Current mood:

devious

Enter--The Master!
The most formidable foe that the Doctor has ever faced, aside from the Daleks, is undeniably the Master.

Like The Doctor, the Master is a Time Lord, albet a renegade one. The Master was exiled from Gallifrey not for interfering with the events of time to protect the human race, but rather to subjugate it and then ultimately destroy it. The Master's initial goal was to bring humanity under his control and guide it's technology and development to ensure his destiny as the absolute ruler of the species. After a lengthy trial, he was excommunicated from Time Lord society. When he learned that The Doctor, years later, had also been exiled for interference, he vowed to destroy the human race in order to enact vengeance against the man that had argued so vehemently against him at trial: The Doctor.

When the Master first appeared on screen, during the Jon Pertwee era, it wasn't readily established that he actually had a history with The Doctor. But as the series moved forward, more and more information came out about him up to and including the broad history revealed during the David Tennant era. The Master and the Doctor were very close friends in childhood ( some have speculated that they were actually cousins but there is no evidence to suggest this) and were by all accounts inseperable. When they reached adulthood (age 12 for a Time Lord), both of them peered into the time vortex. While the Doctor was terrified by what he saw and fled, the Master instead saw in the looping whirls and streams his destiny to become a conqueror.

Five actors have played the role of The Master, and each of them brought something unique to the role.

Roger Delgado played the first Master. His master wore a fine, crisp black suit and gloves, wore a neatly trimmed goatee, and was a master ( no pun intended) of sabotauge, espionage, and intrigue. Unparalled in disguises, the Master could impersonate anyone he chose to and often secreted himself near the Doctor in order to learn plans and sabotauge them. While not particularly frightening, Delgado's Master was none-the-less very intruiging to watch. Delogado gained a large fan following and his Master became something of a cult favorite, but he would never live to see how famous he became: he tragically died in an automobile accident at the age of 42, just as the Tom Baker era was beginning.

Anthony Ainley was the second incarnation of the Master and..well..fell flat. This was not his fault though, as the BBC producers didn't want a 'new' Master..they wanted Delgado's version. Ainley was never allowed to make the character his own; and terrible scripts turned the Master of intrigue into a clown and buffoon. By Ainley's own admission he loved playing the Master, but really wished he had a chance to bring his own interpretation to the character. He did so in only one episode, his final before succumbing to illness and passing away. In this last episode Ainley made the Master a figure of horror; a merciless killer with no compassion that sent chills down the spines of the viewing audience. Kudos to you Mr. Ainley, and rest in peace.

Eric Roberts played the third incarnation of the Master in Doctor Who: The Movie, released in 1996 starring Paul McGann. The amazing Roberts brought out a whole new side to the Master: sexuality. Roberts' Master was suave and seductive in a dangerous sort of way, and could flip in a heartbeat from the dark seducer to unrelenting, merciless killer. Roberts interpretation of the Master quickly became, and remains, a fan favorite among a large majority of Whovians.

The fourth incarnation of the Master ( and my personal fave) was brought to life by the distinguished British actor Derek Jacobi during the final three episodes of the Third season of David Tennant's era. Though Jacobi only actually incarnated the Master for ten minutes, he brought to the role something that had never been done before: absolute terror. The kind-faced, elderly Dr. Yana stares at his companion aiming a gun at him. He holds up a live electrical cable and quietly says: "Oh..now I can say I was...provoked." Jacobi's Master was absolutely terrifying. Looking at him, one sees a Master that has absolutely no value for the sanctity of life; a Master that oozes malice and black hate. Jacobi's interpretation of the character epitomized what the Master was supposed to be: an alien criminal mastermind that wanted nothing more than to vaporize everything the Doctor holds dear. Pity he was never allowed to 'finish' the role, he regenerated in the same episode. Letters of complaint have been sent to the BBC. ;)

John Simms played the role of the Master in the last two episodes of the third Tennant season and...meh. There was nothing frightening about him, in the slightest. He was something of a corn-hole really, laughing a lot and acting crazy. There was none of the malice or skill of the previous three Masters. Simms' Master was just...window dressing; something to give the Doctor someone to defeat. Sadly, Simms portrayal of the Master will be largely forgotten and unremarked, I think.