Doctor Who: 12 Greatest Master Moments Of All Time
7. My Name Is Not Honey.
When Doctor Who returned in the ill-fated 1996 Fox network
TV Movie, the BBC were insistent that the character of the Doctor should be played
by a British actor. A decision was therefore made to cast a name familiar to American
audiences as the Master. Eric Roberts' Master is very much the pantomime
villain, the embodiment of the monstrous in a classic good vs evil struggle.
There are plenty of moments to savour, but the highlight has to be when the Master reveals to Bruce’s wife that he has taken ownership of the paramedic’s body. Thinking that her husband is starting up a kinky role-playing game, the hapless wife is about to meet a horribly violent ending. There’s no place for a Master’s wife in this one and poor Miranda is dispatched with a relish that suggests that this is where he gets his kicks.
Rarely has Doctor Who been so unashamedly violent. It’s not the most edifying way for a scene to stand out, but it rather mitigates against the view that Roberts’ Master is nothing but a camp exhibitionist. This is evil, pure and simple. Cold, premeditated and once again obsessed with the Doctor, as he seems to think that even her death is for the Doctor’s benefit:
“Mourn Doctor. Soon I will have all your lives.”