "let's take over the universe"
bid. They manage to save his brain after execution - thus the title "The
Brain of Morbius".

Amidst all this excitement, the Doctor’s ever changing, intellectually
stimulating, but never physically touching companion, is none other than
the lovely Sarah Jane (Elisabeth Sladen). This lass, carries the same
dim wit of a damsel in distress. She stumbles about after going
temporarily blind, and screams the likes of "Doctor, Doctor where are
you?" "I can't see, I'm going blind." "Please don't hurt me, please
don't hurt me." In which case I had the incredible urge to respond, "The
doctor is still strapped to the sacrificial table, sit down and have a
cup of tea before you .... watch out for that wall! Ouch!" Poor Sarah
Jane. She spends the majority of the movie being sexually harassed by a
deformed giant, followed by physical harassment by a walking, talking
brain.

Morbius, wants the body of The Doctor, which is the only host
compatible for his brain. When this becomes unattainable, he is placed
in a temporary host of assorted body parts. Mostly made up of the arms,
legs and trunk of various unfortunate aliens captured by the mad
scientist Solon (Phillip Madoc). The creature is meant to be reminiscent
of Frankenstein, but with a claw here, some fur there, it remains as
huggable as a teddy bear. On the same planet are The Sisters of the
Flame. These immortal virgins who are prickly around males, are
experiencing some problems with their eternal flame. They naturally
blame The Doctor, who has the doubly difficult task of calming the
angry threats post-menopausal women, and at the same time battling
the likes Morbius.

So if you understood my ramblings, then you have captured the jist of
this tele-movie. I have always enjoyed any tale concerning The Doctor
and his wondrous travels, and this is no exception. The poor production,
but otherwise intriguing story line, is all part in parcel of the unique
flavour created by The Doctor and his makers.

Timothy Voon
e-mail: [email-masked]