Doctor Who: 10 Worst Master Stories Ever

There's nothing worse than the disappointment of a Master story that's gone wrong somewhere. Whether it's because he's been given abilities more appropriate to a mutant than to a Time Lord, or he's let his propensity for dress-up spiral a little too out of control, a bad story with the Master scarcely bears thinking about. Unless there's an article to be written about it, of course. Disclaimer time: since even the poorer Master stories have good qualities (and they also have otherwise intelligent fans that swear those stories are the best ever), the lower entries on this list may strike some readers as... well, controversial, to say the least. There are at least two fan favourites on this list, and so in addition to the usual disclaimer that your mileage may vary, you are asked to bear in mind that the first few entries on this list aren't necessarily bad stories - they're simply less good than the ones on the prior list. It was also a matter of either including them here or doing some really odd division between the two - the 15 Best Master Stories versus the Worst 7, for instance. As much as Doctor Who fans love lists, that's going a bit far... So here's a brief reminder: while the story in question may be a very good story, it may not necessarily be the best story to serve as a vehicle for the Master. Hopefully, the further you get into this list, the more you'll agree. In the meantime, let's get the more contentious ones out of the way first...

(Dis)honourable Mention: The Five Doctors (1983)

There was some debate over whether this story should even be included this on the list, given that the Master is not the central villain, nor is he particularly badly used in the story. Compared to the Daleks (um, Dalek... sorry!) and the Cybermen, he's virtually the only real threat in the thing. At the same time, he's also pitifully underused, going from having a promising opening scene in the Time Lord Citadel, in which he's promised a completely new regenerative cycle (which he apparently got at some point along the way) to being punched out by the Brig and trussed up on the floor like a turkey. It's also one of those rare instances in which the Doctor is actually wrong about the Master's motives. Fans even discovered years later that the Doctor kept the Master's Seal of Rassilon. That's one hell of a long setup, whether it was intentional or not. So, which should this one be. An honourable or dishonourable mention?