The Brain of Morbius (TV story)

The Brain of Morbius was the fifth story in season thirteen of Doctor Who. It saw a number of references to the Doctor's past and featured a scene featuring mindbending that introduced contentious elements to the shows' mythos. The story was notably influenced by Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.

Synopsis
Mad scientist Mehendri Solon is building a body from spare parts to house the disembodied brain of the evil Time Lord Morbius, and fancies the Doctor's head as the final piece...

Part One
On a dark and stormy night on a rocky, remote planet, an injured alien crawls from the wreckage of a space capsule. He doesn't get far, as a brutish killer with a hook in place of a hand emerges from behind a rock and raises his knife. The hook-handed murderer, Condo, brings the severed head to his master, Mehendri Solon, who finds it unsuitable for his purposes.

The TARDIS materialises nearby and the Fourth Doctor emerges in a rage, certain that some external influence - most likely the Time Lords - has caused them to land here. He recognises the planet as Karn, not too far from Gallifrey.

Resentful at being expected to do the Time Lords' dirty work, the Doctor sulks while Sarah Jane explores, and she discovers a vast plain strewn with the wreckages of dozens of spaceships. Before long they find the decapitated corpse of the crash victim, which the Doctor identifies as a Mutt.

Their presence is observed by a red-robed woman, Ohica of the Sisterhood of Karn. She reports to their High Priestess Maren, who suspects that their arrival must be connected to their Sacred Flame. A product of superheated gas, the Flame produces the Elixir of Life that makes them immortal. However, the Flame has been steadily dying, and without the Elixir the Sisterhood is doomed.

The Doctor and Sarah arrive at Solon's castle. Solon greets them, awkwardly remarking on the Doctor's "magnificent head." He dispatches Condo to bring wine. The Doctor recognises Solon as a distinguished scientist, and a genius in the field of organ and tissue transplantation before his reputation was destroyed by his rumoured connection to the followers of Morbius, a tyrannical Time Lord executed for his crimes; Solon dismisses the idea as professional jealousy. A burst of wind forces the front door open and blows the cover off a clay bust. The Doctor recognises the bust as Morbius, and senses the presence of Morbius' mind before suddenly passing out; Solon has drugged the wine. Sarah, who has not drank, feigns unconsciousness. Solon urges Condo to prepare, and they carry the Doctor to the lab. Meanwhile, the Sisterhood form a circle of meditation and focus on the TARDIS, which they teleport into their chamber. They identify it as Time Lord technology, and are convinced that the Time Lords are plotting to steal the last drops of the Elixir of Life.

Solon and Condo go to repair the generators in advance of the operation. While they are away the Doctor's form glows and disappears, teleported away by the Sisterhood. Sarah Jane sneaks into the lab looking for him. Opening a curtain she is confronted with a monstrous creature, a patchwork of sewn-together alien body parts, only missing a head...

Part Two


Returning to find him gone, Solon realises the Doctor has been captured by the Sisterhood, and goes with Condo to fetch him back. Sarah secretly follows them to the Sisterhood's lair. The Doctor awakens to Maren's accusation of being a Time Lord agent sent to steal the Elixir. In the past, the Sisterhood willingly shared the Elixir with Time Lords suffering post-regenerative trauma. But now, protecting the last few drops, the Sisterhood have used their collective psychic energy to crash any passing spaceships (which Solon then scavenges for body parts). His denial isn't believed, and he is sentenced to burn at the stake. During the ceremony, Solon and Condo burst in. Maren, furious at the intrusion, refuses Solon's requests, first to preserve the Doctor's head, then to accept Condo in the Doctor's place. They sheepishly exit, and the ceremony continues. Sarah manages to free the Doctor before the flames reach him. A flash of power from Maren's ring, however, blinds her as they escape.

