Don't let the stupidly redundant title fool you - this story is iconic. In addition to writing the Master's first appearance, Robert Holmes wrote this script, in which he takes everything we thought we knew about the Master and the Time Lords, shakes it up, and turns it into something new. This story reveals something new about the Master: whatever his outer face may be - the suave sophisticate, the moustache twirling villain, the charming but crazy lady, the politician who will stop at nothing to rule everything - his inner self is a twisted abhorrence, fuelled by greed and hatred, the sort of creature who'd delay an execution to pull the wings off a fly. It's only in The Deadly Assassin that we get to see the Master for who he really is. What we see is pretty damn horrific, and Peter Pratt uses that hideously scarred face as best he can. The one problem is that that face is a mask, and as such, a lot of Pratt's dialogue is difficult to make out, especially in the story's climactic scenes. But ignore that, and you've got a fascinatingly dark story set on both the Doctor and the Master's home world. Good thing Holmes let the Master keep his TCE, though. Too many changes, and we might not have recognised him at all. Why, that would have been as bad as turning him into a woman or something. Are there any Master stories you feel that we should have included? Are there any we should include in the list of the Ten Worst Master Stories - and which one should get the top spot? Let us know in the comments below!
Tony Whitt has previously written TV, DVD, and comic reviews for CINESCAPE, NOW PLAYING, and iF MAGAZINE. His weekly COMICSCAPE columns from the early 2000s can still be found archived on Mania.com. He has also written a book of gay-themed short stories titled CRESCENT CITY CONNECTIONS, available on Amazon.com in both paperback and Kindle format. Whitt currently lives and works in Chicago, Illinois.
