The plot: On the planet Karn, the Doctor and Sarah Jane encounter a mad doctor named Mehendri Solon who wants the Doctor’s head. Why? He wants to transplant the evil Timelord Morbius’s brain into the Doctor’s head. There is also a subplot about the Sisterhood of Karn whom ultimately become a major part of the story.   

There were certainly a lot of clumsy, plot hole filled episodes in the Tom Baker era, but thankfully “The Brain Of Morbius” is not one of them. In fact, this is a supremely well written “Dr. Who” tale that is a nice throwback to the old B&W mad scientist horror films such as “Frankenstein.” In fact, Solon’s dungeon/lair is even reminiscent of sets from those motion pictures as well.

Another reason ‘Morbius’ succeeds is that it offers up a surprising amount of backstory and insight into the Timelords themselves. Not only do we learn about a new Timelord criminal (Morbius), but we also learn about the Timelord’s connection to the mysterious Sisterhood. Heck, we even get to witness an old dangerous Timelord game called “mindbending” in the episode’s climax.

As for the acting here, it deserves praise to be sure. Yes, Elisabeth Sladen overracts a bit, but Tom Baker is his usual joyful and amusing self and Philip Madoc is wickedly good (and evil) as Solon.  

Summary: Old school “Doctor Who” and Tom Baker fans should not hesitate to pick this episode up.

The 4:3 fullscreen picture quality is well above average for a classic “Dr. Who” episode. The Dolby Digital Mono track is also quite acceptable.

Extras:
* Radio Times Listings, “Doctor Who” series 4 ad, info text, photo and sketch galleries.
* A 3 dimensional “Brain Of Morbius” set tour (2:00).
* “Designs On Karn” (5:00)- Production designer Barry Newbery chats about the set designs.
* “Getting A Head”- A 30 minute making of that contains interviews with various cast and crew members. Topics of discussions include the Karn world, original story ideas, story inspirations, the cast etc. Fans will also be delighted to know that Paul McGann narrates this extra.

* Commentary by Philip Hinchcliffe, Philip Madoc, Christopher Barry, Elisabeth Sladen and Tom Baker (finally)! This is certainly not one of the few best commentary tracks as the group have a few boring chats, but there are still several lively moments that make it worth listening to.