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Doctor Who mythology: Derek Jacobi’s Master – how does he fit into the Time War?

By James Aggas

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Many Doctor Who fans have questions regarding the mythology of the series, and at Doctor Who Watch, we aim to answer the major ones. Today, we look at Derek Jacobi’s War Master, and answer a very common question regarding his character…

One of the greatest decisions Big Finish ever made was bringing Derek Jacobi back as the Master. Even better, they gave him his own spin-off series! After the far too brief glimpse that we got in Utopia before he regenerated into John Simm, it was a great way of making up for lost time.

Still, despite Derek Jacobi finally being given a decent shot at the Master in his own series, and despite the first volume, Only the Good, receiving many overwhelmingly positive reviews, I’ve seen more than a few fans cautious about the series. In fact, some are even against the idea.

Why? Well, it all comes back to something that the Master, or rather Professor Yana, said in Utopia. When Martha asked him where he got his mysterious fob watch from, Yana explains that he was “found with it.” More specifically, he said he was:

"An orphan in the storm. I was a naked child found on the coast of the Silver Devastation. Abandoned, with only [the watch]."

Now, admittedly, that does sound pretty conclusive. If the Master that had fought in the Time War had been Derek Jacobi, why was his human form found as a child? Certainly, it seems to suggest a regeneration had taken place before he had used the Chameleon Arch to hide himself.

False memories?

Then again, John Smith – the Tenth Doctor’s human persona – had false memories of his own childhood in Human Nature. He remembered places and a whole life that had never been truly lived. So perhaps it was the same with Jacobi’s Master, right?

Wrong. In fact, everything in Utopia had suggested that Professor Yana really did live a long time there, certainly enough for Chantho to have been his assistant for years. So it definitely wasn’t a recent thing, from the Master’s perspective at least.

In fact, it was discussed in various interviews, including Doctor Who Magazine and the behind-the-scenes disc of Only the Good, that even Russell T Davies himself was against the idea of Jacobi’s Master in the Time War. Initially, anyway.

But the moment Big Finish came up with an idea to make it work, he was all for it. Extremely, in fact. And it’s not surprising. Because when you’ve got a man like Derek Jacobi – not only one of the best actors in Britain, but even a man who came so close to playing Hannibal Lecter – and get him to play the Master, you need to have him in the role for longer than just a few minutes.

But how did Big Finish come up with an explanation? Well, that’s where Only the Good comes in.

The first War Master box set featured four heavily linked adventures, mainly focused around a grand plan the Master has during the Time War. Now, I won’t spoil what that plan is or how he achieves it. That would definitely spoil a lot of the fun with the box set.

However, I will spoil the very end of the story, as it’s key to explaining how Jacobi’s Master is the one who fought in the Time War. So if you really don’t want to be spoiled, then stop reading now.

The Heavenly Paradigm gave us a very neat explanation of how Jacobi’s incarnation existed in the Time War…

Image credit: Doctor Who/Big Finish Productions.

Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)

The watch and the child

Still here? OK then.

The final episode, The Heavenly Paradigm, ends with the Master winning, in a big way. He’s not stopped by the Doctor, and his plan is completed successfully.

However, this is the Master that we’re talking about, and of course, there are unintended consequences. Including, as the Master sees for himself, the Dalek Emperor taking control of a weapon. One of the most dangerous Time Lord weapons, in fact. The name of it?

The Cruciform.

Some of you will recognize that name. Especially if you’re a big fan of John Simm’s episodes as the Master. Because the Master mentioned that weapon in The Sound of Drums. Specifically, when he was telling the Doctor what had made him run so far from the Time War.

You can see where this is going.

We hear the Master get out the Chameleon Arch. He lands on a world (presumably on the coast of the Silver Devastation), and sets his TARDIS to automatically dematerialize without him. We then hear him switch on the Chameleon Arch, screaming as it re-writes his DNA, and then…

…we hear the sound of a baby screaming, and the watch falling to the ground.

The War Master has gone on to cause havoc in other series – including Gallifrey: Time War!

(Image credit: Gallifrey/Big Finish Productions.

Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)

From an ending to an era

That’s it. It’s literally that simple. The Master used the Chameleon Arch to adjust not just his race, but even his physical age. Honestly, there was nothing that said that the Chameleon Arch could do that in the original television stories. But, more importantly, there was certainly nothing to suggest that it couldn’t do that.

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It actually makes sense, too. If a device can re-write your very DNA and turn you into another species entirely, why not change your physical age, too? Particularly if you had no idea how long you were going to live in human form, with memories that were no longer your own.

So it’s as simple and as neat as that. Even the fact that the Master didn’t have a TARDIS in Utopia is neatly explained. It’s strange that Big Finish decided to tell the end of the War Master’s story in his first box set. But, considering that even Russell T Davies wanted a decent explanation for his existence in the Time War, it does make a lot of sense.

Regardless, we now have the perfect excuse for a lot more of Derek Jacobi as the War Master. And considering he’s appeared in not just his own series, but also in Gallifrey, UNIT and in next month’s The Diary of River Song box set, it’s more than we could have asked for, or even dared hope for back in 2007.

The question now is no longer “Why is Derek Jacobi the Master in the Time War?” The bigger question is, “Why wouldn’t you want him as the Master?”

Gallifrey review: Lies sets up the major villains of the second series. dark. Next

Do you like the explanation that Big Finish has given us on why Derek Jacobi is the War Master? Did you have your own theory on how he could have been involved in the Time War? Or would you have preferred the War Master to be a completely different incarnation, like Alex Macqueen? Let us know in the comments below.

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