sacred fire, sacred FLAME!
Oct. 22nd, 2008 02:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dbskylerYes, I finally have the DVD of Brain of Morbius! And since it's been awhile since I've been able to see this story, I think it deserves its very own reaction post.
Why do I love this episode? Because:
1) The relationship between the Doctor and Sarah really, really shines through in this one. Right at the beginning Sarah chides him for acting childish and sticks out her tongue ("so there!"). The Doctor is determined to not move a muscle on behalf of the Time Lords (and am I the only one who misses the Time Lords? The petulant complaining the Doctor used to do about them was really fun), but as soon as it sounds like Sarah might be in trouble he's right there. Then we're just into one great scene after another -- Sarah rescues the Doctor, the Doctor comforts Sarah after she's been blinded (and gets elbowed for his trouble -- love that), the Doctor risks going back to the Sisterhood to get Sarah the Elixir, and Sarah tries to find her way back to the Sisterhood -- blind! -- in order to warn the Doctor that he's walking into a trap. Then at the end, when the Doctor is dying, Sarah is so quietly sad. It's just wonderful, wonderful stuff.
2) Sarah Jane Smith is made of win. Despite the fact that she's blind for a good chunk of the story, she gets to do a lot of stuff. And anyone who thinks that in old Who the companion just followed the Doctor around needs to see this episode, because Sarah takes the lead multiple times even when the Doctor is there. Who goes to investigate where they've landed? Sarah. (If the Doctor is grumpy then she isn't going to wait around for him.) Who's smart enough to not drink the drugged wine? Sarah. (And she's also smart enough to figure out what's happening quickly and play drugged.) Who pulls off the big rescue in the episode? Sarah. Who pushes to figure out a way to stop Morbius when the two of them are locked in the lab? Sarah. She completely rocks throughout the episode.
3) The comedy. Yes, in among all the gothic horror stuff -- which is very well pulled off, wonderfully creepy and atmospheric -- lie some of my all-time favorite Doctor Who quotes. To wit: "You mean you still practice teleportation? How quaint! Now if you got yourself a decent forklift truck . . ." and "Chop Suey, the Galactic Emperor!" Of course, Four always had some wonderful comedy moments in his episodes, especially when he was helping people to underestimate him.
4) The plot and characters. The action of the story ping-pongs back and forth between Solon and the Sisterhood, and yet somehow it all works. It's not straightforward -- the Sisterhood think the Doctor's there to steal the Elixir, Morbius thinks he's there to capture him, Solon just wants to do a bit of brain surgery and the Doctor is improvising as usual, but overall it has a great flow and really holds up over time (and over multiple viewings). The supporting characters are well-rounded and interesting, and I especially love Solon. One of the things I found out from the extras on the DVD is that Terrance Dicks originally wanted the character of Solon to be a robot who was rather misguidedly trying to assemble a body for Morbius. I think that wouldn't have worked nearly as well. Solon as an opponent was better because there's a person there with very well defined motivations that were fascinating to see play out. He's not out-and-out evil -- witness how he prevents Condo from touching Sarah after it becomes clear that it's unnerving her -- but he wants to pull off the greatest surgery of all time. And really, that's not such a bad goal. If only he had better taste in his patients.
5) The Doctor loses the mind-bending contest! I still remember how completely shocked I was at this when I first saw the episode back in the '70's. The Doctor might get hurt, captured, betrayed, accidentally fall down a cliff, etc., but if he says he can beat someone in a mindbending contest he isn't supposed to be wrong. But he was wrong. I loved it then, and I still love it now, and for me it reinforced the drama of watching "Doctor Who" -- a bit of "yes, he's the title character in the show, but are you really sure he'll find a way to get out of the danger?" At the time I thought the Doctor was just overestimating his own ability; as an adult I am now more inclined to assume he knew he wouldn't win and was deliberately sacrificing himself for the chance to overload Morbius' braincase. Either way, it's still a great moment.
