BOOK OF LISTS: TOP FIVE MASTER STORIES - NUMBER ONE

At last, we've reached our Number One Position in the Top Five Master Story Countdown. What could it be?! 

LAWS OF THERMODYNAMICS 

Logopolis was made to give Tom Baker a proper send-off. For seven long seasons, he was the Doctor. Quite possibly, no one will ever be the Doctor more than he was. Part of the success of his portrayal was based on sheer longevity. He was in the role for so long that younger fans couldn't actually remember there ever being a Doctor before him. 

But it wasn't just the length of time that he played the Doctor that had made him so identifiable as the character. While I have been quite open about how I am not all that big of a fan of Doctor Four, I will never deny the sheer talent of Tom Baker. It's a well known fact that his drinking got really out of control during the later seasons. That there are any number of scenes that he shot after consuming copious amounts of alcohol during lunch and dinner breaks. But I will still admit: a drunk Tom Baker performs better than a lot of sober actors do! The man has amazing instincts. As an actor, myself, I have learnt so much from him just by interviews that he's had where he discusses his philosophy as an artist. He is great at his craft. 

I also won't deny the tremendous charisma he possesses. Tom Baker won the love of the entire British population. He has the most endearing of smiles and a rich deep voice that is intensely pleasant to listen to. The demeanor that he projects when in the public eye and his enormous love of children gets even the most hardened of hearts to fall in love with him. 

Regardless of my own feelings about some of the choices he made with his portrayal, Tom still deserved a story like Logopolis as a swansong. A good chunk of the plot hinged on the concept that the Doctor's fourth incarnation had reached his end. There's that heavy funeral atmosphere so many fans talk about that was conveyed through the music and the, overall, directorial tone. There's also that super-cool concept of the Watcher. I love how he just keeps following the Doctor along, waiting for the moment that's been prepared for him. 

It's all quite awesome. 

Now, if you're playing close attention, you'll notice I started my last entry in a similar manner. I talked about how great of a story Castrovalva was even without the involvement of the Doctor's greatest enemy. And then, of course, I finished my first section of the entry by explaining that - on top of all those qualities - it was an amazing story for the Master. 

I'm going to follow that formula but go even a little further with it. I'm not just going to close off this section by saying Logopolis is a great Master Story. I am, in fact, going to top that by stating quite clearly: Logopolis is the best Master Story ever.   

CONTINUING THE FORMULA OF THE CASTROVALVA ENTRY

I will keep imitating the style of my previous essay a little bit longer. Just as I did in the last entry, I will spend my next section discussing the Master's presence in this story. I do apologise for my lack of originality, but this format just really works well for analysing both of these tales. 

If you'll recall, I talked a lot about how much I loved the way the Master was used in Part One of Castrovalva. We didn't really actually see much of him. It was more a case of feeling his presence throughout the episode. Knowing he was up to something but only witnessing shreds of his plan as he lurked about largely unseen. It was an absolutely gorgeous effect that really made the character sinister and dangerous. 

Logopolis does an even better job with this. Episode One, in particular. Especially if you have no knowledge of the whole Regeneration Trilogy storyline.  You get only snippets of an unseen figure laughing evilly. This mysterious being also seems to be in possession of a TARDIS. The episode is skewed so that we're left wondering if it really is the Master at work. Only in the final moments of that cliffhanger do we get a full confirmation. The whole thing is gorgeously executed. The Doctor is definitely having another clash with his arch nemesis. 

Part Two keeps this whole effect moving along beautifully. We're still not going to actually see the evil Time Lord. Just a few more menacing chuckles and some more shenanigans with his TARDIS. I love the way he takes time to creep out Tegan while she's in the Cloister Room. And it's quite fun to watch him using his chameleon circuit as he keeps displacing himself. We get our first look at the famous ionic column that will be his default setting for the next little while. It's a fun imitation of  the way the Corpse Master loved the grandfather clock shape. 

Even though he still hasn't made a proper appearance, his presence in the second episode is just a little stronger. We get this sense that things are moving along to a grand entrance of some sort. I love the build-up that is happening in the first half of the story. The Master has never been brought into the plot in such a gorgeous manner. Nor will he ever be, again.   

At last, in Part Three, the Ainley Master starts making himself visible to us. Technically, we caught a brief glimpse of him at the end of Keeper of Traken, But it does nothing to take away from the brilliant shot of him tucked into an alcove as a miniaturised TARDIS is rushed past him. 

"At long last, Doctor. I've cut you down to size!" - The moment is executed to sheer perfection. 

Which is another important point about how the villain is presented. While we are dealing with the overlit cheapness of an 80s video broadcast, there's still some beautiful cinematography going on whenever they're shooting Ainley. There's a really outstanding sequence where the Master takes out the two Logopolitans that are returning the equipment they used to stabilise the Doctor's TARDIS. It's still looks painfully low-budget (particularly the Barbie dolls!), but the moment genuinely transcends its limitations. It's really quite chilling. 

As the Master creates the cancelling wave through the Pharos Project, he is well-and-truly in the story, now. In fact, there aren't a whole lot of scenes from this point onward where we don't see him. Ainley is fantastic in every shot he's in. While he would chew up the scenery a little too much in future stories (really, the only one that I feel he got a little too hammy in was Time Flight), he plays the part to perfection, here. He bears that gentlemanly disposition that we got in Delgado, but there is also a maniacal gleam to his eyes. It's a great combination of conflicting traits that gets me to instantly fall in love with his interpretation. 

But the gradual flow in which the Master is brought into the true conflict of the adventure (I love how all the real danger is caused by his bumbling) is a magnificent work of art. Again, it has to contend with some poor effects here and there, but it all still looks so great that we don't care. 

