Ranking the Master Stories (Part 1)
Guest contributor Will Atkinson begins his countdown of the best Master stories.
Missy is the Master! The Master is Missy! Brilliant! I thoroughly enjoyed Dark Water, with its shocks, suspense and strangeness, and I can’t wait until Death in Heaven. Until then, I’ll bide my time by rewatching my favourite Master stories. But which one is my favourite? There’s only one way to find out… no, not a fight, a list!
0.The Five Doctors
Now, I love The Five Doctors. It’s barmy, it’s funny, it’s full of classic characters and it’s got the Raston Warrior Robot. It’s also got the Master in it. Now, this poses a problem for me because judging this story on its Master content isn’t really fair, because the Master isn’t really the main villain. It’s not really a proper Master story, so I’m – brace yourself – not including it in my list. Why? Well, I love The Five Doctors too much and that would skew the results. Sorry. Please don’t subject me to the mind probe as punishment.
Okay, back to the proper list. Remember, this is from worst to best, so sulking in last place is…
21. The King’s Demons
My main problem with The King’s Demons is that it’s only two episodes long. And that’s two episodes too many. It should work. The TARDIS materialises during a joust, there’s a shape shifting robot, and the Doctor has a swordfight with the Master. But somehow, this story always leaves me feeling ‘meh’. The joust doesn’t feel very exciting, Kamelion is the most ineffectual robot ever and despite the camp value of the Master in disguise as a French knight, his scenes with the Fifth Doctor just feel, well, boring. I know this story has its fans, but I really don’t like it.
20. Time-Flight
I’m quite a forgiving Doctor Who fan. I can look past a rubbish monster or shoddy piece of acting to still enjoy a story. However, I just can’t do that with Time-Flight. It is the cheapest looking Doctor Who story ever. With imagination to spare, it’s got a lot of good ideas, but the fact that it’s been made for about 50p means that despite having Concorde and the Ainley Master on top form, it still makes me cringe every time I watch it. And don’t get me started on Kalid, the blue oriental magician from the dawn of time.
19. The Time Monster
Roger Delgado is the best Master. No contest. Unfortunately, The Time Monster is his worst story. With many elements to play with, it still manage to drag, and while it tries to be an end of season spectacular, it just comes across on screen as being ill thought out. However, it gains points for letting all the regulars have a great time – Jon Pertwee, Katy Manning, Nicholas Courtney and Roger Delgado are all at the height of their powers.
18. Planet of Fire
Planet of Fire is the most beige Doctor Who story ever, in two ways. One, pretty much everything on screen is some shade of beige or red, and two, it shares a lot of characteristics with this colour – it’s a bit dull. Apart from that scene with Peri, and some stunning location work in Lanzarote, it’s all a bit tedious. Turlough leaves the TARDIS, Peri joins. It’s not really a story I can recommend, but it’s not one I particularly dislike. Also, it’s let down by having the worst plot of any Master story ever – the Master has shrunk himself down, and he needs someone to pick him up out of his box.
I have no words.
17. The Mark of the Rani
First of all, I just have to say this – Colin Baker was a brilliant Doctor, funny, grumpy and alien, he was like a prototype 12. He’s one of the highlights of The Mark of the Rani. His sparring with the brilliant Kate O’Mara and Anthony Ainley is a joy to behold. Another highlight is the location work. This story really convinces you of its setting, and the direction is very good. However, the rest of the story is middling at best, and had any other Doctor appeared in it, I’m not the sure this story would have worked as well as it does.
From here on in the stories are more average than bad, in my opinion. Not that I think any Doctor Who story is particularly bad. I’m one of those fans who likes pretty much every story in some way or other. And yes, I did just write that because I have a massive ego.
16. The Ultimate Foe
The Ultimate Foe had four different writers, and boy, does it show. With too many plot twists, characters and storylines packed in two its two episodes, The Ultimate Foe feels very muddled. The fact that it has both the Master and the Valeyard means that both characters never really get to achieve their full potential. But there’s a lot here to like. All the acting is very good, and the cliff-hanger is properly terrifying. Word of warning: don’t watch this story if you’ve never seen the rest of The Trial of a Time Lord. It’s confusing enough to those of us who have seen it.
15. The Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords
I might get a little bit of grumbling for this, but I’m not a very big fan of this two parter. I like its scale, and I like its energy, but it’s my least favourite finale of New Who. I think it looks, well, cheap, and the CGI is strangely tacky. John Simm makes a good Master at some points, but even he can’t act particularly well against CGI Dobby Doctor. Some parts of it do make me cringe, and I’m not a big fan of Martha’s family. However, Tennant is on fine form and John Barrowman is great as Captain Jack. On the whole, the word bizarre would sum up this two parter for me. Very, very bizarre.
14. Castrovalva
Castrovalva is an odd story. It has a very fairytale quality, and this is surprising as it comes from the pen of Christopher .H. Bidmead, the man who is the biggest proponent for having proper science in Doctor Who. Ainley’s Master is underused, but this is weighted out by the story’s great exploration of the recently regenerated Doctor’s mind. This idea of having a whole planet based on the work of Escher is a brilliant idea, but with all the different things going on in this story-and the fact it spends two episodes mainly in the TARDIS-means that the end result is a mish-mash of lots of different ideas. Maybe the whole is less than the sum of its parts.
13. Colony in Space
Colony in Space is an important story for Doctor Who. It’s the first story after the Doctor’s exile to Earth that he manages to get to another planet. However, the story’s biggest downside that this planet is the Doctor Who Bog-Standard Quarry TM. Apart from being a bit boring to look at, Colony in Space has a lot going for it. It’s worth the price of admittance alone just to see the Third Doctor and the original Master together, and the TARDIS control room will look gloriously retro to any fans only used to the new series. This isn’t the best Doctor Who story ever, but it’s good enough.
12. The Keeper of Traken
The Keeper of Traken is a strange story to watch. It’s strange to watch because the character of Tremas becomes the Master at the end of story. This would have been a shock to anyone watching originally, but the fact that Tremas is played by Anthony Ainley – who most Doctor Who fans instantly recognise as the Master – skews the perspective of watching it the first time. Despite this, the story is very likeable. It again has a fairytale quality, and it is a delight of design and scripting. It’s let down by being a bit slow, and the fact that it keeps back the Master – played with relish by Geoffrey Beevers – to the end.
11. Frontier in Space
The first time I watched Frontier in Space properly was when I was sick of school and tucked up in bed. Unfortunately, the combination of good Doctor Who, a warm bed and a nice cup of tea meant I dropped off to sleep during parts five and six, which are the best two. A story that has a great ending, Frontier in Space makes good use of the fact it holds back the secret of the Daleks’ involvement right to the end, and is all the better for it. Though it posits that the future is full of strange head gear and sixties architecture, and the Doctor get captured and escape an awful lot, this is a very fun story and a fitting tribute to the great Roger Delgado, as this was unfortunately made his last story by a fatal car accident.
Join me again tomorrow when I unleash Part 2 on the world, and you’ll get to see what my Number 1 Master story is. I’ll give you clue. It’s not one of the ones that I’ve listed here.
