84) THE BRAIN OF MORBIUS

The Brian of Morbius is one of those serials which raises the question I’m I watching well written characters and bad acting or good acting and poorly written characters? It can be quite hard to tell since most of the cast deliver their lines with flair one moment and then become soulless in the next scene. The Brian of Morbius is a mixed bag which is a shame because director Christopher Barry has had a pretty solid record up to this point. There are certain moments in the serial, which in other eras, would have been done much better. Take the chandelier falling to the ground, captured by CSO. How much better would it have been if they shot the chandelier falling on cue and having the actors react accordingly? There are certain moments which either serve no purpose at all or totally unbelievable stupid it’s hard not to get mad about. Why does Maren think The Doctor has come to steal the elixir of life and how did Sarah manage to navigate herself down a flight of stairs when she is totally blind with perfection? There are repetitious ideas throughout and an erratic plot which gives up in the final episode and decides to become something totally unrelated. Impressive work is evident on the sets, costumes and props, this is the renaissance after all, you would expect nothing less. The gothic elements of the era continue to shine and there is clear evidence that everyone behind-the-scenes was pulling their A game. Its nothing that special or fantastic but is at its heart or brain, in this case, a decent effort, nothing more, nothing less. ***