DOCTOR WHO:  THE BRAIN OF MORBIUS

commentary by Judy Harris

visit my home page at   http://judyharris.net/index.htm

or E-mail me at  Foosie@bestweb.net

index of all Tom Baker WHO stories:  http://judyharris.net/whoindex.htm

#10:  THE BRAIN OF MORBIUS (4 Parts)
ORIGINALLY AIRED:  1/3/76 to 1/24/76
WRITTEN BY:  "Robin Bland"	
DIRECTED BY:  Christopher Barry
PRODUCER:  Philip Hinchcliffe		
SCRIPT EDITOR:  Robert Holmes	

Robin Bland is a pen name of Terrance Dicks. He wrote the script and then left for vacation. As he was unavailable for rewrites, script editor Robert Holmes reworked his original plot. When Dicks returned, he didn't care for the changes and asked that his name be taken off the script. When Holmes asked what name he wanted, Dicks said, "Oh, just put some bland name on it." In the ensuing decade, Dicks has softened toward this version and no longer disclaims it. Some elements of this story first surfaced in his 1974 West End stage show DOCTOR WHO AND THE DALEKS IN SEVEN KEYS TO DOOMSDAY.

THE BRAIN OF MORBIUS is a redressed version of FRANKENSTEIN. There is the mad scientist, obsessed with creating new life from dead bodies, a hunchbacked assistant, a spooky old castle, and the equivalent of torch-bearing villagers who rise up at the end. What makes this version so enjoyable is all these horror trappings are leavened with a good deal of humor, and a reasonable scientific explanation for all the seemingly supernatural phenomena.

On the planet Karn, the survivor of a rocket crash wanders dazed. It is a Mutt, a character previously shown in the Pertwee story THE MUTANTS. These are creatures whose century-long evolutionary process comprises 3 stages, of which the Mutt is the midpoint.

Condo, a hunchback, with one arm that's a hook, chops off the head of the Mutt to bring to his master Mehendri Solon.

The TARDIS lands, for the first time in the series with no wheezing sound effects, due to a strike of the technical staff. The Doctor dashes out angrily, shouting, "Come out, meddlesome, interfering idiots." He's annoyed because the TARDIS has been dragged 1000 parsecs off course, and he suspects the Time Lords are interfering in his life again.

Sarah suggests the TARDIS might just have gone wrong again. The Doctor fumes, "Do you think I don't know the difference between an internal fault and an external influence?" The Doctor sits and sulks, practicing his double loops on the yoyo, while Sarah sets off to explore. She finds an ejection bubble and a Sargasso sea of wrecked space ships, represented by some very obvious models, somewhat disguised by low lighting.

Sarah screams and the Doctor comes running; she's found a headless body of the Solonian. The Doctor detects he was beheaded after the crash. "Poor Mutt," the Doctor says.

The Doctor tells Sarah he was born in these parts "within a couple of billion miles." In the distance Sarah sees a castle. It starts to rain as they make for it; the Doctor pulling out an umbrella from under his coat.

At the castle, Solon is abusing his servant Condo. The castle is a wonderful Gothic ruin with fallen columns and damaged statuary. It is dimly lit and covered in cobwebs. Solon has removed Condo's arm and promises to return it when his task on Karn is finished.

At the shrine of the Sisterhood of Karn, Ohica reports to the leader, Maren, of the two strangers. Maren is quite old; she moves slowly and with great dignity. All the other sisters are comparatively young; their faces are elaborately painted. Maren fears the Elixir of Life will be taken from the sisterhood. Behind a very unconvincing locked door, she shows Ohica how low the Sacred Flame of Life burns; it has produced no new elixir for over a year. When the flame dies, the Sisterhood of Karn dies also.

The secret of the life elixir was once known only to the sisterhood and the High Council of the Time Lords. Maren feels the Doctor has been sent by the Time Lords to steal the remaining few phials of the elixir.

The Doctor and Sarah, dripping wet in the rain, ring the bell at the castle and Condo answers. "Can you spare a glass of water?," the Doctor asks. Ten years later, this is Tom Baker's favorite line from the series.

Solon offers them shelter; he removes the Doctor's hat. "Oh, what a magnificent head," Solon says, "superb head!" The Doctor replies, "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 chimes in, "I did."

