Doctor Who: Why the Master was so important to the Third Doctor's era

Photo credit: Doctor Who/BBC.

Image obtained from: Radio Times.

Before the Third Doctor’s era ends on Twitch, we focus on the Master, and why he was such an integral part of it. We also take a look at his appearances in expanded media, and speculate how he could meet the Third Doctor again on audio.

The Master has always been an important villain in Doctor Who. Across many Doctors, in many incarnations, the character has continually fought the Doctor, as much as possible. Somehow, a story always feels bigger when the Doctor’s arch-enemy shows up.

But while the character has always been and always will be important, it’s perhaps in the Third Doctor’s era that this is especially true most of all.

Perhaps part of the reason for this is that it was with Jon Pertwee’s Doctor that the character was introduced in the first place. It’s funny to think that such a major villain wasn’t seen in either of the first two Doctor’s eras.

(Of course, the expanded media has rectified this. Particularly with the First Doctor audio story The Destination Wars.)

More from Winter is Coming

Another key reason is that the Master appears in so many stories in Pertwee’s era. Particularly in his second season, where he featured in every single story!

After that, the character was used more sparingly. But at the same time, he still appeared in three serials across the next two seasons.

Enemies and friends

But perhaps, more than anything else, it’s the Doctor’s and the Master’s relationship at this point that really stands out. They’re enemies, of course. And the Master is continually trying to kill him.

But they’re both having fun with it, too. The Doctor even admits at the end of Terror of the Autons that he’s “looking forward” to their next encounter.

It’s not surprising. The Doctor is clearly someone who enjoys adventure and danger. More importantly, when he was exiled to Earth, he was desperately bored and frustrated. As a result, he was also eager for new challenges. The Master was always someone who could present such a challenge.

Of course, Roger Delgado himself also contributes to this. We’ve had many Masters since, but somehow, he’s still the greatest. He clearly enjoyed playing the part, and portrays villainy with such relish.

Apparently, Delgado and Pertwee were good friends off-screen, which isn’t surprising. In fact, Delgado’s sudden death in 1973 was one of the key reasons why Jon Pertwee left the role not long after.

Roger Delgado as the Master. (Credit: Doctor Who/BBC.

Image obtained from: BBC.)

Expanded media

The Master has been so integral to the Third Doctor’s era that he’s featured in a number of stories across expanded media.

These include several novels, most notably 2013’s Harvest of Time, which really celebrates Delgado’s Master. In many ways, it celebrates all of them, but writer Alastair Reynolds has a particular fondness for the original. And quite rightly, too.

More recently, Delgado’s Master was seen in Third Doctor comic Heralds of Destruction. Written by Doctor Who veteran Paul Cornell, it’s a wonderful tribute to the era, and a lot of fun to read.

This is perhaps where I should mention the Third Doctor audios that the Master has appeared in. Regardless of incarnation, even. But here’s the surprising thing: across so many Companion Chronicles, Lost Stories and even Third Doctor Adventures, the character has yet to appear on audio with the Third Doctor.

This is really surprising. As explained above, the character is almost an integral part of Pertwee’s whole era. The fact that we haven’t heard any Big Finish stories of the Third Doctor encountering the Master – any Master, really – is quite surprising.

How it could be done

There are a couple of ways that Big Finish could give us such a story. The best format to tell it is certainly in The Third Doctor Adventures. Featuring Tim Treloar in the iconic role and Katy Manning once more playing Jo Grant, the series is the closest to replicating the original era for Big Finish.

But how could they meet the Master in the series? Perhaps one way is to recast Delgado’s incarnation like they did with Treloar. However, this would certainly be a difficult and perhaps controversial decision on their part. It would also be one that they’d need to get exactly right.

There is another way, though. Perhaps the Third Doctor could encounter Geoffrey Beevers’s incarnation. But not necessarily the version we’re most familiar with.

You see, Geoffrey Beevers usually plays a version of the Master that’s horrifically scarred and decaying. This incarnation was introduced in The Deadly Assassin and originally played by Peter Pratt.

Before The Deadly Assassin

However, in Big Finish’s stories, at least, this incarnation was not always so scarred. The Two Masters revealed that Beevers played a perfectly healthy incarnation, before encountering…well, I won’t spoil that for those yet to listen to it.

(It has to be said though, it’s an utterly brilliant explanation on how the Master’s body became so damaged.)

The point is that Beevers’s Master could encounter the Third Doctor before this happens. Which would certainly be an interesting reveal, and would help bridge the gap a little between Frontier in Space and the Master’s next appearance in The Deadly Assassin.

Regardless of how it’s done, it would be a shame if Big Finish never gave us any Third Doctor stories with the Master included at all.

Because, at the end of the day, the villain has always been considered an integral part of Pertwee’s era. And, whether for long-term fans, or even for new fans discovering his episodes for the first time, that’s going to be true for a long time to come.

Next: Twitch Watch: recommendations of the day 06/19

What do you think? Is the Master essential to Pertwee’s era? Perhaps more so than with other Doctors? Or is the Master equally important across most of the Doctor’s incarnations? Let us know in the comments below.

Home/Doctor Who

Doctor Who: Why the Master was so important to the Third Doctor’s era

By James Aggas | Jun 19, 2018