Doctor Who Series 10: 7 Reasons To Be Excited About The Return Of John Simm's Master

3. A Masterful Adventure

Doctor Who The Master John Simm
BBC

Whilst eminently watchable and the subject of one of Doctor Who’s greatest ever cliffhangers, Missy hasn’t really been the main focus in any of her previous outings under Steven Moffat. In Death in Heaven she is working with the Cybermen, calling the shots until Danny Pink’s Cyberman proves to be her downfall, and in The Witch's Familiar she is upstaged by Davros and the Daleks. In both adventures Missy is also secondary to her unsuspecting familiar, Clara - the companion she planted on the Doctor.

An adventure that casts the Master as the main focus is long overdue. Autons, Sea Devils, Cybermen, Daleks and the Rani - it has always been something of a tradition to have the Master working with another alien race or foe, with the 1996 TV Movie being the exception that proves the rule. This time however, it looks like Missy may well be calling upon her former self as she hatches her latest plan. The Master’s track record in hiring the services of other villains is hopeless. It makes sense if Missy has decided that her former self is the one person she can trust.

Rumours abound that this one will be the equivalent of Moffat’s ‘every Dalek ever’ in Asylum of the Daleks. At the very least, flashbacks to other Masters shouldn’t be ruled out. An exploration into the character of the Master, after the Clara heavy focus of recent seasons is definitely something to look forward to.

Contributor
Contributor

Paul Driscoll is a freelance writer and author across a range of subjects from Cult TV to religion and social policy. He is a passionate Doctor Who fan and January 2017 will see the publication of his first extended study of the series (based on Toby Whithouse's series six episode, The God Complex) in the critically acclaimed Black Archive range by Obverse Books. He is a regular writer for the fan site Doctor Who Worldwide and has contributed several essays to Watching Books' You and Who range. Recently he has branched out into fiction writing, with two short stories in the charity Doctor Who anthology Seasons of War (Chinbeard Books). Paul's work will also feature in the forthcoming Iris Wildthyme collection (A Clockwork Iris, Obverse Books) and Chinbeard Books' collection of drabbles, A Time Lord for Change.