The Master
Since I did not begin watching Doctor Who from the beginning, I do not see the Master as he first appears. It is not until I am a teenager and I get to watch Jon Pertwee’s incarnation of the Doctor that I see his original form. As a result, the Master I see is the one which looks like a skeleton played by Peter Pratt.(1)
I really like the fact that the show has another Time Lord as an enemy of the Doctor, and much like the Daleks and Cybermen is recurring. He is one who the Doctor seems to always defeat and thinks he is gone. But that is not the case. Consequently, the showrunners bring him back. What I find strange is the fact that the latest version is female. The showrunner wants to mess with my head, right.
From the beginning, which is not the start of the show. Sorry about that, when I say the beginning, I mean 1971 during the Third Doctor’s reign. Viewers see the MAster for the first time in Terror of the Autons. At this point, Roger Delgado portrays the Master.(2) He does a great job for three years or so. The three years are short because he dies unexpectedly. After his death, there are a few years before the Master returns to Doctor Who.
This is where I first see the him in the program. Then he returns during the Fifth Doctor and this time because of residual energy from some skeme, he takes over a someone’s body. From what I understand about the skeleton Master, is that he does not have anymore regenerations left and is dying. Well, he renews his body as I said above and Anthony Ainley becomes the Master. Of all the Master from the classic series, he is the one I remember the best. Personally, I love Ainley as the Master and hate to see the cancellation of the show and the he goes through another face change.
After the cancellation of the show, the 1996 Doctor Who brings the Master back. Eric Roberts portrays him in the movie. I cannot give much on it because if I have seen it it is only one time. So, I really cannot give my view of him as the Master.
The present series of Doctor Who brings the him back after the Doctor thinks he is alone. For much of the first two and part of the third, the Doctor believes he is the last of the Time Lords. Although as fan and viewer in the back of my mind, I know they will bring him back. Well, they do and this time he has used a watch to hold his memories. He is this time is an older man,. This time Derek Jacobi plays the him.(3) Once again the Master disappears, and then returns with a different face.
The showrunner brings him back and casts John Simm to play the role.(4) I like the way they use him and Simm does a great job as the Master. When we first see Simm play the role the showrunner gives us an indication that he and Doctor are friends at one time. As you watch it you see the Master remembering back to his childhood. he even talks to the Doctor about what happens while he growing up.
Then the way they use him in The End of Time is engenius. The personality of him as being an energy eating being fits him perfectly. But then he and the Doctor dies. Because of this, we see a new face for him and the Doctor. As a result we get new information about the Time Lords, the Master becomes a female. I never knew this and for me it is a new wrinkle for the show.
The latest Master is now Missy and Michelle Gomez plays the role.(5) I really can’t give yo much on Missy yet as I have not seen enough shows with Gomez as Missy. I also have a poor memory sometimes and may just need to watch those episodes again.
