The next War Doctor set has arrived, and somewhat annoyingly it’s also sort-of a sequel to the “Dark Gallifrey” series I’ve yet to buy (thanks to work schedule and extremely frustrating Big Finish app issues…) but only in the setting up of how Morbius is alive again and in a regular, if disfigured, body. Once you just accept that fact and brush off references he makes to what happened to him in that story you can focus on a fun showdown between him and the War Doctor. Let’s take a look!
The story kicks off with a Time Lord called Judd (Gareth Armstrong) who is quickly established as someone who had a highly respected role on another Time Ship and thanks to his cowardice in the face of danger he survived but the rest of the crew didn’t, and so he now serves on a throw-away ship, as second in command to someone who doesn’t care about their job. What is their job? Keeping watch on a dangerous rift in space-time called “The Valley”, but nothing actually happens there, though if the Daleks got their hands on the power it might be trouble. Judd is sent down to what counts for the surface of the Valley and there he meets Morbius (Samuel West), fresh from whatever happened to him in Dark Gallifrey, now in control of a ghostly race of um, ghosts I guess. Judd takes Morbius back to his ship and watches on as the famous Time Lord from long ago kills his new Captain and appoints him command of the ship (with him serving as ruler period, obviously). Judd is a great character because he does want to serve his people well and get respect but he’s just too naturally a coward. It’s as tragic as it is unpleasant.
While this is going on The Doctor (Jonathan Carley) is relaxing in a small hut with a Sister of Kahn called Cora (Sheila Ruskin), apparently suffering from a poison that has made him unable to travel in time, or go near any kind of time travelling equipment. Very inconvenient for someone who’s supposed to be fighting in a Time War. Naturally though he and Cora get pulled back into the fray, even though Cora is constantly warning and healing The Doctor every time he encounters something time-related. The Doctor soon meets Morbius and frankly the whole highlight of the set is hearing both Jonathan Carley and Samuel West talk, they both nail their roles perfectly, even if they don’t spend much time actually talking to each other.
Great cover, though the War Doctor mentions trying out a moustache to ram home the “in between young War Doctor and the actual older John Hurt one” setting this period’s going for, so they could’ve added that in. It’s not like the image isn’t already a composite of other things already!
As the story progresses Morbius finds out about the Daleks and even encounters a massive fleet, which he takes great pleasure in taking on with his own reckless style and weird ghost army (frightening Judd to death several times in the process) while The Doctor and Cora meet the people responsible for poisoning him in the first place: a group of highly advanced Robomen that broke free of Dalek control and now play both Time Lords and Daleks against each other for their own means. Their leader, 1-8-1 (Pamela Nomvete) in particular seems to have it in for the Doctor. So there are some fun mysteries and hearing Morbius’ take on the Daleks as enemies was great fun, but I will say maybe three hours was a bit much. It did drag in places…
The Continuity:
As mentioned this picks up from “Dark Gallifrey: Morbius”, which I’ve yet to listen to. Morbius himself first appeared in Fourth Doctor TV classic “The Brain of Morbius”, while Samuel West’s version first appeared in the Eighth Doctor two-part audio story “Sisters of the Flame / The Vengeance of Morbius”.
Other than that it’s a fresh start for the War Doctor. Technically after a few boxes of Old War Doctor (with John Hurt himself!) and a series of boxes of the “War Doctor Begins” we now have “the War Doctor… the middle bit”, which is fair enough!
Overall Thoughts:
Morbius the Mighty had some really strong performances and characters, with a fun setting to boot. It might be a little too long for my tastes, but overall I had a fun time. Good to know the War Doctor brand is still going strong!
Eventually all roads lead to the Valley and we find out that it was created in part thanks to The Doctor’s TARDIS and 1-8-1 has been using it to transport refugees to a safe place away from the ravages of the Time War. Hell, it’s even implied that the Doctor knew all of this and saw it as a perfect excuse to take a well-deserved holiday, given it benefits so many people, but once the Daleks arrived and Morbius returned it was time to close it up, which he does!
As you’d imagine Morbius is once again sealed away in another dimension, Judd dies a cowardly death because he trusted the wrong man, and the Daleks nearly get their hands on a war-ending thing only to get destroyed. It ends with The Doctor back behind the wheel of his TARDIS, heading back to the war. Cora survives as well, which is nice. She was a good character, and got to go on a pilgrimage her people once coveted as well as a weird wolf-headed staff you can see in the artwork for the story, and who doesn’t want one of those?
Hogan Reviews 