This week, we give an open thank you to Michelle Gomez, the woman who changed the Master.
SAN DIEGO, CA – JULY 11: Actors Michelle Gomez and Peter Capaldi attend SiriusXM’s Entertainment Weekly Radio Channel Broadcasts From Comic-Con 2015 at Hard Rock Hotel San Diego on July 11, 2015 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for SiriusXM)
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In season eight we were given a gift — though we didn’t know it at the time. We were given a new character, who knew the Doctor, and had something to do with Heaven/The Promised Land/the Neversphere. We were never really sure who she was, until her last episodes in season eight.
In the last episode, it was revealed that she was actually the Master, previously played by John Simm. Even though she was killed in the last episode of season eight, surprise! She came back. In season nine, she was only in two episodes, being brilliantly evil, while still holding onto this relationship with the Doctor that no Master (at least not in the New Era) could never quite shake.
As we watched the three seasons that Missy reoccurred in, she never failed to make us laugh, even when doing the evilest thing. But, why would we laugh? What made Missy stand out to be such an incredible character that would, in turn, become an iconic one?
Michelle Gomez.
Ms. Gomez did so much for this show that I don’t even believe she realises. In her own way, she rejuvenated Doctor Who. With a Doctor who was very dark his first season, ironically it was the Master who brought light. In almost every episode in the eigth season, we expected to see her asking someone if they would like a splosh of tea. Asking if her boyfriend had been naughty.
In season nine, we only saw her in two episodes, but she made her mark. It was the work of a true artist that could be so memorable, funny — manic, even — and still not look like she was over acting. She always had the perfect lines to say, the perfect one liners. the perfect responses. And while the writing might be at the helm of the screenwriter, it’s the actress who makes it work. Makes it last.
SAN DIEGO, CA – JULY 22: Michelle Gomez attends SiriusXM’s Entertainment Weekly Radio Channel Broadcasts From Comic Con 2017 at Hard Rock Hotel San Diego on July 22, 2017 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for SiriusXM)
For example, anyone could say: “I had no idea there was a match on!” while the Doctor ran about trying to get people away from the Cybermen. But Michelle Gomez said it in such a way that, for instance, I, who haven’t watched that episode in months, just remembered it. And I remember it clearly because it made me laugh so hard.
Everything changed in series ten. Michelle Gomez’s acting was pushed to an all time high as she had to continue being funny, continue to have her sarcasm on the all time high, but add a new twist. She had to start giving Missy a new dimension that none of us has seen the Master have. She had to start, believably, turning Missy good.
This would be a challenge for anyone since the Master has such a long history being evil. But she played it incredibly well, and believably. Her chemistry with Capaldi helped, but in the end, it was all her. She was the one that made our hearts break, she was the one who had us ugly sobbing during the Doctor Falls.
But in the end, she was the one responsible for making the Master more than just “an evil character”. She gave the character dimension, wanting a friend, wanting to be more than just evil, wanting to be good.
Even if it turns out that the Master comes back and reverses all of what Twelve started, or if Missy somehow returns, we will always remember one of the best reincarnations of the Master there is.
But off camera, Michelle is still amazing. She’s funny and she’s quirky and she’s someone you just want to sit down and talk to. We know she’s funny, we know she gets on well with fans and peers. Basically, Michelle is one of the best people to be in Doctor Who.
Next: A open thank you to Peter Capaldi
Thank you for everything you’ve done for the fandom, Michelle. Thank you for being a wonderful person inside and out. On camera and off. You made us laugh for three seasons, and we hope to see you again sometimes. (And we hope to everything it doesn’t take 10 years)