Master

Are you telling the story or am I?

The Seventh Doctor

Synopsis

Many years ago, on a dark and stormy night, the disfigured and enigmatic Doctor John Smith invited his closest friends, Inspector Victor Schaeffer and his wife, Jacqueline, to a dinner to celebrate his birthday. A few hours later all the occupants in that house had been changed: some were dead, others mentally scarred forever by the events of that night.

So, what happened to the distinguished dinner guests on that evening? Perhaps, we’ll never know. But two clues have led to much speculation: found outside the study window, a charred umbrella with a curved red handle and found inside the house, a blood-stained copy of Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

For one person, the night represented an ending: an ending to one thousand years of darkness and an ending to ten years of light.

But, for everyone else, is there no end to this one night of Hell?

Review

Master is a rather theatrical masterpiece, which helps to see the relationship between the Doctor and the Master in a completely new light. Whilst it has been mentioned before that they were friends before the Master went mad and wanted domination. This story also gives us a further reason for the Master’s desire for death and destruction.

He was an old friend of mine, then an old foe. He used to call himself the Master.

The Seventh Doctor

Joseph Lidster’s script gives us a compelling mystery which makes you want to get to the bottom of what is happening. There is a framing device of the Seventh Doctor telling this story to an assassin, whilst the main narrative introduces us to John Smith, a doctor who mysteriously arrived in the Edwardian styled colony of Perfugium ten years ago and lives in a house that is alleged to be haunted. His closest friends are the local Adjudicator, Victor, and his benevolent wife, Jacqueline, whilst the cast is rounded out with Smith’s maid, Jade. As the story delves into whether or not people are born evil and the constant battle between good and evil, it becomes clear that none of that trio are what they seem. The creepy and unsettling tone is augmented by the music and Gary Russell’s whispering voices. Fundamentally, with this being a bottle story, it feels as though it could be a piece of theatre.

The Seventh Doctor bookends the first part, and is absent for the rest of this. This is almost barely noticeable thanks to the combined efforts of the guest cast, along with Geoffrey Beevers. Victor, played by frequent Doctor Who guest star Philip Madoc, appears on the surface to be an inspector out of his depth with sinister murders, who turns out to be the murderer. Madoc is a great actor and captures the duality of the part perfectly. The Adjudicator’s wife, Jacqueline, played by Anne Ridler is a socialite who helps the homeless but secretly despises them. Then capping it off, we’ve got Charlie Hayes playing the seemingly innocuous Jade, who is actually masquerading as Death. Hayes is really effectively creepy as the real villain of the piece.

Geoffrey Beevers is superb as Smith and the Master in this story. Beevers’ Master is capable of being effortlessly charming, which helps sell him as Smith, even when the Master slips out, which he does at points. The Doctor’s deal with Death has given the Master ten years of peace on Perfugium, which has led to him falling for Jacqueline, something the Doctor never considered would happen.  It’s intriguing to see how much of the Doctor’s characteristics the Master takes on, including his civilian name.

This is an interesting and important story for the Seventh Doctor. Obviously later in the life of this incarnation, he is far removed from the Doctor who debuted in Time and the Rani. Gone are the spoons and the whimsy, very much present is the Machiavellian schemer looking to fix mistakes. It is very much a guilty Doctor. The story very much put me in mind of Missy in Series 8 stating that she just wants her friend back, only with the situations reversed.  It’s a decent twist when it is revealed that the Doctor was the one to kill their childhood bully and made a deal with Death to transfer the blame to the Master. McCoy is very reflective and passionate in his performance, making this one of the most memorable stories in the first fifty releases.

Verdict: Master is a creepy masterpiece of audio Doctor Who. 10/10

Cast: Sylvester McCoy (The Doctor), Geoffrey Beevers (The Master), Philip Madoc (Victor Schaeffer), Anne Ridler (Jacqueline Schaeffer), Charlie Hayes (Jade), Daniel Barzotti (The Man), Joe Bassett (Child) and Gary Russell (Whispering Voices)

Writer: Joseph Lidster

Director: Gary Russell

Producers: Gary Russell and Jason Haigh-Ellery

Music: David Darlington

Parts: 4

Main Range Release Number: 49

Release Date: 31 October 2003

Behind the Scenes

• Part of a Classic Monsters trilogy of stories, made up of Omega, Davros and this story. Each story features a mention of Zagreus, leading to the anniversary story of the same name.
• The first story in any medium to include the Master’s name in the title.
• The last appearance of the Master in the Main Range until And You Will Obey Me.

Cast List

• Philip Madoc appeared in The Krotons, The War Games, The Brain of Morbius and The Power of Kroll. He also appeared in the Big Finish play Return of the Krotons.
• Anne Ridler previously portrayed Dr Gemma Corwyn in The Wheel in Space.
• Charlie Hayes is the daughter of Wendy Padbury, who played Zoe Heriot. Hayes has also appeared in Lords of the Red Planet and Love and War.
• Gary Russell is a writer and director and was at the time of this release, executive producer of Big Finish.

Best Quote

Except you don’t do that any more, do you, Doctor? Don’t play your spoons, don’t mix your metaphors, don’t have fun. Too busy destroying planets, tidying up your previous mistakes. Dreary navel-gazing.

Death

Previous Seventh Doctor review: Flip-Flop

Next Main Range release: Zagreus

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