Doctor Who: Why Masterful looks more exciting than the New Year’s Day special

The Doctor Who New Year’s Day special sounds exciting enough, but can it live up to the promise of the Master’s 50th-anniversary special?

We’re so close to a brand new episode of Doctor Who on TV! And it looks to be an exciting one. With the return of both the Daleks and Captain Jack, as well as saying goodbye to two of the Doctor’s companions, Revolution of the Daleks looks set to be quite the event episode.

Still, having said all that, we have to admit: as exciting as the New Year’s Day special looks, at Doctor Who Watch, we’re honestly more excited about what’s being released the following day. Because not only will Jan 2 2021 be the 50th anniversary of the Doctor’s archenemy the Master. We’re also seeing the release of a rather special story to celebrate the event: Masterful.

Originally announced by Big Finish last year, Masterful is a three-hour epic featuring several different incarnations of the classic Doctor Who villain. In fact, with at least eight different Masters listed, (plus a certain shape-shifting android making up for one incarnation’s absence), it looks set to be the biggest multi-Master story ever. And that’s before we get to the cast…

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A large cast

Unsurprisingly, the audio box set will feature a mixture of Masters from different eras and even media. Geoffrey Beevers, Eric Roberts, Derek Jacobi, and Michelle Gomez are just a few of the Masters appearing in this set. The story also includes a couple of incarnations that are exclusive to audio, including Alex Macqueen, Mark Gatiss, and Big Finish newcomer Milo Parker, who plays the youngest Master of them all.

But perhaps most exciting of all is the return of John Simm’s Master. Playing the incarnation introduced back in 2007 fighting David Tennant’s Doctor, Masterful will be Simm’s Big Finish debut. While we’re hoping that he’ll eventually get a few audio stories of his own, the idea of him meeting so many other Masters is extremely exciting.

This is particularly true with his predecessor, the War Master. While Derek Jacobi’s incarnation only briefly appeared in the TV series before regenerating into Simm, it was clear that they’re very different incarnations. How much will they clash in Masterful? We can’t wait to find out!

While we’re certainly excited to watch Revolution of the Daleks, after a year of waiting, we’re more than ready for the biggest multi-Master story ever. Expect us to cover it once it’s released on Jan 2, 2021!

What are you more excited about? The Thirteenth Doctor’s New Year’s Day special? Or the Master’s own 50th-anniversary story? Let us know in the comments below.