This, of course, refers to the Doctor's previous regenerations, particularly the old grey head of Jon Pertwee, who traveled with Sarah for his last year on the show.

Solon tells the Doctor he's on Karn. The Doctor catches sight of a sculpture of a head and thinks he recognizes the face. Solon quickly covers it up before the Doctor can get a good look.

Solon tells the Doctor the crashed spaceships are caused by a belt of magnetic radiation. "In fact," he says, "Karn has become quite notorious."

Back at the sisterhood, Maren has located the TARDIS in her ring, and with the combined mental power of the sisters, wills it to the shrine. Maren tells Ohica the Time Lords are equal to the sisterhood in mind power.

At the castle, Solon mentions his homesickness for Earth. The Doctor recognizes his name and knows he was a great neurosurgeon who wrote a book called "Microsurgical Techniques Into Tissue Transplants." The Doctor has also heard Solon had joined the followers of the cult of Morbius. Solon denies this; he claims to be on Karn just for the privacy of his researches.

Suddenly the door of the castle whooshes open and a chandelier falls. The Doctor detects a telekenetic visit from the sisterhood. The cloth on the sculpture has blown off and the Doctor recognizes it as Morbius. Morbius was a Time Lord of the highest order; he led a revolt to try to wrest the Elixir of Life from the Sisterhood. The Time Lords condemned him to death by atomization.

The drugged wine Solon has fed the Doctor takes effect, and he collapses. Sarah has poured out her wine, but she pretends to pass out as well.

Solon measures the Doctor's head with calipers, rhapsodizing over the success of his plan. He has been waiting for years for the perfect head in which to transplant the brain of Morbius, and now he has it.

Condo carries the Doctor to the laboratory. Solon uses a stiff Victorian stethoscope, similar to those used by Peter Cushing in the early Hammer FRANKENSTEIN films, and discovers the Doctor has a secondary cardiovascular system. Solon is pleased the Doctor is a Time Lord, as it means there should be no tissue rejection.

Solon and Condo go off to repair the generator prior to the operation. The sisterhood spirit the Doctor to them by mental force. Sarah goes looking for him, but instead finds a living headless body made out of bits and pieces of different creatures. It has Condo's hand, and a large pincer; it has shaggy hair all over and is pretty scary looking.

Solon and Condo return to find the Doctor gone. Solon assumes the sisterhood have taken him and vows to get him back at any cost. At the shrine, the Doctor groggily regains consciousness. "Have I been ill long, nurse?," he asks. Maren says, "I am the leader of the sisters." The Doctor says, "Sorry, Matron." Maren corrects him: "Maren." The sisters try to give him something to drink, but the Doctor pushes it away: "No, thank you; I had a little drink about an hour ago." The Doctor suddenly realizes where he is: "Events have moved along while I've been asleep."

The sisters accuse the Doctor of being sent by the Time Lords to steal the Elixir of Life. The Doctor admits, "Well, I have to confess that I don't really know; the calibrators have been on the blink recently." The Doctor notices the TARDIS nearby. He is amazed the sisters still practice teleportation: "How quaint; now if you'd gotten yourself a decent forklift truck..."

Maren tells the Doctor he has only a little time left before he dies. The Doctor protests, "But I'm only 749; life doesn't begin until seven hundred and..."

The Doctor remembers that just for a second he felt the living mind of Morbius. Maren witnessed Morbius' execution, so doesn't believe him. Ohica tells the Doctor the elixir no longer forms; the flame dies. "How can it?," the Doctor wonders, "That flame is the product of gasses forcing up a geological fault from deep in the molten part of the planet; it will burn for millions of years."

Outside the shrine, Solon recognizes the sisters' song of death and realizes the Doctor is being sacrificed. He and Condo enter, followed by Sarah. Solon interrupts the ceremony, defiling the sacrifice. He apologizes and asks that the Doctor be spared; he offers Condo in his place. When Maren refuses, he asks for the Doctor's head. The Doctor looks on in amazement.

Sarah takes the opportunity of Solon's diversion to dress as a sister. She reaches into the Doctor's pocket for wire cutters and frees him. The fire is lit. Maren closes her eyes for a second and, when she reopens them, the Doctor is gone. Maren shoots a ray from her ring at the fleeing Sarah, as the Doctor pulls her into a passageway.

