River has been rescued after her vortex manipulator goes wrong – but should she trust her rescuers?

The cover – and, to be fair, the publicity – for this story gives away that this is the long-awaited return of Eric Roberts to the role of the Master, over two decades since he played the role in Vancouver for the 1996 TV Movie. Eddie Robson comes up with a very clever explanation for his surviving being thrown into the Eye of Harmony at the end of the pilot (which of course is a third version of events – as ever, anything connected to the TV movie is complicated!), and I have to admit that it was only about halfway through this story that I clicked who one of the key characters actually was (even if it did cross my mind that it seemed there was an error in what the character knew!)

Roberts’ Master isn’t as flamboyant as he was in his previous appearance, but we know that he feels that he acts appropriately for any occasion and there are some great moments between him and Alex Kingston’s River. Director Ken Bentley has assembled a strong cast around the pair who handle the various twists not just in the plot but in their characterisation well.

Verdict: A strong reintroduction for one of the often overlooked Masterly incarnations. 9/10

Paul Simpson