So, that's my review. Now, wonder what I should be for Halloween? Sacred fire, sacred flame . . . anyone know where to find a flame-shaped pointy stick?
Why do I love this episode? Because:
1) The relationship between the Doctor and Sarah really, really shines through in this one. Right at the beginning Sarah chides him for acting childish and sticks out her tongue ("so there!"). The Doctor is determined to not move a muscle on behalf of the Time Lords (and am I the only one who misses the Time Lords? The petulant complaining the Doctor used to do about them was really fun), but as soon as it sounds like Sarah might be in trouble he's right there. Then we're just into one great scene after another -- Sarah rescues the Doctor, the Doctor comforts Sarah after she's been blinded (and gets elbowed for his trouble -- love that), the Doctor risks going back to the Sisterhood to get Sarah the Elixir, and Sarah tries to find her way back to the Sisterhood -- blind! -- in order to warn the Doctor that he's walking into a trap. Then at the end, when the Doctor is dying, Sarah is so quietly sad. It's just wonderful, wonderful stuff.
2) Sarah Jane Smith is made of win. Despite the fact that she's blind for a good chunk of the story, she gets to do a lot of stuff. And anyone who thinks that in old Who the companion just followed the Doctor around needs to see this episode, because Sarah takes the lead multiple times even when the Doctor is there. Who goes to investigate where they've landed? Sarah. (If the Doctor is grumpy then she isn't going to wait around for him.) Who's smart enough to not drink the drugged wine? Sarah. (And she's also smart enough to figure out what's happening quickly and play drugged.) Who pulls off the big rescue in the episode? Sarah. Who pushes to figure out a way to stop Morbius when the two of them are locked in the lab? Sarah. She completely rocks throughout the episode.
3) The comedy. Yes, in among all the gothic horror stuff -- which is very well pulled off, wonderfully creepy and atmospheric -- lie some of my all-time favorite Doctor Who quotes. To wit: "You mean you still practice teleportation? How quaint! Now if you got yourself a decent forklift truck . . ." and "Chop Suey, the Galactic Emperor!" Of course, Four always had some wonderful comedy moments in his episodes, especially when he was helping people to underestimate him.
4) The plot and characters. The action of the story ping-pongs back and forth between Solon and the Sisterhood, and yet somehow it all works. It's not straightforward -- the Sisterhood think the Doctor's there to steal the Elixir, Morbius thinks he's there to capture him, Solon just wants to do a bit of brain surgery and the Doctor is improvising as usual, but overall it has a great flow and really holds up over time (and over multiple viewings). The supporting characters are well-rounded and interesting, and I especially love Solon. One of the things I found out from the extras on the DVD is that Terrance Dicks originally wanted the character of Solon to be a robot who was rather misguidedly trying to assemble a body for Morbius. I think that wouldn't have worked nearly as well. Solon as an opponent was better because there's a person there with very well defined motivations that were fascinating to see play out. He's not out-and-out evil -- witness how he prevents Condo from touching Sarah after it becomes clear that it's unnerving her -- but he wants to pull off the greatest surgery of all time. And really, that's not such a bad goal. If only he had better taste in his patients.
5) The Doctor loses the mind-bending contest! I still remember how completely shocked I was at this when I first saw the episode back in the '70's. The Doctor might get hurt, captured, betrayed, accidentally fall down a cliff, etc., but if he says he can beat someone in a mindbending contest he isn't supposed to be wrong. But he was wrong. I loved it then, and I still love it now, and for me it reinforced the drama of watching "Doctor Who" -- a bit of "yes, he's the title character in the show, but are you really sure he'll find a way to get out of the danger?" At the time I thought the Doctor was just overestimating his own ability; as an adult I am now more inclined to assume he knew he wouldn't win and was deliberately sacrificing himself for the chance to overload Morbius' braincase. Either way, it's still a great moment.
So, that's my review. Now, wonder what I should be for Halloween? Sacred fire, sacred flame . . . anyone know where to find a flame-shaped pointy stick?