Never has the Master been inserted into a plot as well as he was in Logopolis. This element, alone, makes it the best story featuring this villain. But there is still so much more to enjoy...

OTHER GREAT THINGS ABOUT LOGOPOLIS 

If we're going to rip off my own format, we might as well pursue it to the bitter end!    

There is a beautiful moment in Part Four that really stands out for me. The Master and the Doctor have successfully re-opened a CVE but the evil renegade has made it clear that he's going hold the Universe at ransom (the beautifully crisp speech that he pre-records is so memorable that the Simm Master will bastardise it in a much later story). Once he is certain that he's achieved victory, the Master has a sort of meltdown. "It's mine!" he cackles insanely, "The CVE is all mine!". 

This, to me, is a defining moment for this incarnation of the Master. For most of the adventure, he bears a striking resemblance to Delgado. Both in appearance and mannerism (with the exception of those maniacal eyes I just mentioned a few paragraphs back). We do find ourselves wondering if Ainley will just be doing an imitation of what has gone on before with the character. With, perhaps, just a slight spin of his own. 

But then the Master just loses it, here. The hints his eyes have been making about a sense of insanity that is only so well-buried come true. The madmen from within bursts out. He's truly gone round the bend. It's a pattern of behavior we would never see from Delgado. And I love that. The fact that this new incarnation will just lose control of himself from time-to-time adds a great new dimension to the villain's personality. We see that whole idea explored much better in Castrovalva, But it's first displayed in this scene. I love what this moment represents. Particularly since, from this point onward, the Master will always have episodes of this nature. All of Ainley's successors, at some point, would act the way he is as he seizes control of the CVE. 

Pretty much anytime I talk about Logopolis, I have to make mention of the incidental music. It's some of the best I've heard in a Doctor Who story. Most of the time, I'm going on about the funeral atmosphere that it creates as the fourth Doctor approaches his demise. But I should also bring up the various haunting melodies that play out for the Master. Lots of unpleasant discordant notes that really play up how disturbing the character is. His themes are particularly effective in the first two parts where we are not seeing him, yet. It helps enormously to cement the subtle presence he has during this part of the story. 

And then there's the incredibly obscure visual references made to previous Master/Doctor conflicts. References so obscure that they may not even have been intentional! But you have to admit, the Doctor and the Master's TARDISes being inside one another does remind us of Time Monster. And the two Time Lords struggling along on radio telescope gantries in the final moments of Part Four of Logopolis look similar to some scenes we saw in Terror of the Autons. Whether the production team was imitating these visuals on purpose or not doesn't really matter. It's still a great touch. 

There's a few superficial things that I quite like, too. We don't get a very good look at it in Keeper of Traken, but we definitely soak in the Master's new outfit, here. The high collar gives it a very alien feel. As does the way the outfit fits around his torso in a tunic-like manner. But then the lower half looks more like Victorian wear with the trousers and coat tails. It's a beautiful blend of styles. 

I also love how trigger-happy this Master has gotten with the tissue compressor. It really becomes the weapon of choice for this particular incarnation. He relies on it quite heavily in most of his stories. But it's in Logopolis where the tissue compressor's reign of terror begins. We see its effects several times over throughout the course of the tale. It's great fun every time a doll is left behind in the Master's wake. 

Anthony Ainley also has a really awesome evil laugh. Which we hear for the first time and get to enjoy quite a few times over in Logopolis. I love it. 

THE RETURN OF THE MASTER

And now, at last, we break the Castrovalva Review Formula to discuss a very important subject. 

While my opinion of the Roger Delgado era doesn't necessarily line up with that of General Fan Consensus, I still acknowledge that this was a Golden Age for the villain. His appearances on the show back then were treated with great reverence. Everyone cheered when he showed up in a story. He was great fun and we all appreciated the character enormously. 

When Roger Delgado died tragically in a car accident, we could have just gotten a new incarnation and not bothered to show the regeneration sequence. But it seemed highly inappropriate to try keep the Master going. For a while, at least, he needed to rest. 

His first return in Deadly Assassin was quite fun. I really enjoyed how radically different he was from Delgado. He would be intensely unique from any incarnation that would follow him, too. The ending of the story was left beautifully open-ended so that he could brought back, if desired. But, for some reason, he wasn't. 

The Regeneration Trilogy isn't just about the Doctor moving into a new incarnation. It's just as much about the Master's rebirth, too. But, this time, his return to the series was going to be a legitimate attempt to re-create those glorious Delgado Days. The character would have a solid presence in the show, again. For a few years, Ainley was actually contracted to make two appearances a season. Whether they actually produced two Master Stories or not, he still got paid for them. That's how serious the production team was about the foothold they wanted the villain to have in the show. 

Enormous attention was given to making this Master's return a big deal. Both Keeper of Traken and Castrovalva do a fair amount of heavy lifting to make the whole event so grand. But Logopolis, in my opinion, is the cornerstone. This was the new Master's first real impression on the audience. It had to be perfect. And, quite honestly, it was.   

A truly marvellous spectacle. It will probably always be my favorite Master Story.    

As I said at the top of the entry, Logopolis is as much about bringing in a new Master as it is about saying farewell to Four. The attention that is given to the evil Time Lord as the tale unfolds is as abundant as all the dark brooding scenes that Baker works his way through. This is about both Renegades moving through major changes. 

Just look at how the whole story begins. If it was more about the Doctor, than it would have opened with him looking sullen in the Cloister Room. But, instead, that's the second sequence. The first scene is the Master attacking the policeman who is trying to use a real police box. Starting the story in such a manner sets a real tone. Doctor Four is leaving. And that's going to be sad. But, also, the Master is back. And that's awesome. 

And it was. The Ainley Master rocked. 

Even in Time Flight!    

