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

1. A Sure-Fire Ratings Winner

Doctor Who The Master John Simm
BBC Studios

It’s not exactly a crisis, but it’s hard to dispute the commonly held belief that at least in terms of ratings and reception, Doctor Who has been on a steady decline in recent years. A year long hiatus coupled with the poorly marketed and scheduled spin off series Class didn’t help, but it seems that the BBC is finally waking up to the severity of the situation. Interestingly however, despite whispers of a rebrand under Chris Chibnall, the current production team have already responded with Series 10 going back to basics.

Reactions from the advance screening of The Pilot suggest that the episode is Steven Moffat’s Rose, written very much with viewers new to Doctor Who in mind. The BBC is equally keen to reel back in lapsed viewers who watched the show at the height of its success during the David Tennant years. Returning villains from the classic era, like the Ice Warriors and the original Cybermen might delight hardcore fans, but it is John Simm’s comeback that is most likely to have a positive impact on the ratings.

Steven Moffat will be keen to hand over the reins to Chris Chibnall with the show already back on track, and this one piece of casting will quite possibly help to secure the longer term future of Doctor Who.

Are you excited for the Master's return? Let us know down in the comments.

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.