Photo credit: Doctor Who/Big Finish
Image obtained from: www.bigfinish.com
Taking a look at five actors who’ve played the Master for Big Finish, and how they’ve each played the role.
Earlier this month, after coming in at second place in the Doctor Who Watch Madness tournament, we focused on the popularity of the Master, and what makes them such a great character. There was a lot to cover about the Doctor’s archenemy, though. In particular, their longevity and their history. And while the Big Finish incarnations were touched upon, each of them still deserved to be explored further.
So that’s why we’re taking a deeper look at the Big Finish Masters. Not just the completely original incarnations, either. We’re also looking at the ones who have been on television, and how their role has expanded from the audios.
Photo credit: Doctor Who/Big Finish
Image obtained from: www.bigfinish.com
Geoffrey Beevers
Originally appearing in the Fourth Doctor story The Keeper of Traken, Geoffrey Beevers played the role only once on television. In fact, it wasn’t revealed that he was the Master until the end of the third episode. While it was his first time playing the role, the specific incarnation he portrayed had previously been performed by Peter Pratt in The Deadly Assassin.
This incarnation of the Master is very different from all the rest. This is mainly due to the condition that the Master is in at this point. Horrifically scarred and on his last life, he is constantly desperate for extending his own survival. At any cost.
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Because of his appearance, this Master was never afraid of hiding his evil intent. He was ruthless, calculating and spiteful.
As pointed out, while Beevers’s Master had previously appeared on television, it’s through Big Finish that his incarnation has truly had the chance to shine. He’s appeared in many stories across the main range and the Fourth Doctor Adventures. In fact, he was the first Master to appear in a Big Finish audio, back in 2001 Seventh Doctor story Dust Breeding.
Several lifetimes
Perhaps the most interesting thing about Beevers’s incarnation is that it’s spread across several lifetimes. While the most common version of this incarnation is set between The Deadly Assassin and The Keeper of Traken, different versions of this Master take place after both Anthony Ainsley’s and Eric Roberts’s incarnations. The explanation is that neither of these are actual regenerations, only possessed human bodies that the decaying incarnation takes.
As a result, this makes listing the Master’s incarnations chronologically a little tricky, hence why the audio incarnations are listed in production order.
As for Beevers’s performance, it’s always a joy to listen to. He portrays the role with such malice, and clearly loves playing such a delightfully evil character. Particularly as this Master has nothing to lose by being so openly evil, as he’s less likely to charm others in his decaying condition. He really is a brilliant incarnation. So it’s fantastic that through Big Finish’s many stories, Beevers is finally getting recognized as such.
Photo credit: Doctor Who/Big Finish
Image obtained from: www.bigfinish.com
Sam Kisgart
An incarnation from an alternative universe, this particular Master was introduced in the Doctor Who Unbound range. Unbound was a series of “what if?” stories, showing what would’ve happened if things had been radically different for the Doctor.
The Kisgart incarnation came from a timeline when the Doctor had never been UNIT’s scientific adviser. As such, he had to see many disasters unfold over the Earth during the Doctor’s long absence.
An alternative regeneration from Delgado’s incarnation, Kisgart is a Master who comes across as very sinister at times, but also very charming at others. Like other incarnations, he’s not afraid of using or even sacrificing many lives to achieve his own ends.
Kisgart clearly enjoys playing the role, especially as he was in many ways the first original incarnation of the Master that Big Finish had created. Originally introduced in Sympathy for the Devil, he’s continued to play the role in the Bernice Summerfield box sets.
Photo credit: Doctor Who/Big Finish
Image obtained from: www.bigfinish.com
Alex Macqueen
Alex Macqueen’s casting was a very bold choice for Big Finish. It’s not that they hadn’t cast their own incarnation before. But unlike Kisgart’s incarnation, Macqueen’s Master came from the timeline that we know.
As such, the reveal of this previously unknown incarnation was a huge moment. Especially the way that Big Finish had done it. They didn’t announce that Alex Macqueen was the Master in advance, after all.
In fact, they rather sneakily introduced him as a “future Doctor” in Seventh Doctor story, UNIT: Dominion. It was only during one of the story’s cliffhangers that the truth was revealed.
And even then, we didn’t initially find out where this particular incarnation came from. But we did get an idea of his personality. An incarnation of the Master who enjoyed having fun and was more outwardly insane, Macqueen seemed to have more in common with the New Series incarnations than with the Classic ones.