Okay then, that wraps up the Mater Countdown. Hope you enjoyed what I had to say about the stories I love even if they aren't the same ones you'd pick . 

Up next.... the Cybermen!!  

The Full Countdown: 

Number Five: 

https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2021/11/book-of-lists-top-five-master-stories.html 

Number Four: 

https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2021/11/book-of-lists-top-five-master-stories_7.html 

Number Three: 

https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2021/11/book-of-lists-top-five-master-stories_19.html

Number Two: 

https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2021/11/book-of-lists-top-five-master-stories_22.html

 

 

BOOK OF LISTS: TOP FIVE MASTER STORIES - NUMBER TWO

As the Countdown continues, we find ourselves back in the Classic Series...

THE BEAUTY OF RECURSIVE OCCLUSIONS

There is so much good that can be said about Castrovalva. If you bother to look over my Ranking the Regenerations entry (https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2015/03/the-book-of-lists-ranking-regenarations.html), you'll see that I give it some very high praise with even the short paragraph or two that I write about it. Peter Davison does a such a great job with being so vulnerable. It foreshadows beautifully how his Doctor will be portrayed in forthcoming stories. It's great fun, too, as he impersonates previous incarnations in Part One. 

There's also that beautiful sense of poetry and renaissance that the whole story conveys. The costumes, sets and music all give it this very lyrical quality. The writing and performances further enhance the idea. I love how delicate the Castrovalvans seem. It's an absolute masterpiece of atmosphere. And there's a great little story being told. Even if Part Two feels a little padded as Tegan and Nyssa trek across that forest for quite some time! 

And then, finally, there's the Elephant in the Room that needs to be addressed. I know this will cause many fans to froth at the mouth, but Tom Baker did stay in the role for too long. The show was really starting to stagnate with him at the helm. We desperately needed new blood. Some will even partially agree with me and say that he seemed completely miserable in Season 18. But I actually think restraining him so much in his last season was the best thing to do. It was Season 17 that really killed things for me. Baker was out of control. I am so glad he was watered down and made more dignified as he took his exit. 

But he did finally go. And Castrovalva comes in like a breath of fresh air and lets us know that everything is changing. Everything is becoming beautiful again. And I love how it stirs those feelings. 

While it has all this going for it, there is still one more thing Castrovalva needs to receive love for: 

It is also an excellent Master Story. 

PRESENCE 

I will admit, I have been harping on this in just-about every entry I write on this subject. And, unfortunately, I must say it once more: one of the most enjoyable traits of a good Master Story is how he is used in the actual plot. What kind of choices are made on where the character shows up and starts becoming involved with the narration can be crucial to how much we appreciate the whole tale. 

The Master is as entertaining as he is in Castrovalva because he has, perhaps, the most unusual presence in a story that we have ever seen. Things follow on directly from Logopolis, so no attempt is made in Part One to conceal him from us. But he does seem to be sidelined a bit. More concentration is placed on the Doctor trying to recover from his regeneration. The Master just seems to be hovering in the background, causing trouble. We see more of his TARDIS than we do of him. We hear him talking in a sinister manner from off-camera as he watches Adric on a screen. He only makes a very poignant appearance on the TARDIS monitor as the episode wraps up and his latest evil plan is revealed. It's a really cool way to use the character. There is a constant reminder that he is up to something, but the full extent of his influence isn't realized until it seems like it's too late to do anything about it. I really like how he moves through that first episode. 

Part Two is the only time we really see all that much of him. There is something beautifully iconic about those scenes with the Master and Adric. For some reason, I love the image of the poor Alzarian being trapped in the Math Web as the evil Time Lord taunts him. I particularly adore how he raises the platform he's on when the conversation between them becomes more intense. 

And then, suddenly, as the story totally changes gears and Nyssa and Tegan walk through the woods for a while to mark time, the Master seems to disappear. He's not really gone, of course. He gives us a quick tease about a second trap he had in store for the Doctor and then puts on his Portreeve outfit. We don't think he's the Portreeve because we're too busy suspecting Shardovan. But it's not just the nice red herring in the plot that distracts us. Anthony Ainley is as brilliant in this disguise as John Simm was in World Enough and Time. 

Throwing the Master into a disguise after showing his presence throughout the first two episodes was a really awesome way of playing with the tropes of a good Master Story. I really love that twist. This time, we don't get the Big Reveal at the end of an episode. Instead it comes at the end of the whole story. And it's magnificent. I really love those last few minutes in the Recursive Occlusion. The budget restrictions do nothing to hamper the intensity of it all. It's all still very dramatic and exciting. 

And, of course, it's awesome when Shardovan proclaims: "You created us, man of evil. But we are free!"   

SOME OTHER GREAT, UNUSUAL STUFF

There are several other unique traits that set Castrovalva apart and even elevate it a bit so that it deserves its second place ranking. The biggest one being its actual premise. 

I have griped before about how most of the Master Stories during the Delgado Era were pretty much the same. The evil Time Lord plans his conquests by meddling with forces that will, eventually, betray him. It gets pretty tiresome pretty quickly. Particularly when it happened five times in a row during Season Eight!  We finally get some variety with the Corpse Master as he focuses, instead, on artificially extending his lifespan. It's only done for two stories that were spaced pretty far apart. So that works much better. Logopolis does go back to what we were getting in the Pertwee Days. The Master tampers with the secrets of the Planet of Mathematicians and it comes back to bite him on the ass!   

But then Castrovalva gives us something really different. The Master is just trying to catch the Doctor in a terrible trap and kill him once and for all. That's it. There's no great plan to overthrow the Universe. He just wants to get rid of his old enemy. 

This is yet another tremendous breath of fresh air. An actual original plot involving the Master! I love it. It heralds the beginning of several more interesting ways in which the Ainley Master will be used throughout his era. We'll get other stories like Planet of Fire or Survival where the Master is just in a big old mess and trying to get out of it. Or stories like Mark of the Rani or Ultimate Foe where the Master is the secondary villain making trouble in the background. The variety is quite wonderful. 

And then, of course, there's the atmosphere. I've gone on about it a bit, already, in the opening paragraphs but it deserves more compliments. There really is no other story that feels quite the way this one does. Part of it is due to the way Ainley plays the role. Particularly while he's disguised as the Portreeve. He really adds to the overall aesthetic. 

This is also the first story to leave the Master's fate under very questionable circumstances. As the Recursive Occlusion is closing once and for all, the evil renegade seems to be getting torn apart by the citizens of Castrovalva. Things appear inescapable for the Master. Surely he is doomed. We are dying to find out how he will get out of this. It's a very fun way for us to see him in his final scene. 

Finally, there's a new way in which the whole character is being interpreted. We see a bit of it in Logopolis but it really starts to flourish, here. The Master is truly beginning his descent into madness. This will continue to occur with all forthcoming incarnations. The very fact that the whole story is just one big plan to finally destroy the Doctor shows how he is consumed by hatred to the point where he will abandon grandiose plans just to pursue more petty vendettas. It's a fascinating new way for the character to move in. 

Nowadays, it might be nice to see the Master become more restrained, again. To see him act suavely as he did when Delgado was in the part. But to see a more maniacal version emerging as he was in Castrovalva was great. 

As I said at the beginning, there is a tonne of praise we can heap on this story. It may just be an Unsung Classic. It's certainly the best tale featuring a freshly-regenerated Doctor. But it does an equally-good job of featuring the protagonist's arch-rival. So much so, that it's my second-favorite Master Story, ever. I really do adore how he is represented, here. Even if the way he enters his TARDIS when it's disguised as a fireplace does seem a bit odd! 

And so, the Best Master Story is upon us. What will it be? 

Find out soon...

 

BOOK OF LISTS: TOP FIVE MASTER STORIES - NUMBER THREE

 We're staying in the New Series just a little longer as the Countdown carries on....

THE TWO MASTERS! 

I think it would be near-impossible not to put World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls somewhere on this list. Some might even rank it at Number One. It's a story that almost seems to celebrate the Master. Not just because it features two different incarnations. It also completes the redemption arc we've been seeing Missy going through since she was first introduced in Series Eight. And it sorts out some major continuity issues regarding how the Simm Master escaped his fate during Part Two of The End of Time. 

Itemising those salient points does hammer home the fact that one of the strongest appeals of this story is that it is quite fannish. Like the fight that happens between the Daleks and the Cybermen at the end of Series Two, this is the sort of thing that long-time lovers of the show such as myself have been dying to see for ages. The Master actually becoming good and two different versions of the character encountering each other sounds as much like fan fiction as the two most notorious cyborg races in the history of the show insulting each other at Canary Wharf!

Here's the thing, though: I really thought the season finale of Series Two was not particularly good. That long-awaited confrontation between the Daleks and Cybermen felt very poorly-executed to me. After wanting to see something like this for so long, it was definitely a major letdown. So, just because the show is doing something very fannish doesn't mean we're, necessarily, going to get content that we actually enjoy. 

So, the big question is: Does World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls do the same thing? Does it take yet more fan pipedreams and flush them down the toilet with bad writing? Or does it end up giving us something somewhat magical? Perhaps, even, a bit awe-inspiring? 

The answer should be obvious. Would it be Number Three on this List if it had failed?!   

MORE THAN JUST A FANWANK 

So if I am saying there's more to this story than just its fannish appeal, where else do its strengths lie? Well, if we start with the first part, then we really have to discuss the Redemption of Missy. 

The Missy incarnation has been most unusual right from the start. Not just because we're finally seeing a female version of the villain. But Moff really does some unique things with the character. The huge tease that he gives throughout all of Series Eight is great fun. It leads to a magnificent Reveal in the penultimate episode of the season. It was a great (and also very different) way to bring the Master back into the series after being absent for a while. 

But that final episode of her first season is where we get the first Major Twist in the portrayal. After assembling what appears to be an unstoppable Cyber-Army, Missy does not act the way the Master normally does. She doesn't try to unleash her Latest Sinister Plan upon the Universe. Instead, she hands her forces over to the Doctor. I really love that moment. It telegraphs quite clearly that this villain we've known for so long is going to definitely move in some very different directions.

The concept progresses further at the beginning of Series Nine. Missy is now trying to rescue the Doctor as we watch the opening story with the Daleks. Admittedly, we've seen things like this before. The Master is helping the Doctor at the end of Trial of a Time Lord, for instance. But it's clearly to advance an agenda of his own. Whereas, this time, it seems more like a genuine gesture of friendship. 

And then, of course, we get to Series Ten. Once more, Missy is a major part of the season arc (which is also another unusual thing in itself - the Master usually just appears for one story and then moves on). The mystery of "What's in the box?" and then watching her try to "become good" was immensely engaging. I particularly like how she finally starts crying over all the murders she's committed throughout the years. 

World Enough and Time represents a final emergence of "Good Missy". The Doctor is starting to believe she may have legitimately turned over a new leaf and is putting her to one final test. As his old rival emerges from the TARDIS after it materialises on the colony ship, she does seem like a totally different character. While she is still very saucy and even a bit cruel-sounding, she just might be the heroine the Doctor believes her to be. And it really is quite amazing to see the character moving in such an unusual direction. 

Even as things start to go wrong and Bill is taken down to the engines, Missy seems to still be on the right side. Quite honestly, we don't really hear much from her for a good chunk of the episode. But she does still appear to be present in the story and fighting for good. It's all quite fascinating to watch. 

Of course, while all this is going on with Missy, something else equally intriguing is happening with the Master. 

ANOTHER BIG REVEAL

As I've already mentioned in previous entries, one of the great appeals of a good Master story is how he is inserted into the plot. Oftentimes, he is lurking about in the shadows without us even knowing it. Only to appear at a poignant moment that gets us to gasp in surprise. 

The Roger Delgado days could be a bit weird. Oftentimes, we would just discover he was in the adventure in the middle of an episode.Which did almost seem like a bit of a wasted opportunity. Reveals were so much more effective during the Anthony Ainley Days when they would, mainly, happen at the cliffhanger. 

Moff brings that tradition back at the end of Dark Water and keeps it going, here. But what a wild Reveal it is! Essentially, the Master reveals to herself that he has been pulling the strings all this time. I still think the Reveal in Spyfall - Part One is probably the best one we've ever had. But this one does score well for just being so exceptionally bizarre and fun. 

I know some fans complained about how we see the John Simm Master at the end of the Series Ten Trailer but I actually thought it was clever to do things that way. Yes, the surprise of him being in the season is spoiled. But my curiosity was piqued like crazy by him appearing in the trailer. I was dying to find out how he would figure into the whole storyline. And I certainly did not suspect that he was Razor the whole time. That twist was absolutely brilliant. Mad props to John Simm for playing the role so well that we didn't guess that it was all just a clever disguise. Would it have been better to just have our mind blown at the end of World Enough and Time by not seeing him in the trailer? Maybe. But I think this way worked just as well. Possibly better...

KIND OF ALMOST EXTRANEOUS 

As we move into The Doctor Falls, I have to admit that a very strange thing starts going on with our two incarnations of the evil Renegade Time Lord. When you really think about it, Missy and the Simm Master are not relevant to the main plot, whatsoever. 

The story could have really been just about the origins of the Cybermen. The Doctor and Nardole could easily have just decided to start heading back up the ship to the TARDIS and stopped at the solar farm. Missy and her previous self didn't need to really be involved with getting them to make that move. Once on the solar farm, the only thing the two different incarnations do to help propel the plot is find where the lifts are. Again, something the Doctor could've easily accomplished, himself. The whole inclusion of this story thread does almost seem irrelevant. It doesn't really contribute to the central plot. 

And yet, it's still so good that Moff creates this subplot. The Redemption of Missy, by this point, is so engaging that it can be a storyline onto itself and we're okay with it. It is great seeing her put to the ultimate test. He own past comes back to haunt her and dilute her new-found principles. But, in the end, she makes the right choice. She elects to stand with the Doctor. Only to be shot down before she can truly display her loyalty to him. 

Of course, those final moments between the two incarnations are absolutely awesome. Watching them kill each other off was wickedly cool. It's an excellent ending to the whole redemption arc that also does a great job of sorting out some continuity. Not only do we know how the Simm Master escaped Gallifrey at the conclusion of The End of Time, but we also know how he will transform into Missy. It's some great work on Moff's behalf to bridge the gap between his era and RTD's. But, even if there had been no continuity fix, I still adore this scene. Watching the Master killing him/herself is quite the spectacle. I love it all-the-more for the extra work it did to get the show to make better sense.    

AMBIGUITY 

One of the other aspects of this story that I really relish is the number of "grey areas" Moff leaves us with as it concludes. These are not plot holes or inconsistencies of any sort. They're just little mysteries that he seems to have intentionally created within the structure of the tale. 

The biggest point of ambiguity would be whether or not Missy was actually lying when she claimed she couldn't remember anything that happened between her and her previous incarnation because the timelines were too tangled. There seem to be some strong hints that indicate that she recalls everything. Yet Missy swears her memory is blank on the matter. All this leads us into a furious argument regarding whether or not Missy knew that she would be fired upon by the lazer screwdriver or if the whole thing was a genuine surprise. Which, of course, dovetails into the Great "Where Does the Sacha Dhawan Master Fit in the Timeline?" Debate. 

This is not the only mystery left unanswered, though. Fans have pointed out that moment where Missy shakes the Doctor's hand for the final time. Does she actually let him feel the blade she is concealing up her sleeve? If so, does this effectively convey to him what she plans to do to her previous self? Or is the Doctor just wondering: "Why did Missy let me feel the knife she's hiding?!!" 

To build points of ambiguity into a plot is a great test of an author's ability. You can't leave too much unanswered or it does come across as sloppy writing. You have to create just the right level of exposition so that the important details are covered but there's still room left for speculation. To me, Moff does this magnificently. And it really adds a great extra dimension to the whole tale. You can watch these two episodes over and over and try to find clues that support the various arguments that revolve around them. It's great fun 

Which, in the end, is what has caused this story to rank so highly on this list. There's just so much fun to be had, here. Not just the fannish stuff, either. The whole subplot involving the Master and Missy is really well-constructed. Particularly when you consider that it didn't actually really need to be there at all! 

Number Three complete. Stay tuned for Number Two....

 

BOOK OF LISTS: TOP FIVE MASTER STORIES - NUMBER FOUR

The Countdown continues....

AN ENTRY FROM THE NEW SERIES 

Aside from the Daleks, New Who hasn't always been entirely kind to villains and monsters from its rich past. More times than others, some huge errors of judgement were made on how to bring them into the 21st Century. 

I do feel Moff did a better job with them than RTD. The Sontarans are a great example of this. Sontaran Stratagem/Poison Sky, to me, went really South. Stratagem showed promise but Sky just crapped the bed! I especially hated watching Sontarans fall from mere bullets. To me, they should be immune to such weapons. Unless, of course, you can put a bullet in the probic vent! 

Moff's desire to take a single Sontaran and make him into comic relief did ruffle some feathers with fandom. But, overall, it was an improvement over what we got when they were in RTD's hands. This is the pattern I tend to see. RTD doesn't do well with Classic Who baddies. Moff slowly cleans things up.  

Again, I will defend quite a bit of the treatment Davis gave to the Daleks. But with most other recurring enemies, I didn't really start liking them much til the Head Writer changed hands. Even then, it still took time for some of them to improve. 

While many fans can't seem to stop spewing vitriol over how bad a writer they think Chibnall is, he does seem to get one compliment from many. He handles the return of an old foe better than any other Head Writer, so far. I tend to agree with that. Which is why the incredible Spyfall - Part 1 and 2 makes it onto this list. 

REVELATION OF THE MASTER

Some of the biggest points Spyfall scores is that super-awesome ending to Part One. Planting the Master secretly into the plot and not revealing his presence til a crucial moment is a much-loved trademark of any great Master story. It's been done with varying levels of success, of course. Even just a few seasons previously, finally letting us know who Missy is at the end of Dark Water was a ridiculously awesome sequence. The way Michelle Gomez leans in conspiratorially and whispers: "Couldn't very well keep calling myself the Master, now, could I?" (or words to that effect) was utterly brilliant.

And yet, somehow, Sacha Dhawan manages to top that. You'd think no one could do better than finally revealing that Time Lords can gender-swap but I really did find my jaw hitting the floor that little bit harder as Dhawan repeats "Spy ... Master" with better emphasis. There is just something about the execution of this revelation that makes me believe there will never be a better one. 

I think it has a lot to do with how well we believe in the Master's false identity throughout the rest of the episode. We do like "O". He's a nice little recluse who seems to be really helping the Doctor along in this latest adventure. We're absolutely positive he's one of the Good Guys. So when the rug gets pulled out from under us, we hit that floor all-the-harder. The Master does an amazing job of hiding in plain sight throughout this episode. As he finally gives himself away, it's almost like a punch in the face!    

The fact that his house is floating through the air beside the airplane makes the whole moment even cooler!    

MORE THAN JUST REVELATION

Of course, an awesome Reveal is not enough to truly give us a great Master Story.  There needs to be more. 

Spyfall gives us an excellent lead-up episode to that climactic cliffhanger. This is not always an easy thing to accomplish. There have been any number of episodes in both New and Classic Who where the plot really wasn't delivering anything great until the Big Reveal happened. If the surprise is well-executed, we forget the unwieldy episode we just sat through. But this isn't always the case. Sometimes, it's just a bad episode with a nice twist at the end. 

Not so with Part One of Spyfall, though. The sinister plot of the Kasaavin is quite compelling. They're  a very interesting race with an ominous presence throughout the first part. I love how visually simple they are, too. I've always been impressed by how Doctor Who can create so much with so little. The modern-day version doesn't engage in this quite as much, of course, because it has a better budget. It can go a bit flashier if it wants to. But a creature like the Kassavin almost feels like a callback to the show's roots. Where they could create things cheaply but still made them effective. The Raston Warrior Robot illustrates this sort of idea quite well. He was, essentially, a man in a silly helmet and a unitard shifting around through cheesy film editing. But damn was it cool when he took out all those Cybermen! The Kasaavin embody that same principle. They look like men in bowler hats with an over-exposed lighting effect. But they're also really menacing. The overall effect that they have in the plot really keeps you engaged. This is a great story even before we find out the Master is behind it all. 

All the actual spy stuff in Part One also contributes greatly to its success. There's just a lot of fun being had with gadgets and secret infiltration and all the other tropes that make stories of this genre so enjoyable. The comedy that's created out of the fact that most of the characters trying to be spies are not at all qualified to do so is a nice touch. I love it when Ryan and Graham spaz out over all the cool spy gear in the MI6 office. 

With the spooky Kasaavin and the cool spy theme, Part One carries itself very well towards that amazing climax. 

BUT WHAT ABOUT AFTER REVEAL? 

Of course, what happens after the Big Reveal can be just as tricky. Utopia, for instance, created a totally awesome return for the Master into the New Series. Sound of Drums and Last of the Time Lords didn't really maintain the standard. Last, in particular, actually seemed to upset quite a few fans with its deus ex machina ending. Something similar happens in the Classic Series with Time Flight (although, truth be told, the whole story seems to be in a lot of trouble!). There are times when the Reveal makes writing the story very challenging. Your audience is saying: "All right! The Master is in this! This is going to kick ass!" So now, of course, you really have to make sure your story kicks ass. If it doesn't, the viewers notice this all the more because they had such high expectations. 

This is not a problem for Part 2 of Spyfall. We get all the stuff that makes a fight between the Doctor and the Master great. The rivals do all sorts of things to put obstacles in each others' paths. This creates a variety of fun twists and turns in the plot. For good stretches, the Master even seems to have the Upper Hand. The Doctor must then come up with something truly clever to defeat him. 

This is done especially well since the Doctor is deprived of her TARDIS for most of the episode. There have been any number of occasions where the two Time Lords have used their time machines against each other as weapons (Time Monster, Logopolis, Time Flight just to name a few). It's always kinda cool when this happens. But it can also feel like a bit of a cop-out, sometimes. Rather than relying on the Doctor's resourcefulness, the writer just has him jump in his TARDIS and do some piece of technobabble with it to save the day. I love that, in Spyfall, the Doctor is stranded in the past without her handy time vessel. So she has to figure out something clever with what she has on hand to take him down. 

And she accomplishes just that. Getting Noor to send the false message and then purposely confronting the Master to remove his perception filter was just the sort of intelligent solution that I was looking for. Up until that moment, the Doctor really seemed to have her back against the wall. Once more, however, she's able to work with what she has to defeat her enemy. This, to me, is what a good Doctor/Master fight should be all about. The two try to outmaneuver each other in a battle of wits. Eventually, the Doctor proves that she's that little bit smarter. It's a great plot structure that really makes Part Two shine. 

It's also really cool the way the Master then has to hide in history til he can reach that specific moment where he can re-join the story! 

SOME OTHER STUFF THAT I REALLY LIKE

So we've talked about all the important things that the story does in and around the Big Reveal - is there anything else about the tale that I like? 

Of course there is! 

The dynamic between the Master and the Doctor in the New Series was quite peculiar for a while. I'm not even really complaining about it - it was cool. But it is nice to see a very succinct shift in the way the two rival Time Lords deal with each other now that Dhawan is at the helm. 

What exactly am I talking about? I'll explain better... 

When Simm was playing the Master, he seemed more intent upon humiliating the Doctor. Or, at the very least, tormenting him. Last of the Time Lords demonstrates this best. For most of the episode, the Master has the Doctor completely defeated. In the Classic Series, when the Master has this kind of advantage, he tries to kill the Doctor. But this was not the case in Last. He kept the Doctor alive for an entire year - forcing him to watch as he and the Toclofane set about enslaving humanity. 

As Missy takes over, the dynamic becomes even weirder. The Doctor's greatest enemy actually becomes his friend. In a few stories, she even sets out to rescue him. In the end, she chooses to become "good" and wants to join the Doctor at his side as he takes on the Cybermen that are trying to invade a solar farm on the Mondasian colony ship. It's something we never expected to see happen between these two bitter rivals. And, quite honestly, it was amazing. 

Again, I've actually really enjoyed seeing these new sorts of relationships going on with these last few incarnations. But, having said that, I do love seeing the Master back to just trying to kill the Doctor. It is great to see that level of hatred and rage burning again in the character. He is emulating Simm's Master a bit. They both have that high level of manic energy that makes them just a bit comical in places. But Dhawan seems that little bit more menacing. Most of the time, he is quite ready to kill the Doctor. Which takes us back to the Classic Series Days - where the Master was always out to end the life of his greatest foe. It's good to see that "edge" back to the character. 

Another element to the story that I am quite happy to see are the various confrontation scenes that take place. The first one during the actual Big Reveal is, of course, quite stupendous. But the one that takes place at the inventors' convention is equally intense (what a different connotation there is when the Master gets the Doctor to kneel before him!). Even the brief psychic link that they form after the four taps on the telegraph is really well-performed. 

But then, of course, we get to the Eiffel Tower. The reference to Logopolis is a nice touch. A great way to start things off. But then the whole moment just seems to get better and better with every line of  dialogue. This is how a confrontation between two bitter rivals should flow. Particularly as we get to that awesome revelation that the whole meeting was just a trick. The Doctor takes advantage of her enemy's need to gloat over his victories in person to take him down. It's great stuff, really. I loved Ainley so much because he always did his confrontation scenes so well with whatever Doctor he was playing off of. We're seeing a lot of that same vibe going on, here, too. 

On a more superficial level, I adore that the Tissue Compressor is back! I always loved that thing and have missed it greatly. A laser screwdriver just wasn't the same! 

CONCLUSION 

In the end, Spyfall's greatest strength lies in those climactic final minutes of Part One. That really is what propels the story into making it onto this list. But it is also so much more than that. It is a genuinely solidly-written tale that brings us back to those wonderful Anthony Ainley days that I loved so much.  The Master is completely unbalanced and highly intent upon murdering his greatest enemy. He's also using one of the coolest weapons ever as he does so! 

It's these various factors that make me love Dhawan again as he returns at the end of the season. While his second story is considerably more controversial among fandom, I still love it. It doesn't quite make it into my Top Five (or maybe it does - we've still got three more stories to go!) but it's also another great Master Adventure penned by the much-maligned Chris Chibnall. 

As far I can see, Chibnall "gets" the Master better than any other Head Writer for the New Series has. While I hate to sound "Trumpian", he's made the Master great again! 

The Countdown will continue shortly. See you all again soon... 

BOOK OF LISTS: TOP FIVE MASTER STORIES - NUMBER FIVE

I was filled with shame by the fact that I only wrote one entry in the month of October. How can I even call myself a Blogger - much less, a Doctor Who Fan Who Blogs - if I'm producing so little content?! 

Part of what makes creating material for this blog tricky is that I don't rely too much on opinion pieces and actually research a lot of what I write about. So writing an entry can become quite a bit more involved than it does for most people that blog (or vlog, for that matter) about Doctor Who. It is far easier to just state opinion than it is to present actual facts. 

But, as we reach December, I do an Epic End-of-Year Countdown about something I like about the show. I've listed my Top Ten Favorite Doctor Who Stories. Or Ranked Doctors in my Order of Preference. Or things like that. It's a fun way to finish off the blog for the year that isn't too taxing on me. 

Normally, I won't do this until the last month of the year. But, because of my lack of content in October, I've decided to start this little tradition earlier and extend it for a longer period of time. Because I will be just expressing opinion for the next two months, it will be easier for me produce more material and give you all more blog to enjoy.    

HOW I'M GOING TO DO IT

Rather than try to compile one gigantic countdown that can span the course of two months, I'm going to do a series of smaller ranking systems. Basically, I'm going to create Top Five Lists for the three most popular recurring villains/monsters the show has featured. So, the five best Master stories, Cybermen tales and Dalek adventures. And, of course, I'll be writing a somewhat detailed explanation of why I've ranked them the way I have. 

It's been quite sometime since I've done a BOOK OF LISTS post. Instead, I've been working on REVIEW OVERVIEW essays. So I should make it clear that this really will be my own personal opinion being expressed. There will be no special criteria that I will establish like I have been with the REVIEW OVERVIEW format. This is me purely expressing my tastes and nothing more. 

So, let's begin with the Master. 

TOP FIVE MASTER STORIES - NUMBER FIVE: 

THE MIND OF EVIL 

I should say this upfront: this will be the only story on this list featuring Roger Delgado as the Master. 

I know a lot of other fans compiling a list like this would mainly have tales involving Delgado's Master in most of the positions. If not, all of them! To many, he was the greatest Master of them all. And his stories are beyond reproach. He is the best of the best. 

Well, if you bothered to read my Ranking the Masters series, you know he's not at the top of my list (This is where he made it: https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2017/12/book-of-lists-ranking-masters-part-3.html). I don't hate Delgado as the Master, of course. In many ways,.he is quite good. 

I'm not all that fond of a lot of his stories, however. The plots of most adventures that feature him are pretty repetitive: the Master is messing with things that he can't control. This re-tread does mean that there's not much that stands out all that strongly. A lot of the time, I think we're just meant to be excited to see that the Master is back and not care too hard about what he's actually up to! I would even dare to say that, because the premises aren't very diverse, some of his stories are downright weak. I've never, for instance, been able to understand how anyone can find The Daemons all that particularly enjoyable. Honestly, I'm actually getting tired of the Master by the time we reach this point in the season! 

I've actually said a lot about Mind of Evil in an Unsung Classic essay (https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2021/03/unadulterated-boorish-opinion-unsung.html). So I will try not to do too much of re-tread, myself. This post, in fact, will accomplish what all essays of this nature will do. It will focus on how well of a job the story does on featuring the recurring villain/monster. In this way, we should get a different review from the one I've already offered. 

Yes, Mind of Evil is hanging its hat in the usual place. Once more, the Master is meddling in something that will become his undoing. In this case, of course, it's am alien psychic parasite that he's placed at the core of the Keller Machine.  But, just this once, he's actually working on a second plan. A legitimate subplot! How crazy is that?!! 

The Master is also trying to use the Thunderbolt Missile to plunge the world into a Third World War that should wipe out the bulk of humanity. As this happens, he intends to sit safely in his TARDIS and only come out when things have settled down. He will be able to easily enslave the survivors. Is it much of an alternate agenda? No. But, by golly, I'll still take it! For once, the Delgado Master is doing more than just putting his nose where he shouldn't. And it's just so nice to see that! 

The subplot also makes a fair amount of sense. Without a properly functioning TARDIS, he can't really do much more than wipe out humanity. But this complication in his life does create a very nice link to the first tale of Season Eight. Which rounds out those first ten episodes quite nicely. As Mind of Evil closes, these first few clashes between the two Time Lords feel very complete. If only the production team had decided to leave the character alone for a bit. No such luck, though. The Master will just keep returning and returning and returning (this isn't even an exaggeration - he comes back three more times in a row!).

There is another flaw to the Delgado Master that Mind of Evil skirts around quite nicely. While other performers who have taken on the role play up the character's insanity and go a little OTT in places, Delgado seemed to be playing things straight. But there were always moments in his adventures where things got a bit camp. This wasn't even always Delgado that would make this choice. Sometimes, the silliness was written right into the script. When such scenes occur, it never sat well with me. It just felt out of place for this particular incarnation. 

Mind of Evil never really seems to go in that direction. Everything the Master does sits on the right side of serious. Even really strong visuals like the Master puffing a cigar in his limo as he listens to horrible, sinister music doesn't seem to go too far. We're able to believe in the character for the whole six episodes. At no point does it feel like Delgado is chewing up the scenery or just being a bit absurd. I think it's important that his Master was skewed that way. Sadly, we only seem to really get this with this tale. In other cases, we have instances like the Master believing claymation characters are actual aliens! 

The way the Master gets inserted into the plot is also done quite nicely. In Episode One, we don't see him at all. But we still witness the results of the masterplan he has been constructing. Even in the second part, he is still on the sidelines quite a bit. His interference seems somewhat inconsequential. Only as Part Three kicks in does the Master really start to feel like he's propelling along the conflict. From that point on, he is now heavily involved with things. And I do love how he moves along through the story. Slowly but surely arranging things until he's got all his ducks lined up for the execution of his ultimate objective. It all comes together quite nicely. Even the way he contends with various obstacles seems so smooth and calculated. This, to me, really is the Delgado Master at his best. He is suave to the point of being completely nonplussed. No matter what sort of pressure he may seem under. 

Of course, there is just the briefest moment of panic for him. Which creates one of my favorite moments in the whole history of the character. Yes, I blathered on about this in the other entry, too. But I must still say: a giant version of the Doctor towering over the Master and laughing at him mockingly is an absolutely gorgeous image. It shows the true root of the villain's insecurity. When influenced by the Keller Machine, he doesn't witness horrible monsters or terrible danger. Instead, he sees his arch rival telling him he's minute and ineffectual. It's brilliant.

The other really important aspect to the story that gets mentioned in the other essay but bears repeating here is the how much this all feels like something out of Season Seven. Pertwee's first season is the only portion of his era that I relish all that much. The other four do feel very formulaic and repetitive. The lack of variety to the plots of Delgado's Master certainly help to re-enforce this point. But, for six episodes of Season Eight, we go back to happier times. In so doing, we get a better Master. 

Those are, essentially, the key elements that set Mind of Evil above the rest of the Delgado stuff. These qualities are enjoyable enough that it actually propels the story into my Top Five. It's not just the strongest Delgado Tale, it's one of the best Master Stories ever. 

I really do feel it's a masterpiece (pun completely intended).