Doctor Who review: Bram Stoker meets the Master in The Dead Travel Fast
By James Aggas
The Master is in a desperate state and gets to have a “celebrity historical” of his own, in the second story from Doctor Who anthology I Am The Master…
After opening the Doctor Who anthology with a tale focused on Roger Delgado’s incarnation, the second story of I Am The Master is one that’s firmly rooted in horror. It also focuses on the Time Lord villain in a far more desperate state.
The classic Tom Baker story The Deadly Assassin re-introduced the villain as being horrifically scarred and desperate to survive, at any cost. On television, this incarnation was originally played by Peter Pratt before Geoffrey Beevers took over the role in The Keeper of Traken. (A role he has continued playing since in many audio dramas for Big Finish.) And that’s the incarnation that Mark Wright focuses on in his short story, The Dead Travel Fast.
It’s not just the Master who features in this little horror, however. The story is told directly from the perspective of someone who encounters the Master and is forced to serve him. The Master is hungry for new life, at any cost. The name of his new servant? Bram Stoker.
You can probably guess where this is going…
When you’ve got Bram Stoker as one of the story’s main characters, you can expect a strong influence from the vampire genre – and we get a lot of that very influence for The Dead Travel Fast.
(Pictured: Max Schreck in Nosferatu. Photo by FilmPublicityArchive/United Archives via Getty Images)
More from Winter is Coming
- For All Mankind finally gives us information in Episode 405, “Goldilocks”
- Watch a stunning VFX breakdown of The Wheel of Time season 2
- Of course Steve Toussaint (Corlys Velaryon) thinks Eve Best (Rhaenys Targaryen) should rule Westeros
- Confirmed: The Last of Us season 2 will air in 2025
- Final season of Star Trek: Discovery will have “a lot of action, a lot of adventure, a lot of fun”
An effective short story
Mark Wright isn’t shy when it comes to making the story’s biggest influence extremely clear. But the use of Dracula as a way of shaping the plot works extremely well.
First, there’s how the story is told. Taking the form of dated pages from Bram Stoker’s own journal, this distinctive style of storytelling is directly lifted from how the original novel was told. As such, it’s a style that’s definitely appreciated by this horror fan.
What also works is that Mark Wright keeps the story both simple and instantly recognizable. He doesn’t try to pack in too much in the short space of time, but just lets the story flow with its two key characters. It’s a slightly different spin on the vampire genre, and it’s not one that can be told with most Masters. But it definitely works in the case of this particular incarnation.
The Dead Travel Fast is a great little story, one that combines a strong horror influence with a highly effective use of a distinctive Master. As a fan of both the genre and this unique incarnation, it’s an excellent use of both.
Next. Alex Macqueen’s Master – The right balance of classic and new. dark
Are you a fan of the decayed Master? What other stories have you enjoyed of this incarnation? Do you think the Master can work well in a vampire story? Let us know in the comments below.