Classic Who day by day

[Captain Pike]

Some trivia/notes -

Victoria never wore the white dress onscreen during her time with the 2nd Doctor. It's an Edwardian rather than a Victorian dress, and the doctor never referred to her previously as 'Vicky' either.

A creepy guy (a clone of Peter Cushing in Star Wars)..

That'll be Bernard Archard. This was his 2nd appearance in Doctor Who - his first was as Bragen in The Power of the Daleks.

Speaking of Star Wars, Michael Sheard who played Lawrence Scarman in this story is most famously known for his part as Admiral Ozzel in SW. ("You have failed me for the last time, Admiral..")

2) I loved the "Marx Brothers" bit in episode 4 ... Sarah and the Doctor walk into the shot, see something they want to avoid, and quickly walk right back out.

That scene was improvised by Baker & Sladen. It was a conscious nod to a Marx Bros routine.

This story is one of the biggest contributors to the Unit Dating controversy.

The exterior scenes were filmed at Stargroves Estate, owned by Mick Jagger at the time.

The apparition of Sutekh's unmasked head inside the TARDIS at the start of this story scared the absolute bejeezus out of me on first viewing.

Sarah mentions the puzzles that her and the Doctor have to complete on Mars as being similar to the ones she had encountered with Petwee's doctor in the city of the Exxilons in Death to the Daleks - however, Sarah never went inside the city in that story, only the Doctor did.

If we wish to extend the Hammer Horror parralell we observed with Planet of Evil, then this one has it's roots in The Mummy (1959) and Blood from the Mummy's Tomb (1971).

The voice of Gabriel Woolf is awesome.

 

[OmahaStar]

Some trivia/notes -

Victoria never wore the white dress onscreen during her time with the 2nd Doctor. It's an Edwardian rather than a Victorian dress, and the doctor never referred to her previously as 'Vicky' either.

That's a problem with similar-sounding companions ... especially those whose stories have mostly been lost. Does he really mean Victoria, or Vicky? He's had both as companions. I'm probably reading into what was then just a fun little throwaway gag.

The Brain of Morbius, episode 1
Written by Terrance Dicks, rewritten by Robert Holmes, credited as "Robin Bland"
Directed by Christopher Barry

Somewhere not too terribly distant from Gallifrey is a planet called Karn. Upon this planet there are two distinct groups of people. One is a mad scientist in the Doctor Frankenstein mold, along with his servant and creation. The other is a Sisterhood, a group of females with incredibly powerful telepathic and psychic abilities. They are at war with each other, though they may not necessarily know why.

The Sisterhood have a sacred flame. This flame is hidden in a cave wall, and produces an elixir, which gives the women life, as well as their unusually strong abilities. Only two groups know of its existence: The Sisterhood, and the high council of Time Lords.

On this planet, the scientist's servant, Condo, is hunting a Zarbi. He kills it and brings the head to his master. This master, Solon, is building a body for ... something. someone. And he is looking for the perfect head. An insect's head simply will not do.

The Tardis lands on this planet. The Doctor rushes out, yelling at the Time Lords, as he believes they have forced the Tardis to this place, and he wants to know why. Sarah plays along with his ranting, then decides she wants to explore this place. She finds an alien ship graveyard with 15 different ships, as well as the body of the Zarbi Condo killed.

The Sisters watch all of this happen through their magic mirror. They have a secret. Well, their leader does. The flame is dying, and there is but a small amount of elixir left. Once it is gone, they will die too, and she believes the Time Lords are here to steal what little remains. And so when the Doctor and Sarah head towards Solon's creepy castle, they use their abilities to bring the Tardis to their lair in a really cool special effect.

The Doctor and Sarah arrive at Solon's doorstep, and Solon quickly ushers them inside. He shares with them a meal, not telling them that their food has been drugged. Maren, the Sister's leader, watches all of this through her mirror.

The two visitors pass out. Solon and his servant grab the Doctor and bring him to the operating room, where he prepares to remove the Time Lord's head. Sarah wakes up and tries to find her friend.

Realizing that there is not enough light in the room, the two leave to power up the generator. As soon as they're out of the room, the Doctor disappears in the same way the Tardis had before - the Sisters "beamed" him out of there.