Condo angrily confronts his master about being offered in the Doctor's place. Solon begs for his life, and promises to replace Condo's hook with his real hand. This calms the hulking servant for the moment. The tension is broken when the Doctor arrives with Sarah for a consultation. Solon informs the Doctor that the Elixir is the only remedy for her blindness. The Doctor resolves to return to the Sisterhood to obtain it. Solon sends Condo with a message to the Sisterhood, again attempting to bargain for the Doctor's head. Solon, in a secret lab, talks to an unseen voice who berates him for the many delays in finishing the body. Solon persuades the voice, whom he refers to as Morbius, for more time, as he now only requires the Doctor's head... As Solon exits, Sarah hears the voice and follows it into the lab. We see, though she doesn't, that the voice of Morbius emanates from a disembodied brain kept alive in a large vat. The brain accuses her of being an agent of the Sisterhood sent to destroy him.



Part Three
Solon finds Sarah and rushes her out of the lab. From outside the door, she overhears their plan. Once he has the Doctor's head, he will transplant Morbius's brain into the body of spare parts he is creating, freeing him once more to wage galactic war. She locks Solon in, and stumbles out to find the Doctor.

The Doctor is captured and brought to Maren again. He realises that he's been duped by Solon; Sarah's blindness is only temporary. He persuades Maren to let him examine the Sacred Flame, convinced that there must be a natural reason for the Flame's dwindling. He drops a firecracker down the shaft which dislodges a buildup of soot, and the Flame is restored to its full height.

Condo unlocks the lab door, and Solon sends him to retrieve Sarah. Condo finds her, and is prepared to dispatch her, but takes pity on her blindness and returns her to Solon's castle. When Solon mentions that the Doctor is also a Time Lord, Morbius panics. The Time Lords, he thinks, have tracked him down. Desperate, he compels Solon to operate immediately, using an artificial brain case in place of the Doctor's head. As Solon prepares to operate, Condo recognises one of the creature's arms as his own. In a blind rage he attacks Solon, and so doing he knocks over the tank, causing Morbius' brain to hit the floor with a splat. The enraged Solon pulls a gun and shoots Condo several times. He drafts the unwilling Sarah into helping him operate, not knowing the extent of the brain's damage.

During a break in the operation, Solon finds the Doctor's apparently lifeless body left by the Sisterhood, and reflects bitterly on the irony. Meanwhile in the lab, Sarah's eyesight returns as Morbius rises behind her...

Part Four


The operation has restored Morbius's motor functions, but his higher cerebral functions have yet to be connected, and the result is a savage monster. Solon is attacked and Sarah is saved only by the wounded Condo's self-sacrifice. The Doctor awakens and convinces Solon that the creature must be hunted down. Together they find and tranquillise the creature, but not before it kills one of the Sisterhood. Solon convinces the Doctor that he's going to dismantle the creature, but instead locks the Doctor out of the lab, leaving him free to complete the operation. The Doctor injects cyanide gas into the lab, killing Solon, but not before Morbius arises fully sentient. Morbius confronts the Doctor and explains that he now has the lungs of a birastrop, rendering him immune to the cyanide. He boasts that despite his monstrous appearance, his followers will rise to join him once more. The Doctor challenges Morbius to a potentially deadly mindbending contest, which overloads after a fierce contest of wills. The Doctor falls, inert, and Morbius reverts to his earlier savagery. The Sisterhood, armed with torches, corner Morbius and drive him over a cliff to his death. The Doctor's life is restored with the help of a fresh draught of Elixir produced by Maren's self-sacrifice to the Sacred Flame. The Doctor gives Ohica a pack of firecrackers in case they have any more trouble, and he departs with Sarah in the TARDIS.

