The planet is called Karn. It is dark, cloudy, gloomy, and overall gothic. The Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith, taking the shortcut back to UNIT via the TARDIS after their encounter with Androids trying to take over the Earth in The Android Invasion, have been driven off course to Karn. What caused the TARDIS to land there? Who caused it? And are they friend or foe..?
The Doctor, seriously peeved at what he assumes is the Time Lords for taking them to Karn, sits and patiently waits outside the TARDIS for the Time Lords to make their appearance. But his notions change when Sarah discovers a headless Mutt, or Mutant: an alien race from the Doctor’s past. As lightning illuminates the strange surroundings for a moment, Sarah glimpses a wide, rugged terrain littered with wrecked space ships. What could possibly cause all the ships to crash? As lightning continues to brighten the sky, Sarah also discovers a castle. As it starts to rain on the time-space-travelling duo, they head towards the castle for shelter, and hopefully some answers.
Upon knocking at the door of the castle, the two gain entry and are introduced to its inhabitants: a well-skilled surgeon named Solon, of whose work the Doctor is familiar, and Solon’s Igor-like servant, Condo. As Solon helps remove the waterlogged coats of the travellers, he appears to gaze more often at the Doctor’s head, as if forming calculations of it to himself...
The Doctor and Sarah engage in conversation with Solon and learn more of Karn and its inhabitants. They are informed of the Sisterhood of Karn that lies near the castle.
The Sisterhood, once on friendly terms with the Time Lords, worship the Elixir of Life, a powerful draught made from the Flame of Life that rises from the planet’s core to the surface. The Elixir has the power to cure fatal wounds, bestow immortality, and, for Time Lords, help the regeneration process. But the Flame runs low, and the Sisterhood fears that the Time Lords are stealing the Elixir for themselves. One member of the Sisterhood, having seen the Doctor and Sarah land on Karn earlier, informs the leader of the Sisterhood of the Time Lord’s presence, and the leader, who assumes the Doctor is here to steal the Elixir, plots to capture the Doctor and make him suffer for his crime.
As the Doctor is prepared for burning at the stake by the Sisterhood, Solon, discovering that the Doctor has been taken from the castle, confronts the Sisterhood and demands to save the Doctor’s head for his latest experiment. Failing at his attempt, the Sisterhood begin the ritual of burning, but are cut short by the Doctor’s escape, thanks to Sarah.
Soon, all is revealed: Solon’s latest experiment is to reanimate the body and mind of Morbius, an exiled and executed Time Lord. The brain of Morbius survived the brutal execution, and Solon, devoted to the memory of Morbius, has for many years faithfully recreated him with the organs of bodies from the wrecked space ships. Only the head is left, and the head is the most crucial part of the surgery. The head must perfectly encase the brain of Morbius, and unfortunately, the Doctor’s looks like a perfect fit...
I have noticed that this season of Doctor Who (season thirteen!) has much more scary elements than its previous seasons. Terror of the Zygons: The Loch Ness Monster is not just a legend. Planet of Evil: Jekyll and Hyde-like attributes caused by chemical alterations from antimatter. Pyramids of Mars: Mummies do the bidding of an ancient Egyptian god. The Android Invasion: No, you’re not seeing double – it’s actually an evil robot in your likeness. The next serial after Morbius is called The Seeds of Doom, and the title itself sounds chilling. The Brain of Morbius certainly reminds me of many gothic films I’ve seen: Frankenstein, Sweeney Todd, Dracula, and even some elements of The Nightmare Before Christmas (although that was a couple decades after Morbius). In fact, the producer of this episode was thinking of Frankenstein when imagining the story of Morbius. In 1976, gothic stories and films were being released left and right, and the society loved it. So why not make a darker season of Doctor Who?
The setting is definitely eerie and it gave me goosebumps when I first saw the serial. The fog machine has been working overtime on the set; fog shrouds the ground and rises several feet whenever one attempts to walk through it. It’s just like stepping into a Halloween theme park. Yes, this episode is definitely perfect for a night in on Halloween.
I’ve never heard about Morbius before watching this serial (I didn’t even know he was a Time Lord...), but from what I’ve learnt about him in this episode, he sounds like one of the most dangerous Time Lords that ever lived, perhaps even rivalling the Master. When Solon reveals that he has been reconstructing Morbius, I thought that meant out of humanoid parts, so as to give Morbius a body similar to his last incarnation. But I never expected Morbius to be reconstructed out of the parts of all sorts of aliens...
In this particular series, the Doctor and Sarah appear have this new, close relationship towards each other. It’s not romantic, more like very close friendship. In the previous serial, The Android Invasion, while walking through the Earth-resembling town in the opening of the first episode, they engage in friendly conversation that is utterly witty and hilarious. One cracks jokes while the other smiles and hastily replies with another quip. It’s just smile-worthy, and it makes me wish for the adventures of the Doctor and Sarah to never end.
I can’t help but point out the new jacket that the Doctor is wearing...It’s a brilliant grey one, and reminds me of the Eleventh Doctor’s tweed jacket with the elbow patches. I hope to see this – and the return of the red jacket – in future episodes.
So, with stifled thanks to the Sisterhood for an act of kindness, the Doctor and Sarah leave Karn and go...where? Well, The Seeds of Doom is sitting next to me, so I’ll find out soon...
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