Sarah continues to search and hide, search and hide. She finds a room where she thinks the Doctor may be resting in. Instead, she finds herself facing a headless monster - Morbius's body!

* * *

Yeah yeah, I know it's not really a Zarbi. But dang it, it looks like all they did was take the same costume, redress it a little, and give it a new name. A "Mutt" ... whatever the hell that is. If it looks like a Zarbi, and has the same sound effects as a Zarbi ... it's a Zarbi. And a nice little throwaway tie-in to one of the earliest stories at the same time.

The Sisterhood seems to have a love-hate relationship with the Time Lords. You'd think they would have been mentioned before this story. Or after it, for that matter.

The sets and mood are creepy, in a Frankenstein sort of way, which is totally appropriate, since this is a retelling of that famous story.

So far, loving it. Bring on tomorrow night!

 

[DWF]

The Mutt was a reuse from a Jon Pertwee story called The Mutants and they have no relation to the Zarbie at all.

 

[OmahaStar]

I still think it's a reuse of the same costume. :P

 

[Captain Pike]

See Wikipedia: The Mutants

 

[OmahaStar]

The Brain of Morbius, episode 2

Solon and Condo return, ready to operate, but the Doctor is gone. Solon immediately suspects the Sisters have him. Sarah hides again.

The Sisters interrogate the Doctor, convinced he is there to do evil. They sentence him to death. He tries to convince them he is not their enemy, but it doesn't help.

Condo and Solon watch the trial from a distance. And hiding further behind them, Sarah watches them watch the trial. The two go forward and interrupt the execution.

This gives Sarah the time she needs to sneak in and free the Doctor. As they go, pursued by the women, their leader uses her abilities to blind Sarah. The Doctor realizes what happened, and leads Sarah away.

The Doctor brings her to Condo. The mad scientist examines her and says her nerve damage is too great. The only cure, he says, is the elixir. The Doctor leaves Sarah with them and returns to the Sisters to attempt to get some of their cure.

Sarah blindly walks around the castle, finding herself in a room with a voice ... coming from a brain in a jar. Morbius.

* * *

Still creepy, well-acted and directed. I'm not so fond of the old woman, since she is stuck in her paranoia ... might be nice to find one of these aliens who isn't a complete and total bitch. Maybe she has reasons to be upset, but dang, she doesn't give anyone a chance to say two words. She needs to GO.

 

[Captain Pike]

Philip Madoc (Solon) is a wonderful actor with great presence and a rich Welsh voice. He is a veteran of both the cinema and TV and has had multiple appearances in Doctor Who, having first appeared in the 2nd Cushing movie then later in the Troughton stories The Krotons & The War Games (as The War Lord). He would later appear one last time in The Power of Kroll. He was also a guest star in the 2003 Big Finish audio Master.

His most famous role, at least in Australia, is probably as the Nazi U-Boat commander in the Dads Army episode, The Deadly Attachment.

The dynamic between Solon & Condo in this story occaisonally devolves into farce and is hilarious at times. The commentary is also well worth listening to and is itself quite funny.

 

[diankra]

His most famous role, at least in Australia, is probably as the Nazi U-Boat commander in the Dads Army episode, The Deadly Attachment.

And in Britain. An enemy agent could pass for British if they only remember this...

"I will note your name, for once we have won the war. What is your name?"
"Don't tell him, Pike!"

 

[Captain Pike]

That's without doubt the most famous line in the episode.

Another good bit for me was this -

German CAPTAIN: And I don't want any of them nasty soggy chips, I want mine crisp and light brown
MAINWARING: Now look here, if I say you're going to eat soggy chips, you'll eat soggy chips.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

I LOVE Philip Madoc. He has such a distinctive deep voice that grabs your attention the moment he speaks. He's also great on the commntary tracks for both The War Games and The Brain of Morbius. I hope he does more Big Finish audio plays because Master isn't enough for me.

 

[OmahaStar]

The Brain of Morbius, episode 3

Morbius and Solon have an argument that lasts the first half of the episode. Nothing really major, just a bunch of posturing, except one thing. Morbius says he was once Lord President of the Time Lords.

