The Brain of Morbius [TV/1976.1.3 ~ 1.24]

★★★★★

  I've come to garner a huge appreciation for Season 13 over the years. The Philip Hinchcliffe tenure in itself is atmospheric and dangerous, but his second season is perhaps where the violence and horror are taken to extremes. Take The Brain of Morbius: allusions to the occult, a mad scientist and his body horror creation, a being risen from the dead, and even blood bursting from bullet wounds. I wouldn't have liked the entire show to be like this, but it's certainly amazing to have such a high-quality run of Hammer horror serials in a vast ocean of stories.

  The Brain of Morbius is a feast for the eyes, presenting us with ominous mad scientist castles residing secrets, a musty and worn-down laboratory with unspeakable horrors, a mysterious cave shaded red playing host to a Gallifreyan sisterhood and more. Even the studio sets depicting the outside vistas of Karn, the barren and rocky planet, have an added layer of charm with an actual day-and-night cycle. Atmosphere meets terror; Morbius is a hideous creature, an insane Time Lord in a Frankenstein body, and even his fate (the Sisterhood of Karn wielding torches as they circle around him on the top of a cliff) mirrors that of Boris Karloff's depiction in 1931's Frankenstein. No wonder Tom Baker is lightning-focused — the material is fantastic. Even Elisabeth Sladen, whose Sarah Jane is given comparatively little to do, gives us touching moments, such as when she desperately tries to reassure herself while facing the fate of potentially being blind forever.

  This has to be one of several times the Fourth Doctor is depicted to be a force to be reckoned with, a storm bubbling inside an unassuming demeanor until tipping point. He shouts, he bares his teeth and snarls, and he even uses cyanide gas to kill Solon. One often forgets that Four's body count is higher than most of his other incarnations... not that I'm complaining (well, not too much; I certainly wouldn't want Doctor Who to make resorting to fatal tactics in such an obvious fashion a habit). The Brain of Morbius is stimulating to both the mind and the senses; teatime terror at its finest.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ  

  I wonder what all those Marvel movie fanatics would make of this serial. They'd light up and chant their Morbius jokes as soon as the titles hit. I find the idea of a bunch of people sitting in front of the telly and chanting "Morb!" quite funny...