Back at the castle, Condo--none too pleased at Solon's treatment--threatens to kill him. To save his skin, Solon promises to return his arm, a plot point that is immediately forgotten.

Outside the shrine, the Doctor tells Sarah, "I think we've given them the slip; the barbecue's off." Sarah, however, has been blinded. She feels pretty sorry for herself. "If you're going to sit there wallowing in self pity, I'll bite your nose," the Doctor tells her.

He takes her back to Solon for his professional opinion. Solon says the damage is permanent unless the Doctor can get some Elixir of Life to regenerate her tissues. The Doctor sets off back to the sisterhood, despite the fact they still want to sacrifice him.

Solon writes a note, bargaining for the Doctor's head, and sends it off with Condo to Maren.

Sarah hears Morbius calling for Solon and follows his voice. We get our first look at him. He is a brain floating in a glass case full of green liquid. The brain pulses and lights up from within. When he speaks, the liquid bubbles and some external ganglia vibrates. Morbius is tired of being a bodiless brain, who can see and feel nothing. He has less mobility than a sponge and envies a vegetable.

Solon drags Sarah away from Morbius, but she hears him tell the brain he's sent the Doctor into a trap. She locks Solon in with Morbius and sets off to warn the Doctor.

At the shrine, the last of the elixir is distributed to 5 of the sisters; there is none left for Maren. The Doctor returns. "Ding, dong," he calls to announce his arrival. The sisters throw a net over him. "We can't go on meeting like this," he says.

The Doctor admits he needs the elixir for Sarah. Maren informs him the effects of the ray will wear off. The Doctor realizes Solon lied.

He tells Maren he believes Morbius is still alive on Karn. He promises to help the sisters with the Sacred Flame if they agree to stop dragging innocent space travelers to their death, to prevent them from trying for the elixir. "Wrecking of spaceships has got to stop," the Doctor demands.

Maren lets the Doctor see the dying flame. He is fascinated: "The heat from the flame causes oxidation of the chemicals in the rocks, and then no doubt a chemical reaction with rising superheated gases, and you have your elixir, an impossible dream of a thousand alchemists dripping like tea from an urn."

The Doctor feels the elixir, which gives immortality, could probably be analyzed and synthesized by the gallon, but the consequences would be appalling: "Death is the price we pay for progress." The Time Lords took the elixir only in rare cases when they had trouble regenerating. The Doctor points out at the shrine, where the sisters take the elixir regularly, there is no progress, no change.

He asks the sisters to stand back and takes a match from behind his ear. Lighting it from a torch, he puts it in the Sacred Flame, which sputters out. Enraged, the sisters grab him, and Maren aims her ring at him to strike a fatal blow. Suddenly, the Sacred Flame blazes back to life. "Soot, that's all," the Doctor explains, "There'll be no charge."

Condo has returned and released Solon; he's recaptured Sarah, who is tied up. Morbius discovers the head Solon intends to use belongs to a Time Lord and fears the Time Lords have tracked him down. He talks Solon into putting his brain into an artificial braincase, so he can leave Karn, despite the risks Solon enumerates.

Solon prepares Morbius for the operation by removing the plug from his case; the green nutrient gushes out. Condo sees his arm on the body Solon has created. He attacks Solon, who shoots him. In the scuffle, Morbius' brain spills on the floor.

Solon unties Sarah to work the pump for the transplant operation. Just as Solon finishes the first part of this procedure, the sisters deliver the prone body of the Doctor to Solon. Sarah's eyesight returns, as the Morbius Monster rises. It chases Sarah and accidentally gets burned.

Sarah spots the Doctor on the floor. He opens his eyes: "Hello, Sarah, nice to be seen again," the Doctor smiles. "You thought I was dead, didn't you? You're always making that mistake."

The Doctor says they have to find Morbius' brain. Sarah tells him it's too late, and the Doctor clutches his head to make sure it's still there.

The Morbius Monster runs amok; with the transparent braincase at the top of the hairy body, it somewhat resembles the gorilla in the diving helmet of ROBOT MONSTER.

Morbius knocks the Doctor down and goes for Sarah. A severely wounded Condo comes to her aid, accidentally knocking her down a flight of stairs. Morbius strangles Condo. The Doctor discovers Sarah at the foot of the stairs and carries her to Solon's lab, telling her Morbius has "gone for a lurch."