The Doctor returns to the Sisters. After some verbal sparring, he fixes their flame, which means they will once again have the elixir that gives them immortality.

During a fight behind Condo and Solon, Morbius's brain falls on the floor. Condo is killed by Solon as a result. (well, he shoots him repeatedly, so we're led to believe he's dead)

Despite the Doctor helping them, the Sisters deliver an unconscious Doctor to Solon.

Sarah is forced to assist Solon in surgery ... though she can't see a thing. Solon pronounces it a success and leaves. Sarah begins to get her sight back, and blindly walks to the window. She doesn't know it, but the Morbius monster is awake and walking towards her.

* * *

It's not as interesting as the first two parts. Not saying it isn't good, but it's just not AS good. This is one of those episodes which could not possibly be watched on its own. It's the Two Towers of this story ... no beginning, no ending, it's stuck in the middle and has to get our characters from point A to point C

Fun bit of trivia with Morbius being one of the presidents. I wonder what he looked like way back when? And was he around when they regenerated? Or was that something after his time? I mean, when we think of Time Lords, we thing regenerations and time travel. But surely they didn't get invented at the same time.

 

[diankra]

The Brain of Morbius, episode 3

Fun bit of trivia with Morbius being one of the presidents. I wonder what he looked like way back when? And was he around when they regenerated? Or was that something after his time? I mean, when we think of Time Lords, we thing regenerations and time travel. But surely they didn't get invented at the same time.

Terrance Dicks's book version (he wrote the original script, took his name off it in protest at Robert Holmes's re-write and told them to credit it to 'some bland pseudonym', hence Robin Bland, and then decided he liked the final result after all) says that Morbius was recent - he was president while the Doctor was on the run, prior to The War Games. So he could presumably regenerate.

Non-TV follow-ups to this story include Warmonger (the 5th Doctor leads the forces that defeated Morbius in the backplot), and Sisters of the Flame/Vengeance of Morbius (8th Doctor CDs/radio, with Sam West as Morbius).

 

[DWF]

I've always liked this quote from The Brain Of Morbius.

Morbius : "I am still here. I can see nothing, feel nothing. You have locked me into hell for eternity. If this is all there is, I would rather die now... 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, reduced to this - to the condition where I envy a vegetable."

And this one from Pyramids Of Mars.

Sutekh : "Your evil is my good. I am Sutekh the destroyer. Where I tread, I leave nothing but dust and darkness I find that good!"

Gabriel Woolf would later show up on the new series as the voice of Satan in The Impossible/Satan Pit two parter.

 

[OmahaStar]

The Brain of Morbius, episode 4

Morbius accidentally gets set on fire and Sarah Jane runs out. She finds the Doctor. Solon rushes to put the fire out. Morbius has gone over the edge, he's completely insane.

Solon and the Doctor work together to bring Morbius down. The Doctor then poisons Solon with Cyanide, but it doesn't affect the monster. Morbius and the Doctor fight with their minds. We see flashes of the previous three Doctors, then flashes of Morbius' previous incarnations, which freaks him the hell out. Morbius runs away like a little girl while the Doctor passes out.

The Sisters find the Morbius monster and push him over the edge of a ravine, where he falls ... we assume, to his death.

Maren, the Sister's leader, sacrifices her life to save the Doctor's. Sarah and her Time Lord hop in the Tardis and go off on another adventure.

* * *

Ok, Condo is dead. So is Solon. And Morbius (though I understand he returns in some of the audios). Some of the Sisters are dead, as is their leader. I have heard that there were complaints when this story aired, complaints about the violence. I can sort of understand it, the body count is really rather high here.

While it's ... um ... fun? I guess? ... to see still images of the previous Doctors, it was kind of pointless, I think. It contributed nothing to the story, and has only served to divide the fans. I am well aware that the producer at the time put it in, with the intention that we should believe all the other dudes were previous incarnations of the Doctor, and that this is the 12th or something like that, but no.

