Morbius was an audio story comprising the first, second and third releases of the Dark Gallifrey audio series, produced by Big Finish Productions. It was written by Tim Foley and featured Samuel West as Morbius, Mark Bonnar as The Eleven and Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor.
Publisher's summary[]
Part One[]
When things turn dark, and you're all alone, there is one traveller of time and space...a wanderer in the fourth dimension...a renegade Time Lord...who will always be there to bring back the light.
But the thing about Time Lords...is they can't all be heroes.
The time has come for the last Time Lord battleship, the Proteus, to leave the planet Karn and return to Gallifrey victorious. But her voyage home will not be easy. The Captain is sick, the crew is restless, and there are dark forces lurking in the hold below...
Part Two[]
When disaster strikes the Proteus, Captain Argento and her crew must fight for their lives and the fate of all Time Lords. What is out there on the ice? Who hides in the impossible temple?
As loyalties shift and secrets emerge, the cult of Morbius lies in wait to bring about the General's return...
Part Three[]
Morbius has been brought back to life on the Isle of the Dead. But a desperate Captain Argento has called for help and received an unlikely ally. Here is a stranger who knows the tyrant of old and is the only one who can put his plans on ice. But perhaps even the Doctor cannot stop the threat of Dark Gallifrey...
Plot[]
Part One[]
The story is framed by a narrator, Narrata, recounting the history of the Great Schism on Gallifrey. The conflict was between the first president to succeed Rassilon and a tyrant named Morbius. Morbius, charismatic and powerful, rose from humble beginnings, overthrew his dismissive teacher Grimdar at the Academy, and instigated a devastating civil war that ravaged the Eight Domains and shredded timelines. The war culminated in the Battle of Karn, where the Time Lords, aided by the Sisterhood of Karn, defeated Morbius. He was tried and executed.
On the Time Lord ship Proteus, the last Gallifreyan vessel on Karn, tasked with resettling the Sisterhood and capturing remaining Morbius loyalists. Gilda, a young Sister, comes aboard to deliver the Elixir of Life to the ship's ailing captain, Captain Argento. Mr Middlewitch, the first mate, explains the crew's fear of the Sisterhood.
Below deck, Morbius's captured followers, led by Veritas, are imprisoned. Veritas is in telepathic contact with Morbius, who, though physically gone, exists within Veritas's mind, awaiting his return. Rolko, a discontented crew member, is also down in the hold, having been sent to the brig by Captain Argento. Veritas subtly influences Rolko, hinting at Morbius's eventual rise.
Aboard the Proteus, the journey home is perilous due to damage to the Time Vortex from the war. Captain Argento is secretly very ill and reliant on the Elixir of Life. Gilda attends to her. During a dinner for the officers, an alarm sounds: The Shimmering Man is approaching the ship through the vortex. The crew, terrified, pull the entity aboard. It is barely coherent but recognizes Gilda as a "sister." Captain Argento, strangely, orders The Shimmering Man to be taken to Gilda's cabin for care, against the crew's wishes to cast it back into the vortex.
The ship itself begins to experience spatial distortion, with sections shrinking. Rolko reports this to Mr Middlewitch, noting the prisoners' hold is significantly smaller and that other areas are affected, causing accidents and loss of supplies. Mr Middlewitch tries to maintain order and morale, but the crew is increasingly agitated by the ship's condition, the captain's illness, and the presence of The Shimmering Man.
Captain Argento, growing weaker and more erratic, confides in Gilda about her past and the regeneration she received as a reward. She reveals she gave a bottle of her precious Elixir to Gilda to treat The Shimmering Man, hoping he might provide answers or help. Mr Middlewitch confronts Gilda about this, and then Captain Argento, whose condition is worsening rapidly.
The crew, led by Rolko (now openly influenced by Veritas and Morbius), Dibs, and Tarka, mutiny, believing Gilda and The Shimmering Man are causing the ship's decay. They confront Mr Middlewitch and then Gilda. As chaos erupts, the Proteus is suddenly pulled towards a mysterious, un charted island in the vortex—the Isle of the Dead prophesied by The Shimmering Man—and crashes.
Part Two[]
After the Proteus crashes on the Isle of the Dead, Captain Argento and Mr Middlewitch clash over leadership. Argento leads an expedition onto the ice with Gilda and three crewmen (Joynes, Trisk, and Fallon), while Middlewitch remains to oversee repairs. On the island, Veritas assures Morbius (still within his mind) of his impending freedom.