Cast

 * The Doctor - Tom Baker
 * Sarah Jane Smith - Elisabeth Sladen
 * Voice of Morbius - Michael Spice
 * Solon - Philip Madoc
 * Maren - Cynthia Grenville
 * Condo - Colin Fay
 * Ohica - Gilly Brown
 * Sisters - Sue Bishop, Janie Kells, Gabrielle Mowbray, Veronica Ridge
 * Kriz - John Scott Martin
 * Morbius Monster - Stuart Fell

Crew

 * Assistant Floor Manager - Felicity Trew
 * Costumes - L. Rowland Warne
 * Designer - Barry Newbury
 * Incidental Music - Dudley Simpson
 * Make-Up - Jean McMillan
 * Movement - Geraldine Stephenson
 * Producer - Philip Hinchcliffe
 * Production Assistant - Carol Wiseman
 * Production Unit Manager - Janet Radenkovic
 * Script Editor - Robert Holmes
 * Special Sounds - Dick Mills
 * Studio Lighting - Peter Catlett
 * Studio Sound - Tony Millier
 * Theme Arrangement - Delia Derbyshire
 * Title Music - Ron Grainer
 * Visual Effects - John Horton

The Doctor

 * The Doctor states that he had liked his head but has had several, the most recent being an older, grey-haired one which some people liked (prompting agreement from Sarah Jane that she did).
 * The faces of the Doctor's first three incarnations appear during the mindbending contest.

Individuals

 * Solon was living on Karn during Morbius' trial and stole his brain prior to execution.

Time Lords

 * Morbius was once Lord President of the Time Lord High Council on Gallifrey. He tried to steer the Time Lords down a path towards destruction and conquest. He promised eternal life to his fanatical followers, many of whom were mercenaries, and came to Karn to seize the Elixir of Life. The civilisation on Karn and on many other planets, was destroyed by Morbius.
 * The Sisterhood of Karn took part in Morbius' trial.
 * It is suggested that the Doctor is sent to Karn by the Time Lords.

Planets

 * The Sisterhood is located on Karn.
 * Gallifrey is within a few billion miles of Karn.

Foods and beverages from the real world

 * The Doctor mocked Morbius, calling him "Potpourri"and Sarah called him "Chop suey, the galactic emperor".

Real world

 * When the Doctor wakes up at the sisterhood after having been drugged with wine by Solon, he is offered a glass to which he replies: "I had a little drink about an hour ago..." from the song Show Me the Way to Go Home. The next line in the song is "And it went right to my head"

Story notes

 * Some fans have noted some stories which share similar ideas:
 * Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein, in which a scientist attempts to create new life by joining together the organs of a number of deceased bodies.
 * Curt Siodmak's 1942 novel Donovan's Brain, in which a scientist tries to keep the disembodied brain of an evil billionaire alive.
 * H. P. Lovecraft's Herbert West - Reanimator, in which a chemist and his fearful assistant attempt to resurrect the dead.


 * At the end of Part Four, the TARDIS dematerialises instantaneously, with a flash and a puff of smoke, rather than fading away gradually, and the dematerialisation sound is played at a higher speed than usual.
 * Colin Fay, who played Condo, was an opera singer.
 * Many of the faces in the mental battle between the Doctor and Morbius are members of the production team who worked on this story. In order of appearance, they are Christopher Baker, Robert Holmes, Graeme Harper, Douglas Camfield, Philip Hinchcliffe, Robert Banks Stewart, George Gallaccio and Christopher Barry.

Ratings

 * Part 1 - 9.5 million viewers
 * Part 2 - 9.3 million viewers
 * Part 3 - 10.1 million viewers
 * Part 4 - 10.2 million viewers

Myths

 * The mindbending contest at the end of Part Four proves conclusively that the Doctor regenrated multiple times prior to William Hartnell's Doctor. While this was apparently what the production team intended to imply, the overwhelming weight of evidence provided throughout the rest of the series contradicts this. For instance, Time Lord dialogue in The Three Doctors specifically establishes that the Doctor as portrayed by William Hartnell is "the earliest Doctor"; further evidence provided in Mawdryn Undead, The Five Doctors, the 1996 TV movie, The Next Doctor, and The Lodger (among others) establishes that all of the Doctor's incarnations are accounted for in his televised adventures. 


 * Barry Newbery's sets for this story were inspired by the work of the Spanish architect Antoni Gaudi. They weren't, although at director Christopher Barry's request Newbery did look at some of Gaudi's work during the course of his research.


