Doctor Who: Should Roger Delgado’s Master be recast for the audios?

Roger Delgado was iconic as the original Master. Could Big Finish recast his particular incarnation to face off against the Third Doctor once more?

(Photo credit: Doctor Who/BBC.

Image obtained from: BBC.)

Over the years, Big Finish have recast quite a few iconic Doctor Who roles in order to tell fresh stories with their characters. Should they do the same with the original Master, as played by Roger Delgado?

I’ve mentioned before just how much of a fan I am of Roger Delgado’s original performance as the Master. He brought such charm and class to the role, but he also played the character as pure evil. At this point in the series, while he would often try to kill the Doctor, it was easier to see that they were once friends, unlike many later incarnations. (With the clear exception of Missy, especially in Series Ten.)

To this day, he clearly stands out as one of the best, and for very good reason. He set the standard for the character so high that when Robert Holmes decided to bring him back after Roger Delgado’s death, he completely changed the character in his next appearance.

The Master became a more openly horrific character, as his next incarnation was shown to be badly disfigured and decaying in The Deadly Assassin. Considering that it had only been a couple of years since Delgado’s death, it probably wasn’t the most sensitive way on Holmes’s part to bring the character back. But, I will admit, it was a brilliant story, and a way of giving a new take on the character without making comparison’s to easy Delgado’s take on it.

Later (and earlier) interpretations

Over four decades later, and along with having new interpretations of the Doctor’s arch-enemy in the TV series from Derek Jacobi, John Simm and Michelle Gomez, Big Finish have also been exploring other incarnations, too. Not just the ones we knew about (especially since Geoffrey Beevers is the only surviving actor from the Classic Series era to have played the Master).

But also with brand new incarnations, too. Alex Macqueen has been facing the Seventh and Eighth Doctors since 2012, and in 2017, Big Finish introduced a new incarnation. Or should I say “old”, because in terms of chronology, James Dreyfus’s incarnation is the oldest. The “First Master”, essentially.

Still, as great as it is to have so many incarnations of the Doctor’s nemesis to play with right now, I must admit: when listening to The Third Doctor Adventures,  the absence of the Master, particularly Delgado’s incarnation, does tend to stick out.

It’s funny to think just how regularly the Master appeared during Jon Pertwee’s era. For every story during the Third Doctor’s second season, he was the main antagonist. He then appeared in two out of the five stories for season nine, with his final story in season ten with Frontier in Space. So he was a pretty regular character during that period of Doctor Who.

The Third Doctor Adventures, which have recast Tim Treloar in the iconic lead role, have been very successful. Could Delgado’s original Master appear in this series, albeit played by a different actor?

(Image credit: Doctor Who/Big Finish Productions. Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)

A character teased, but never seen

And that’s the thing about The Third Doctor Adventures. After four volumes and eight full-cast stories, we’ve had two very noticeable absences: the Brigadier, and the Master.

The latter, at least, they’ve kind of skated around a bit. For example, Rise of the New Humans had a character who was hinted as the Master before the Doctor found out that it was, in fact, the Monk behind it all (it’s not really a spoiler, Rufus Hound is literally on the cover). The former has been a little more difficult, but they’ve recast the Brigadier with John Culshaw, which I’m very much looking forward to hearing in the iconic role.

But still: the Third Doctor versus Delgado’s Master. That’s just iconic. That’s a key part of the Pertwee era. The comic story Heralds of Destruction really highlighted that, and was a magnificent tribute to a strong era. (And honestly, I really want to read it again already.)

Why a recast could happen now

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Considering that we’ve already had the Third Doctor, the Brigadier and even Liz Shaw recast (by Caroline John’s own daughter, no less), is it really unlikely that Big Finish won’t recast Delgado’s incarnation of the Master specifically?

Personally, I’m really hoping it does happen. Of course, I’m also hoping that Big Finish will do it right. But considering how successful Tim Treloar has been in the role, I doubt that they wouldn’t handle the casting without great care. To be honest, I wouldn’t be surprised if a key reason why it’s taken so long to recast Delgado’s role is simply because they haven’t found quite the right actor yet.

And honestly, I do want more Doctor versus Master stories. Particularly between the Third Doctor and the original, or at least, the first one we actually saw. Their relationship was rather unique – an ongoing antagonistic relationship where both actually enjoyed their numerous confrontations. I’d love to hear more stories like that on audio.

Do you think Roger Delgado’s iconic Master should be recast? Or do you think The Third Doctor Adventures should focus on other enemies? Let us know in the comments below.