Written by Terrance Dicks, Robert Holmes, and Sydney Newman
Directed by Christopher Barry

Doctor Who is a British science fiction television series which has been around off and on since 1963. The main character is just known as “The Doctor” and is a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey. This means he travels through time to various places. One of his favorite places to visit is Earth. Typically, he has a companion traveling with him, usually female, sometimes male, sometimes one of each. He travels in a time machine known as a “Tardis” which is disguised as a British Police booth.

A Time Lord can regenerate if fatally wounded, which has accounted for all the different actors who have played The Doctor throughout the years.  In this story-arc, the Doctor is portrayed by Tom Baker. His traveling companion is one of the fan’s favorites, Sarah Jane, portrayed by Elisabeth Sladen.

Believing the Time Lords had something to do with their landing on the planet Karn, the Doctor refuses to go exploring.  That is, until Sarah Jane utters her first scream of the story-arc and then he’s off and running.  They have landed in the middle of a spaceship graveyard.

Elsewhere on the planet, there’s trouble afoot.  Solon (portrayed by Philip Madoc) is a sort of mad scientist with a Frankenstein-like obsession.  He’s in possession of the brain of Morbius, a former Time Lord who was executed as a criminal.  Solon is looking for a body to host the brain when the Doctor and Sarah Jane happen upon his castle during a dark and stormy night.

Solon is not the only threat on the planet.  What seems to be a coven of witches known as the Sisterhood of Karn fears the Doctor as well as threatens him.  They believe his presence has something to do with a mysterious elixir.

If this sounds more like a film-noir story than science fiction, that would be typical of the stories during this period in the series.  Still constrained by budget issues which were something of an endearment to the fans during this time (and still are to a degree), the writers still managed to use the talent at their disposal to create some damn fine stories and this was one of them.  This was the era when I became acquainted with the Doctor, and perhaps that colors my view of the series during this period, but even watching it again all these years later I thoroughly enjoyed the story. It’s more akin to the monsters we find among our own kind rather than from the outside, although there’s enough space-related story to keep it in the science fiction realm.

The acting is stellar. Tom Baker hadn’t yet evolved into the bombastic caricature that would seem to dominate the screen near the end of his tenure (not that it was a bad thing) so his intelligent Doctor with a bit of a sarcastic and amused edge to him works quite well in the setting.  Stories like The Brain of Morbius remind me of what a great team Baker and Sladen made.  Although at times it seemed like she was given little more to do than scream, it’s not a fair assessment at least at this point in the series.  Here her intelligence and quick-thinking show through numerous times making her quite the capable companion.  Add into this a fine job of the guest cast, and it’s a perfect story-arc for its day.


The DVD is the usual great job that comes from the BBC.  There are a whole host of extras including the commentary track with Tom Baker and Elisabeth Sladen among others. It’s a treat to listen to them, especially if you’ve listened to any of the whiny, denigrating commentary by future companion Janet Fielding.  There’s also a number of featurettes that are fun to watch. Many US studios could take a cue on their video releases from the BBC.

If you’ve never watched one of the classic Doctor Who story-arcs, this would be a great one to start with. It’s not the usual shoot-em-up alien style, but it is a great demonstration of how important a story is, rather than dazzling effects with a thin plot.



SPECIAL FEATURES:

• Commentary with Producer Philip Hinchcliffe, Tom Baker, Elisabeth Sladen, Philip Madoc, and Director Christopher Barry
• Information Text
• Isolated Music Score
• Getting a Head
• Designs on Karn
• Set Tour
• Photo Gallery
• Sketch Gallery
• Radio Times Listings