Resurrection
When more was finally revealed about him in Dark Eyes 2, it suddenly made more sense. This was a Master who had been resurrected by the Time Lords. The original intention was to use him as their agent to fight against the Daleks and prevent a war from happening. (The obvious implication being that he was essentially resurrected for the upcoming Time War.)
Of course, it wasn’t long before he went rogue and back to his old ways. His schemes in UNIT: Dominion, Dark Eyes and The Two Masters trilogy have been bold, to say the least. He’s a Master with even more ambition than ever before. More than that, he’s insane, ruthless and pure evil. But at least he has a sense of humor, too.
Macqueen clearly has a lot of fun playing the role, and it’s not hard to see why. It’s not just that he doesn’t often get the chance to play a great villain, as he’s usually cast in more comedic roles.
His Master is also written really well, and feels like a great balance between the charm and the sinister style of the original incarnations, with some of the more openly insane fun of the new ones. It’s always a joy to hear his Master.
Photo credit: Doctor Who/Big Finish
Image obtained from: www.bigfinish.com
Derek Jacobi
Here, we come to a pretty major incarnation that many of us will know. While Jacobi had appeared on television in the episode Utopia, it was only towards the end of that episode that he was revealed as the Master. For the rest of the story, he was human scientist Professor Yana, a disguise so good, even the Master didn’t know who he was.
And even when he became the Master again, it was only for a few minutes before he was mortally injured and forced to regenerate into John Simm.
Like Geoffrey Beevers, it’s on audio where Jacobi truly gets to show off just how brilliant he is. In December last year, he was given his own audio series, The War Master. Set during the Time War, we learn what the Master got up to when the Doctor wasn’t around to stop him. He later appeared in Gallifrey: Time War, and is set to appear in UNIT: Cyber-Reality next month.
Charm hiding pure evil
Derek Jacobi’s Master has a lot in common with the older incarnations. This was something given to the character with his only TV appearance in Utopia, but has been explored in a deeper way in the audios.
The War Master enjoys using his “sweet old man” looks to his advantage. He’s able to use a lot of charm on many people. He’s not afraid to use his appearance to create a completely innocent facade, while concealing a very sinister purpose the whole time.
Occasionally, he will be open and honest about exactly the kind of man that he is. But even when he’s talking about the terrible things he’s done and the people he’s killed, he’s still able to sound charming about it. So when the inevitable does happen and he fully unleashes his evil, it can still be quite a shock.
Currently the only Master to have appeared in the New Series first, Derek Jacobi is absolutely fantastic as the Master on audio. If you wanted more from him on television, then his audio stories are highly recommended.
Photo credit: Doctor Who/Big Finish
Image obtained from: www.bigfinish.com
James Dreyfus
The newest incarnation from Big Finish, James Dreyfus also plays the oldest incarnation, too. Specifically, he plays the first incarnation of the Master, chronologically.
As such, Dreyfus’s Master is, in many ways, more restrained than his later incarnations. Just as the First Doctor wasn’t quite the hero he grew to become in later incarnations, so is Dreyfus not quite the monster he becomes later.
For example, while he is definitely the villain in The Destination Wars, he isn’t shown to kill many people directly. He’d rather control them instead. Either directly through hypnosis, or through more subtle means. He is still responsible for the deaths of many, and purely for his own selfish reasons. But none of them directly through his own hands.
Dreyfus’s Master unsurprisingly has a very old school feel to him. He’s charming, sinister and full of menace. He’s not as openly humorous as some of his later incarnations. He feels like a very natural precursor to Roger Delgado, the original actor to portray the Master.
Dreyfus’s performance adds to this. He plays the role in a way that completely suits the era he’s meant to fit. He has a very rich voice that enunciates every word, and it’s delicious to listen to.
So far, the First Master has only appeared in The First Doctor Adventures. But already, he has recorded at least two other stories for Big Finish. So we can definitely look forward to hearing more from him later.
The audio Masters
Overall, Big Finish have handled their Masters really well. Either they’ve created very effective incarnations who have never appeared on the TV series, or deepened and enriched the stories of those that have.
With Derek Jacobi having joined Big Finish, will we get to hear other New Series incarnations on audio later? Oh, it’s definitely more than likely. Particularly as Michelle Gomez herself recently confirmed that Missy will be meeting River Song! Whichever Master we meet next on audio, the Masters that Big Finish have either created or developed so far have been a joy to listen. And we can’t wait to hear more from every one of them.
Next: Retro review: The Sensorites (First Doctor story)
Have you listened to any of these incarnations? Do you have a particular favorite? Let us know in the comments below.