"Solon, I think of nothing else! Trapped like this, like a sponge beneath the sea. Yet even a sponge has more life than I. Can you understand a thousandth of my agony? I, Morbius, who once led the High Council of the Time Lords and dreamed the greatest dreams in history, now reduced to this, to a condition where I envy a vegetable."
There's nothing Bland about this story, Robin or otherwise. (Though by misreading the title slightly, as I seem to keep doing, one might be forgiven for watching it and wondering which one is Brian. Maybe "Brian Who" is the Doctor's full name?) As I've mentioned before, I try to write out the actual names involved rather than the officially credited writer. Because of the high volume of rewrites in this period, I seem to be running into these pseudonyms more frequently. Aside from Condo not being a robot in the broadcast version, I've never been able to find out exactly what parts of this script were Dicks', and which were the additions from Holmes. Whoever wrote it, The Brain of Morbius is a great story, and I couldn't help but to notice just how much it goes out of its way to rock the canon boat.
For starters, we get the first major Time Lord loredump from Robert Holmes, as we find out that Karn is a nearby planet to Gallifrey, and the immortal Sisterhood of Karn are like the distaff counterparts of the (pointedly male-dominated) Time Lords. They have a long sort of on-again, off-again relationship, having cooperated in the past to defeat the dictator Morbius, but are now distant and mistrustful toward each other. The Sisterhood themselves are a fun concept in and of themselves, resembling an ancient Greco-Roman cult, complete with creepy rituals and chanting, plus interesting costumes. From their number, I thought Ohica was quite good, but Cynthia Grenville as Maren left the greatest impression on me of the lot. Her death in particular was quite affecting.
But I simply cannot talk about guest stars without shining a light on this week's best character, that most noble of players, that goliath of the small screen!
Yes, I'm talking about the mutant Solonian who's killed by Condo at the start of the story.
Well okay, you got me, I wasn't actually going to bang on about that, even though I think it's weird that the Doctor calls it a Mutt. The whole point of The Mutants is that they, well, aren't exactly mutants. I guess "Solonian" wouldn't have done, since one still presumes no relation to this story's mad scientist. (Jury's still out on Vishinsky, though.)
BS aside, yeah, Philip Madoc, eh? He elevates every single Who that he's in, and the amoral surgeon Mehendri Solon is one of his most memorable turns yet. Civilized and intelligent, but with a clear touch of madness, he's not quite a match for the Doctor, but still an intriguing villain just the same. The classic dynamic between him and his all-but-hunchbacked sidekick Condo makes for a lot of entertaining moments. The Doctor is also on fine form in this story, full of wit; I was particularly fond of his line about "The impossible dream of a thousand alchemists, dripping like tea from an urn." Very poetic stuff.
Everyone talks about the mental duel between the Doctor and Morbius, and all those spare faces that pop up. This is extra topical these days, and accordingly I was extra amused to see them in their own context. "How far, Doctor? How long have you lived?" It's an ambitious attempt to add an even more mythical dimension to the character. Hey, if we're still bickering about it 40 years later, then it must have been a good one.
The central message of this story also resonates, that of death being preferable to stagnation. The unchanged Sisters, and Morbius grasping for his un-life long after his time, clearly show the appalling banality of clinging to things past their expiration date. Doctor Who is a program that fundamentally favors change, a refreshing attribute as far as I'm concerned. It's a theme which I expect to come up again, so watch this space.
All told, one of my favorites so far. Admittedly I've struggled to write this one up, so if it seems a bit bare, don't put it down to a disregard for the story. The Brain of Morbius is brilliant. The Seeds of Doom will be next.
(Modified from the original posted at Gallifrey Base on 26 April 2021.)
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