Brian The Brain - Production Notes

Production Notes

• The scene where the Alphans begin their psychological attack on Brian was scripted to have Maya first resume her normal form. As the robot became agitated, the three Alphans would comment that it required maintenance and would bombard Brian with pleas to be the one to perform the task. At this point, Maya would appear as Captain Michael to further confound the Brain. This sequence was deleted from the final cut. Also removed was a line where Brian commented that Computer was incapable of speech (in direct contravention of numerous earlier episodes where the Computer voice was performed by Barbara Kelly).

• Cast in the dual role of the late Captain Michael and the voice of his mad robotic creation, ‘Brian’, was British actor and comedian Bernard Cribbins. Cribbins is well known for voicing all the characters in the BBC children's programme The Wombles and as a celebrity story-reader on Jackanory. More recently, Cribbins played Wilfred Mott, the grandfather of Doctor Who companion Donna Noble; the Mott character then went on to become the Tenth Doctor's final companion in David Tennant's two-part farewell story, 'The End of Time'.

• To allow for a natural rapport to develop between the actors and ‘Brian’, Cribbins performed the voice during the live-action filming (which was then altered in post-production to give it a metallic quality). The robot prop was operated by Michael Sharvell-Martin, a British actor and pantomime dame best remembered for his supporting roles in The Benny Hill Show and No Place Like Home.

• This would be the final episode where viewers would see the original version of Maya's Pyschon make-up. ITC executives felt Catherine Schell's vision with the brown-pigmented ears read on screen as 'dirty'. After this, her ears would be left natural and the 'sideburn' cheekbone pigment would become less prominent.

• The Swift miniature was designed by Ron Burton as a landing craft for the Gerry Anderson production The Day After Tomorrow. Built by model builder Martin Bower, the Bray Studios effects team added the two large upper tanks to contain the freon gas used to simulate the ship's rocket exhaust.