The Master’s Return
I am really sadden by the news that Roger Delgado has died in a car crash while working on a television show. Of course, I do not find this out until the late eighties and you say I was saddened. Well, I have to admit that he is not the first master I ever see on the show. It is the one with the Master’s return. The man I first see as the Master is Peter Pratt. Therefore when I am 9 or 10, I do not know what happened prior to the Deadly Assassin.
The image see the first time is a Time Lord in his thirteenth body which is decaying away. Now, I admit for a child that is rather ugly and nasty. At that time, I really do not know about the three previous Doctors or their shows. At the time, I was watching I had seen the Daleks and the Cybermen. Which are constant enemies of the Doctor. The Master shows up and when he does his life is almost over.
The thing about this though is that his character is not any different. He is devious and will do anything to get what he wants. So, in the serial Deadly Assassin the Master seeks a way to renew his decaying body. As a Doctor Who fan I know that he will do whatever he needs however he can. That is what make the character so great. Even though he is near the end of his life he has a plan to gain new life.
I am sorry I did not explain this more in depth. See, if you have watched the show, you know that Time Lords can regenerate twelve times. In the case of the case of the Master, he has used all of his and can not renew himself again. So, he returns to Gallifrey to steal the artifacts of Rassilon.(1) His plan is to use them to gain a new life and get rid of the corpses body you see.
The writers and producers of the show at this time move the Master forward in his life span. I really do not know if there is any information about which regeneration he is in when he first appears. But the producer moves him to his last for what I suppose is a way to gain interest in the show. I say this because the next time we see him he is still a corpse but does gain a new body.
I have seen this episode only twice, so there is not much I can say about Peter Pratt’s Master. Then since he is only in one serial that hinders my view of his being the Master. I love the way they do the show from what I have seen, but my opinion of Pratt in the Master’s return is limited.
The Master’s return is one which seeks new life and as always the Doctor foils the Master’s devious plan in the end.