Doctor Who Re-Watch: Fourth Doctor story ‘The Brain of Morbius’

For Halloween, we look at a Fourth Doctor story that’s perfect viewing for the occasion! Get ready for mad scientists, wicked witches and scary monsters in ‘The Brain of Morbius’!

If there’s one perfect Doctor Who story for Halloween, it’s probably The Brain of Morbius. It isn’t just the fact that it embraces a rich, gothic atmosphere, common to many of the stories around the time it was made. Or that it had plenty of macabre imagery. (Again, this was common to quite a few stories from the same season.) No, I think what makes The Brain of Morbius a perfect story to re-watch this Halloween is that it’s both horrific and fun.

The Fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith arrive off-course on the planet Karn. The Doctor believes it’s no accident, however. He knows that the Time Lords have steered his TARDIS to Karn to get him to do something for them. Something that needs dealing with immediately. Because Morbius, one of the greatest Time Lord criminals in history, is returning…

This is a story that has everything you could want in a Doctor Who horror story. Gothic scenery. Immortal witches. Mad scientists. Evil brains. Scary monsters. It pays so much homage to Frankenstein, particularly to the depiction in early Universal monster movies, and it works beautifully.

A brilliant villain

That’s not the only thing to recommend about Morbius, of course. There’s also some great performances, too. Most notable is Philip Madoc as Dr. Solon. At his core, he really is your typical mad scientist character, trying to resurrect the villain Morbius in a mish-mash of body parts.

But the character is so much more than that. A big reason why Solon comes across as such a brilliant character is Philip Madoc. Like a Welsh Alan Rickman, he just throws himself into this gloriously villainous role and completely makes it his own. It’s a wonderful performance that sells a lot about both the character and the story.

Memorable dialogue

But it’s not just the performance that sells it. Dr. Solon is given a great deal of brilliant dialogue throughout. Whether it’s insulting his henchman Condo (my favourite insult being, “You chicken brained, biological disaster!”), or expressing his great interest in the size of the Doctor’s…head, Solon gets so many brilliant moments.

And it’s not just Solon, either. Tom Baker’s Doctor is served equally well in this story. Whether it’s making a ton of stupid jokes at the witches’s expense, or being deadly serious when he realizes Morbius is still alive, he’s given a lot of great material. If you wanted to see a lot of why Tom Baker’s Doctor is so fondly remembered, then The Brain of Morbius is a great choice for that.

Before ‘The Night of the Doctor’…

For fans exclusively of the New Series, you may recognise Karn and the Sisterhood from Eighth Doctor minisode The Night of the Doctor. This serial does lay the groundwork for that regeneration story in a few key ways. However, there’s another Eighth Doctor story that The Brain of Morbius sets things up for. That’s a story I’ll be reviewing very, very soon…

In the meantime, track down and enjoy The Brain of Morbius this Halloween, if you can. It’s gloriously gothic, surprisingly graphic, and just heaps of fun. Perfect Halloween viewing, in this writer’s opinion.

Next: Doctor Who News: What character could Sharon D Clarke be playing?

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