Solon and the Doctor chase after Morbius, who heads for the shrine, killing a sister. Solon shoots Morbius with a stun gun and the Doctor carries him back to the lab. The Doctor insists Solon disconnect the brain; if not, the Doctor, brandishing his wire cutters, says he will do it.

The Doctor gives Solon 5 minutes and goes off to see Sarah, who has been recovering from the bump on her head she sustained in her fall down the stairs. She thinks it's all been a dream, but the Doctor sets her straight. Solon locks the Doctor and Sarah in; the sonic screwdriver is in the TARDIS, so they can't let themselves out.

The Doctor realizes Solon's castle is a disused hydrogen plant, built on the Scott-Bailey principle. The Doctor and Sarah search for hydrogen cyanide--HCN--prussic acid to brew up some cyanogen. The Doctor finds a duct leading to Solon's lab and lets the fumes waft up there. "How can we tell if it's worked?" Sarah asks. "Well, if we're still here in a month," the Doctor begins; "...it hasn't worked," Sarah concludes.

Solon completes the operation on Morbius, and then dies from the gas. Morbius is not affected because his lungs have a methane filter. He rises and goes to the Doctor. "What does it feel like to be the biggest mongrel in the universe," the Doctor taunts. He and Sarah bait Morbius, telling him he can't continue to use that name: "Potpourri would be appropriate," the Doctor says. "How about chop suey," Sarah chimes in.

The Doctor challenges Morbius to a mind bending contest. This is "Time Lord wrestling; it's usually a game but it can end in death lock."

The Doctor and Morbius put their heads on opposite ends of a piece of Solon's equipment, which is mostly a metal frame with a circular area between them. "En garde, Morbius," the Doctor says. In the circular area appears the image of Morbius as he currently is, succeeded by an image of how he used to look. There follows, superimposed over the opening credits time tunnel graphics, images of Tom Baker, Jon Pertwee, Patrick Troughton and William Hartnell, as well as a number of other faces, meant to be previous incarnations of Morbius, but in reality photos of some of DOCTOR WHO's production staff, including producer Philip Hinchcliffe, script editor Robert Holmes, directors Christopher Barry and Douglas Camfield, production assistant Christopher Blake, writer Robert Banks Stewart and production unit manager George Gallacio.

Morbius' brain suffers a slight explosion; he loses his higher powers and reverts to bestiality. The Doctor keels over. The sisters arrive, bearing torches, and force Morbius off a cliff, where he dies. Sarah tells Ohica she thinks the Doctor's dying. The sisters bring him back to their shrine, where a small amount of elixir has newly formed. Maren gives it to the Doctor, saying perhaps he is right, there should be an end to immortality.

The Doctor revives, comparing the elixir to stewed apricots. Maren sacrifices herself in the Sacred Flame. Before she disappears, she becomes young again. The Doctor gives Sarah the key to the TARDIS and gives Ohica a box of matches "in case you have trouble with the chimney." "What are they?," Ohica asks. "A mighty atom and a thunder flash," the Doctor replies. Ohica wonders if the ancient writing on the box is a Time Lord spell. The Doctor tells her it says: "Light the blue touch paper and stand clear."

The TARDIS disappears in a flash.

Philip Madoc, who plays Solon, played Eelek in THE KROTONS and The War Lord in THE WAR GAMES (both Troughton stories); he plays Fenner in THE POWER OF KROLL, a future Tom Baker story. He also appeared in the theatrical film THE DALEKS: INVASION EARTH 2150 AD, with Peter Cushing as the Doctor. Solon is by far his best role on the series; and Madoc ably conveyed the character's ego, glibness and obsession.

Michael Spice, who provides the voice of Morbius, plays Weng-Chiang, also known as Magnus Greel, in THE TALONS OF WENG-CHIANG, a future Tom Baker story.

Stuart Fell, who plays the Morbius Monster, has had 9 other DOCTOR WHO roles, mostly hidden away under costumes, such as a Kraal in the previous story.

John Scott Martin, who plays Kriz, the Mutt, has had 17 other DOCTOR WHO roles, most of them in costume, including Daleks in 10 stories.