I've seen "The Brain of Morbius" praised on numerous occasions. For example,
Doctor Who for Newbies: The Fourth Doctor | Nerdist singles out this serial for praise.
I consulted that article when I decided to buy some Who DVDs for the 50th anniversary. However, I remembered all these other serials featured in that guide, and ended up buying them all on DVD:
- Story 76 – The Ark in Space
- Story 78 – Genesis of the Daleks
- Story 82 – Pyramids of Mars
- Story 88 – The Deadly Assassin
- Story 91 – The Talons of Weng-Chiang
- Story 92 – Horror of Fang Rock
- Story 97 – The Invasion of Time
But Story 84 – The Brain of Morbius was the oddball. If it was as great as claimed, why didn't I remember it? I got a partial answer when viewing the Serial Thrillers special feature included on the "Pyramids of Mars" DVD. When I saw the clips of the creature from "Brain", I laughed out loud!
I did end up rewatching this one on-line in the last few years and it was OK. The horror atmosphere at the beginning is well done. But the tone is inconsistent. The scene of the brain being dropped on floor is pretty gruesome, but the creature design is IMO ridiculous. I guess they were trying to keep it from getting
too scary for the kiddies in the viewing audience.
I didn't buy the DVD and have no regrets about that.