The stories themselves are awesome. And for the most part, the telling of the stories in this era is pretty good. But all these silly little things, trying to make his mark on the production, it just gets in the way. For example, in the Pyramids story, insisting Sarah was from the year 1980, just screws up the entire UNIT timeline. Trying to say there were other Doctors contradicts everything we've ever known about the character. I'm glad it wasn't in dialog, and there was a close-up of Morbius in between the two groups, so the viewer can decide for him or herself. Just the idea, though, is annoying.

If there's one thing Doctor Who fans are good at, though, it's forgiving the little things. Cheap effects, little continuity goofs, dialog flubs from the lead (Hartnell was always flubbing his lines), the idiot Terrance Dicks trying to say Susan was never his granddaughter ... things like that.

In the end, the series is about a man traveling through time and space in his strange blue box.

Though one of the biggest marks from this era is the costume designed for big important Time Lords. The same design has been used consistently all the way up to this past January's "End of Time" story. That's got to count for something.

 

[OmahaStar]

The Hand of Fear, episode 1
Written by Bob Baker and Dave Martin
Directed by Lennie Mayne

The Tardis materializes on Earth. The Doctor and Sarah walk out into a rock quarry and there are sirens blaring. A bomb explodes, as they do in quarries. While the Doctor is uninjured, Sarah is buried. He searches for her briefly before organizing a search party. They eventually find her and she is shipped off to hospital, clutching a stone hand. Psst - Eldrad must live.

Sarah wakes. One of her arms is turning to stone, and she is possessed by ... something. She knocks out a doctor named Carter, and leaves the hospital carrying the stone hand. She heads for the nearest nuclear reactor. With Carter's help, the Doctor chases after her.

Inside, she brings out the hand - which begins to move!

* * *

The beginning of the end. Well, it is. This is Sarah's last story as a regular companion. She returns, as do a dozen others, in The Five Doctors, and she gets a couple spin-offs much later, but this is it for the series proper. She replaces the most obnoxiously annoying companion yet (oh, but until we get to Peri and Mel, we can't truly have a poll asking who the most annoying prat of the classic series was), and was the best human companion the Doctor had had to date.

I'm sorry, as much as I love Jamie and some of the others, Sarah was the best. And there are only three episodes to go.

The two leads are purposely being kept apart, which the majority of the time being spent on Sarah. I have to think the writers knew just how big a character she was, and they were giving us as much screen time as possible as a tribute before her send-off.

I do wonder where she got that ring. I think it would come in handy.
​

 

[Captain Pike]

From what I have seen and heard of her, Dodo was more annoying than Jo Grant. And Susan too could be terribly annoying at times. Well, ok, most of the time.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

I guess I'm in the minority because I adore Dodo. I wish Jackie Lane would do a Big Finish Companion Chronicle.

 

[Bones2]

The Hand of Fear was the only Doctor Who story I had on video as a child. Don't know why.

 

[OmahaStar]

I guess I'm in the minority because I adore Dodo. I wish Jackie Lane would do a Big Finish Companion Chronicle.

I've only seen her in the three surviving episodes that have been released, but I liked her well enough. I'd like to see more.



The Hand of Fear 2

Sarah keeps saying "Eldrad must live!" while others come under Eldrad's influence. Among them is Carter, who attacks the Doctor, then falls to his death.

The Doctor gets close enough to knock Sarah Jane out, then drags her out. He hypnotizes her and she finally snaps out of it.

A chap named Driscall picks up the hand and Sarah's new ring, and becomes the next ... um .. host? whatever, victim. The Doctor chases him around the power plant.

The facility begins to overload as we fade out.

* * *

There isn't a whole lot going on here. It's nice to see the "normal" Sarah Jane Smith. I'm sorry, but when Ms. Sladen acts like Sarah's possessed, she's terrible. She does it here. Recently, there was a two-parter of Sarah Jane Adventures where she's once again possessed by an alien, and she's just completely terrible. She needs to stick to "good guy" type parts.

I know they filmed on location here. The facility looks amazing. They never could have afforded this on a BBC budget. By filming as they did, they made it look like a million bucks. Kudos to whoever had the idea to film there.

 

[DWF]

I guess I'm in the minority because I adore Dodo. I wish Jackie Lane would do a Big Finish Companion Chronicle.

Jackie Lane was also in the running to play Susan before Carol Ann Ford won the part.