Master

Main Range #49

Released: 31 October 2003

Listened: 2/21/21

This story was one of the “classic villain” stories which, along with “Omega” and “Davros,” led up to the celebratory release of “Zagreus.” By mutual acclaim, “Master” is the best of the bunch. The Master is played by Geoffrey Beevers, but according to the official word, this isn’t the version from “The Deadly Assassin,” but rather a re-decayed version of Tremas’ body, sometime after “Survival” (and presumably, “Dust Breeding”). However, the Master’s history between “Survival” and the TV Movie is complicated and contradictory, and nobody seems to be concerned with straightening it out, so it is what it is. This Master has been playing the role of a country doctor on a colony planet for ten years, even calling himself John Smith, because he has no memory of what came before. The Doctor drops into his life unexpectedly, and is surprised the Master doesn’t know him. What follows isn’t exactly a locked-room mystery, but it is four people in a manor house mostly talking at each other. It sounds dry, but Beevers does a good job of selling John Smith’s anguish and the Master’s callous disregard. It has shades of “Human Nature” that way. There is also a look at the very earliest days of the Doctor and Master’s friendship, possibly with the revelation of a very dark secret, although I suspect the TV series will overlook that if it ever comes to it. However, the Doctor’s wistful longing to save his friend is very reminiscent of the Twelfth Doctor’s relationship to Missy, which is an interesting note. Although it was written by Joseph Lidster, it has many aspects from the novel continuity, including the Doctor being connected to nebulous cosmic forces personified. That’s not for everyone, so I imagine this story won’t resonate as much with fans of the modern series’ pacing and plot-focus. But as an atmospheric small-cast story, it’s very effective. This is actually the last appearance of the Master for many years in Big Finish, which is odd, given the revived interest in the character thanks to John Simm, Sir Derek Jacobi, and Michelle Gomez in the modern series, but without Roger Delgado or Anthony Ainley, Big Finish may have been at a loss for what to do with him. Eventually, they’d get over that in a big way.