The Shimmering Man reappears to Argento's group and leads them to the Temple of Morbius, a crystalline structure. Inside, a holographic projection of Morbius (the Interface) greets them. It shows them mosaics depicting Morbius's biased history of the Great Schism. The Interface then uses mirrors to show Argento troubling visions, including one of The Eleven.
Meanwhile, Veritas persuades Middlewitch to allow Morbius's followers to assist with ship repairs. Morbius, through Veritas, directs the marking of a crew member to further spread his influence.
In the Temple, the Interface reveals the temple is alive and consumes Joynes, Trisk, and Fallon to absorb their life force. Captain Argento and Gilda flee. On the Proteus, Rolko and other crew members, now bearing Morbius's mark, overpower Mr Middlewitch. They drag him to a pit on the ice where Veritas and the other cultists perform a ritual. Mr Middlewitch is forced into the pit as a sacrifice, and from it, Morbius is resurrected, having taken Middlewitch's body.
Captain Argento and Gilda, witnessing this, return to the damaged Proteus. Argento uses the Horn of Rassilon to summon help. A TARDIS materializes, and the Fourth Doctor emerges, disoriented but recognizing the horn.
Part Three[]
The Fourth Doctor, a future projection pulled from the Matrix by the Horn of Rassilon, quickly assesses the situation. He deduces that the Temple of Morbius is a TARDIS time rotor exposed to the vortex and that he has limited time before being pulled back. Morbius, now fully corporeal, confronts The Doctor via the ship's mirror-like viewscreens. He reveals his plan to use the temple as a gateway to Dark Gallifrey to raise an army. The Doctor bluffs, claiming he can disable Morbius's gateway by destroying the Proteus's scatter masts, which are actually vital to this plan.
Morbius, believing The Doctor is aboard the Proteus, beams down to confront him, leaving his followers behind. The Doctor leads Morbius on a chase through the spatially distorting lower decks of the Proteus. Captain Argento and Gilda work to get the ship moving. Morbius eventually traps The Doctor in a mental construct, intending to duel him. The Doctor, knowing he's a projection, conjures an image of Morbius's earlier, monstrous form to fight him, buying time.
As Captain Argento pilots the Proteus towards the gateway/rift created by Morbius's temple, Veritas, witnessing his followers dying as the temple drains them, has a change of heart. He uses the temple's altar to try and close the gateway, sacrificing himself in the process.
The Doctor, his projection fading, is pulled back to the Matrix. Captain Argento, knowing the Proteus cannot survive, rams the ship into Morbius (who is still psychically linked to the gateway through the temple), and the rift, destroying them both. Gilda is thrown clear into the vortex.
Gilda drifts through the vortex, encountering The Doctor's fading echo. He explains Argento's sacrifice and that the Proteus will become a legendary ghost ship. He tasks Gilda with warning others about Dark Gallifrey before he vanishes. Gilda eventually materializes on Karn, but in its past, long before the Great Schism. She is accepted by the Sisterhood of that era and changes her name to Narrata. Years later, as an elder, she sees her younger self, Gilda, depart on the Proteus, bringing the story full circle. Narrata then finishes writing her account of the events.
Cast[]
- Morbius / Interface / Morbius Beast - Samuel West
- The Eleven - Mark Bonnar
- Rolko - Mina Anwar
- Captain Argento - Rachel Atkins
- The Shimmering Man - Justin Avoth
- Veritas - Andrew French
- Narrata - Janet Henfrey
- Gilda - Lara Lemon
- Mr Middlewitch - Hywel Morgan
- The Doctor - Tom Baker
Crew[]
- Script Editor - John Dorney
- Writer - Tim Foley
- Theme Music - Rob Harvey
- Senior Producer - John Ainsworth
- Range Producer - Robert Valentine
- Cover Art - Soundsmyth Creative
- Director - Samuel Clemens
- Executive Producers - Jason Haigh-Ellery and Nicholas Briggs
- Music and Sound Design - Howard Carter
- Producer - David Richardson
Worldbuilding[]
to be added
Notes[]
to be added
Continuity[]
- Middlewitch is subjected to a forced regeneration, transforming him into a resurrected Morbius. The Spy Master would do the same to the Thirteenth Doctor, turning her into him for a time. (TV: The Power of the Doctor)
- Morbius engages the Fourth Doctor in another mental duel. (TV: The Brain of Morbius)
External links[]
- Official Morbius page at bigfinish.com
- Official Morbius page at bigfinish.com
- Official Morbius page at bigfinish.com