PLOTLINE  

For the first time on audio, this is an unabridged reading of a classic "Doctor Who" novelisation, based on a serial from the original TV series.

Why do so many spaceships crashland on Karn, a bleak, lonely and seemingly deserted planet? Are they doomed by the mysterious powers of the strange, black-robed Sisterhood, jealously guarding their secret of eternal life? Or does the mad Dr Solon, for some evil purpose of his own, need the bodies of the victims - and more especially, the body of Doctor Who...?

COMMENT

The TARGET novelisation may have been disregarded as "child-like" and crude representation of the CLASSIC SERIES broadcasts at their time of release it is only now, with the release of audiobook readings, that their true value can be assessed.

Terrance Dicks' text for the 1976 THE BRAIN OF MORBIUS (a collaboration from Dicks and Robert Holmes) is a prime example that a "re-imagineering" - adopting the unabridged format - impresses you even further.

Undoubtedly, the TV presentation was a resounding success, solidifying the relationship between the Fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith amid the carnage & desperation engulfing the planet Karn but, with a presentation without the visual trappings (including Barry Newbery's exquisite set designs) that reinforce the fact that the story is in fact a homage to Shelley's FRANKENSTEIN or THE MODERN PROMETHUES, this BBC AUDIOBOOK delivers a chilling horror story that has not been challenged by the passing of 30 years.

Read by the Fourth Doctor (as he wittingly reminds listeners at the start of the story), Tom Baker, THE BRAIN OF MORBIUS is an essential story for new fans to relish, more so on audio than on DVD as Baker's stoical and tempered narration is swiftly executed like Condo's steel cutting through the electrostatically charged atmosphere of Karn. However, even as the story delves into the horrific, the gruesome and the dark, his tone is like that of a grandfather sharing a Werther's Original Butter Candy with his grandson - reassuringly familiar, embracing and educative.

As the consummate professional, his characterisations are carefully delineated and roundly performed. Maren, the leader of the Sisterhood, may have been a coldly stereotypical 'hag' on-screen but, here, Baker rationalises her illogical desperation & loathing for the Time Lord race. As the disembodied voice of Morbius, Baker presents a tour-de-force performance - an Award winning performance, I hasten to add - that proves that the actor is much more than the "all teeth and curls" and the "Britain! Britain! Britain!" that he has come to be known legendarily so for.

A one man Repertory Theatre company, with the capacity to seize through a single word or turn of phrase the listener's attention and to suspend disbelieve amongst the most jaded (and more mature) CLASSIC SERIES fan.

The addition of suitably threatening incidental music, vocal treatment (in particular Morbius) and sound effects (including the welcome appearance by a wheezing TARDIS) enhance Baker's reading making THE BRAIN OF MORBIUS an indispensable "must-have".

If you are as cynical about unabridged readings as I was, regarding them as an unnecessary DOCTOR WHO product and produced as part of a BBC attempt to "fleece" fans, then allow THE BRAIN OF MORBIUS an opportunity to impress and beguile you.

It is both an overtly adult horror character-led story and a superbly narrated presentation that will, I guarantee, will make you a convert to the format of unabridged readings.

Go on, indulge yourself.