Doctor Who – Dark Gallifrey

#1.01. Morbius: Part One ~ 8/10

◆ An Introduction

It seems that BigFinish are moving away from their usual box set format, in favour of doing epic adventures told across multiple hours. I was really rather excited when they revealed ‘Dark Gallifrey’, though that was quickly overtaken by bemusement at the decision to start with Morbius!

That’s enough rambling, because it’s Morbin’ time!

◆ Publisher’s Summary

When things turn dark, and you're all alone, there is one traveller of time and space... a wanderer in the fourth dimension... a renegade Time Lord... who will always be there to bring back the light.

But the thing about Time Lords... is they can't all be heroes.

The time has come for the last Time Lord battleship, the Proteus, to leave the planet Karn and return to Gallifrey victorious. But her voyage home will not be easy. The Captain is sick, the crew is restless, and there are dark forces lurking in the hold below…

◆ The Third Morbius

Tim Foley has something of an advantage with his choice of renegade: Morbius is largely a blank slate, and what little we know about him is infused with vague, strange Time Lord lore. He’s an indestructible force that plays fast and loose with other people’s bodies and minds. So every time you think he’s been defeated he inhabits somebody else and takes strength from them in some new and innovative way.

One of my main worries heading into this mini-series was Samuel West. He’s proven himself to be a great performer in the past, but the last time he portrayed Morbius – in the second series of ‘Eighth Doctor Adventures’ – wasn’t great. Fifteen years have passed since that outing, and his performance in this episode was exceptionally good: those scenes of Morbius whispering to Veritas sent chills down my spine!

From an early age, Morbius discovered he had a power over people. It was not his cleverness or his cunning which made him so dangerous – though he possessed such qualities in abundance – it was his charisma, which glowed so brightly within him, though some were blind to the light. His first teacher, Grimdar, could not overlook the fact that the boy was from a lesser sect: an unnamed house. On the first day of the revolution, Morbius made sure that the Academy was the first institution to fall. Before the massacre began, he wanted Grimdar to see, and there were many more massacres to come. The nameless president tried their best to quell the fires, but Morbius’ influence grew wider and stronger. His charisma was now an inferno, his followers would happily burn in it! The first time Morbius ever left the Capitol, it was a field trip to see Pazithi bats on one of their moons, and no doubt his classmates had ventured into space before – on chartered flights, private yachts, wearing their gilded robes from distant worlds – but he had never once left their skies. He stared back in wonder at their home: a marble of a city against the blaze of burnt orange. It looked so small and fragile as they flew away, so he lined up his hand against the viewport, getting the perspective just right, and he pretended he was crushing it!

◆ Story Recap

The Proteus was the last remaining ship on Karn; her battleship brethren had all gone home to Gallifrey, while she remained there as decreed by the new High Council. Her crew was to ensure that the Sisterhood were all resettled, and that any stray survivors from Morbius’s forces were gathered as prisoners.

After many moons in this broken landscape, these final Gallifreyans were getting ready to leave, but somebody else would be joining them: Gilda, a handmaiden of the Sisterhood.

◆ Anchors Away!

Someone seems to be developing a fascination for fantastic and dangerous voyages: first the treacherous waters of Mehr Kee, then the Nightjar… now the Proteus. This creaking matchbox resembles an old-fashioned wooden galley, but don’t be fooled: the Proteus is more than capable of sailing through the vortex. Tim Foley spends Part One introducing us to some of the crew mates.

Argento is the no-nonsense captain. One of the first ordinary Gallifreyans to be given the gift of regeneration, she appears to have fallen ill during the voyage back home; needing a constant supply of the Sisterhood’s Elixir of Life to stabilise her condition.

Mr. Middlewitch is the dependable first mate of the Proteus, though he’s recently taken on more duties given the ailing health of the good captain.

Then you have Gilda: a handmaiden of the Sisterhood sent to deliver their famous elixir, and accompany the Gallifreyans on their voyage through the vortex. She seems somewhat naïve, but demonstrates a caring side when dealing with the Shimmering Man.

But what about Morbius himself? He barely appears in this episode, but occasionally whispers into the minds of his followers, like Veritas: it’s reminiscent of how the “Bruce” Master operated in ‘Faustian’.

◆ Sound Design

Can you imagine something resembling The Fighting Temeraire sailing through the time vortex, surrounded by a kaleidoscope of light and colours? The image of the Proteus in flight is absolutely stunning! Howard Carter has done an excellent job at bringing it to life.

Flashbacks to the first day of the revolution feature staser fire, as Morbius and his forces storm the Academy. Battles from the Gallifreyan Civil War echo throughout the cold open, showcasing the utter chaos unleashed by the warring factions. Gallifreyan sailors prepare themselves for the voyage home; the wooden hull of the Proteus creaks, whilst crew mates order each other about. The followers of Morbius locked in the hold begin howling like wolves. The Proteus sails through the chaos of the vortex, dodging temporal lightning: the grinding of its engines sounds similar to a TARDIS.

◆ Music

I couldn’t imagine anyone else composing for this series. Carter’s flair for the cinematic is unmistakable, and he really makes you feel like we’re all joining the Proteus for one heck of a voyage!

◆ Conclusion

“The vortex took a beating. Any more damage to it, and who knows what it’ll unleash…”

The Proteus has finally received the summons to return home, but the journey will be fraught with dangers. The Gallifreyan people believe that the tyrant is long dead, but Captain Argento and her crew will soon discover that Morbius is a very difficult man to kill…

Our fantastic voyage has begun, and what a brilliant first chapter! Tim Foley spends most of this episode introducing us to the cast of characters populating this antiquated sailing ship, and it appears the good captain is suffering from a mystery condition.

Morbius is cleverly kept as a background presence in Part One, whispering in the minds of his followers. It honestly makes him downright creepy, and Samuel West carries such presence in these scenes.

I can highly recommend picking this one up. I’m very excited to continue my journey through the stories of ‘Dark Gallifrey’.