2. A Spin-Off Featuring Jacobi's Master
As John Hurt's appearance proves, Doctor Who has a history of tempting over the world's greatest actors for criminally short-lived appearances. One of the biggest tragedies of New Who is that Derek Jacobi was only afforded only one episode to play the Master, and spends most of it as a docile and somewhat bumbling scientist. Jacobi's two-minute turn as the Master, with calculated menace thinly masking a deep-seated rage, stands as one of the best moments in New Who so far. Since we know the basics of the Master's involvement in the Time War, this is a great chance for a one-shot story that expands on it. The Tenth Doctor didn't even know the Master had been resurrected, let alone fled and survived the Time War, so this probably wouldn't cross over with the War Doctor - unless they want to mess with continuity, which is fine if used to tell a good story. But an event so cataclysmic that it caused even the Master to flee in terror, one that we've only heard referenced vaguely, should not be overlooked. Though the Master would revel in warfare and bloodshed, he (like the Doctor) is loathe to follow the directives of the Time Lord High Council. So what were the conditions of his resurrection? How did the Time Lords get him fighting on their side? How did he orchestrate his escape? Of course, it'll be a shame not to see it played out on television with Derek Jacobi reprising his role. But if a good writer is hired and can capture Jacobi's cadence just right, this will be a worthy substitute.