 * Maren mentions a race called the Hoothi who travel in silent gas dirigibles. They are called the Muthi, according to Terrance Dicks's script, but Cynthia Grenville pronounces the name as "Hoot-eye". This is quite clear on the DVD. Author Paul Cornell featured the creatures in his original Doctor Who novel Love and War.


 * Sarah calls the Doctor "Tom" at one stage (during the mindbending sequence). She is actually stammering the word "Doctor".

Filming locations

 * BBC Television Centre (Studio 1, TC3), Shepherd's Bush, London

Production errors

 * Morbius' globe head falls apart when he tumbles over the cliff edge, and the camera bounces.

Continuity

 * NA: Cat's Cradle: Time's Crucible expands on who the Sisterhood are, how they came to be and their animosity with the Time Lords / Gallifrey.
 * PDA: Warmonger covers much of Morbius's reign before he was captured by the Time Lords.
 * The Hoothi, briefly mentioned in this story, play a significantly greater role in the novel, NA: Love and War.
 * In PDA: Verdigris, Iris Wildthyme reveals she was one of part of the Sisterhood of Karn yelling "Death" at the Doctor.
 * The Doctor's killing of Solon marks one of the few occasions in the series' history (and possibly the first) in which the character is shown directly and deliberately killing another humanoid being. Other examples include the Fifth Doctor shooting the Cyberleader in DW: Earthshock and the Sixth Doctor smothering Shockeye in DW: The Two Doctors.
 * A Mutt appears. They first appeared in DW: The Mutants.

Timeline

 * This story takes place after DWAN: Secret of the Bald Planet
 * This story takes place before MA: Evolution

DVD releases

 * Region 2 21 July 2008
 * PAL -


 * Region 4 2 October 2008
 * PAL -


 * Region 1 7 October 2008
 * NTSC -


 * Contents:
 * Commentary by Philip Hinchcliffe, Tom Baker, Philip Madoc, Christopher Barry and Elisabeth Sladen
 * Getting a Head - Documentary on the serial's production
 * Designs on Karn - Set Designer Barry Newbery discusses his team's work on the serial
 * Set Tour - Computer-generated rendering of how the sets were constructed and placed within BBC TV Centre Studio 1
 * Photo Gallery
 * Sketch Gallery
 * Production Subtitles
 * Radio Times Listings
 * Easter Egg - Trivia from the serial. To access this hidden feature, press left at Main Menu on the Episode Selection menu.
 * Easter Egg - Dramatic readings of a letter from young viewer Aidan Carlisle criticising the show's increasing focus on horror, and reply from Robert Holmes. To access this hidden feature, press left at Set Tour on the Special Features menu.

Notes:
 * Editing for DVD release completed by Doctor Who Restoration Team.

VHS releases
Released:


 * UK July 1984 (Heavy edited movie edition)
 * US July 1987 (Heavy edited movie edition)
 * Australia November 1987 (Heavy edited movie edition)
 * UK July 1990 (Unedited)
 * Australia January 1991 (Unedited)
 * US February 1997 (Unedited)

As noted above, initial home-video releases of The Brain of Morbius used a heavily edited omnibus movie print, with a running time of less than an hour. This was apparently in an attempt to make the serial acceptable for young viewers (in the US it was released on Playhouse, a children's imprint of the CBS Fox label). This edit was heavily criticised and eventually an uncut version was released (though American viewers had to wait a decade). Similar edits were not released for other serials.

Laserdisc Release
The Brain of Morbuis was one of the few episodes to be released on Laserdisc. As with most early Laserdisc's, This release is known to suffer from Severe "Disk Rot". It is also labelled as a "Laser Vision" Disk, Not a Laserdisc.

Released in July 1984 as "The Brain of Morbius".

Novelisation and its audiobooks

 * Main article: Doctor Who and the Brain of Morbius


 * Novelised as Doctor Who and the Brain of Morbius by Terrance Dicks in June 1977
 * Also novelised in a book for younger readers, Junior Doctor Who and the Brain of Morbius, also by Dicks, in 1980.
 * In 2008 an audiobook of Terrance Dicks Doctor Who and the Brain of Morbius was released.