Brain of Morbius vs State of Decay

Brain of Morbius wins as it’s not dull and boring

State the best of that Season of stories, however Morbius has Philip Madoc,,, need we say more 

Regards

mark687

This is a tough call, because I love both of these stories. We have rich and fruity performances from the villains - Aukon is deeply in love with every word he says, and Solon is having a ball with Morbius's brain. Even the carefully buit-up climaxes have similar issues - Morbius falling straight into the camera, and the the very disappointing E-Space rocket's U-turn before returning to do its deadly work. Stunning performances from Lis Sladen and Lalla Ward as the respective companions Sarah and Romana (I'm not afraid to say Lalla in her tweed suit still looks great to me). While the Sisterhood of Karn is more interesting (and spooky) than the village rebels we meet in State of Decay, I still have a hugely soft spot for the latter story. It seems to drip with atmosphere. Also, apart from the ending, it doesn't have the slight cheapness of some of Brain of Morbius - agh, can I even say that? It's heresy, even to me! - but I'll go with State of Decay, I think. It's a narrower gap than what (currently) exists in the US election, but the E-Space story wins ultimately because even when the adventure is over, for the Doctor, Romana, K-9 and Adric, they are still prisoners in another universe ...

Brains of Morbius for me! It’s got memorable visuals, mood and atmosphere! Plus it foreshadowed the Timeless Doctors years earlier!

Morbius is one of the all time greatest Dr Who stories ever. I was very scared of the 60 minute VHS compilation I watched as a child - not of Morbius or Condo but Maren really terrified me.

State is by no means bad, in fact it's a top story in its own right.

But Morbius is one where Dr Who is firing on all cylinders and ticking all boxes - it wins hands down.

Tough call. My instinct is State of Decay because the idea that the Time Lords are ancient enemies of Vampires is one of my favorite semi-obscure pieces of DW mythology. I like the overall mood and aesthetic better.

However, I can't deny that Brain of Morbius is better written, doesn't have Adric, and also has its own mythology tidbits with the Sisterhood. I think it's the better story if I'm being fair.

Like I want State of Decay to be the winner, but it's not, if that makes any sense.

Oh, The Brain of Morbius for me, with State of Decay coming a very close second. They're both fascinating Gallifrey Lite stories that help build the mythos of the Time Lords after Omega and Rassilon, respectively.

You know... I'd say that Morbius might succeed that pinkie's length more because of the atmosphere of Karn? I like that, even though it's all studiobound, you don't get a sense of the "edges" of the world. State of Decay's history of the war in the Record of Rassilon feels like something you could've done in a dimly-lit TARDIS library. The six-foot-tall Fourth Doctor hunched in cobwebbed corner like it's the attic of a boarding school, flipping through its pages while K9 listened. We don't get to hear what the hijack of the Hydrax was like from the former humans' perspective either. Could you imagine? The blind night of space furrowed by small cracks that blotted out the stars. Swarming. Tearing through airlocks and portals.

Decay, I think, you can push just that little bit further with the horror: