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...