Blimey, where to start with this one? While a certain tweaking of the Master to make him more of an evil counterpart of the Tenth Doctor was to be expected, Russell. T Davies took it to ridiculous extremes until John Simms Master had more in common with the camp villainy of Eric Roberts than the subtlety of Roger Delgado. Dancing to the Scissor Sisters on the deck of the Valiant at the start of Last Of The Time Lords was definitely the dealbreaker. Even worse though was the resurrection of the character for The End Of Time where he suddenly became able to use Emperor Palpatines Force Lightning power and jump around like a grasshopper on Red Bull. A casting change wouldnt be entirely necessary for a revamp of the Master but what would be is a complete rewrite of the character as he currently stands. First of all, axe the superpowers. Even for Doctor Who that was utterly stupid and completely threw out the constant of the Doctor and the Master being on the same level. You dont need a battle of wits when one character can shoot lightning from his hands and jump fifty feet into the air. Also, completely ignore the plot point of the drumbeat in the Masters head. The Master doesnt need some kind of Freudian excuse for his villainy and it was a short-sighted decision to completely rewrite the characters history for the sake of two storylines. And finally, take it right back to Delgados Master and build from that. Delgado was the definitive Master: a little bit pantomime at times but mainly a suave genius and skilled manipulator. Every inch the alien Moriarty he was created as. And his relationship with the Doctor was perfectly pitched as former friends turned enemies but still with a grudging respect between them. Its a dynamic that worked and didnt need the moments from the Russell T. Davies era between the Doctor and the Master that were bordering on slash fiction. Which villains do you think need revamping? Let us know in the comments section below...
JG Moore is a writer and filmmaker from the south of England. He also works as an editor and VFX artist, and has a BA in Media Production from the University Of Winchester.
