The Master gathers his other incarnations together – but Missy’s not best pleased…

Like the Doctor, the character of the Master has certain fundamentals that has applied throughout their various lives. No one has yet done an equivalent of Terrance Dicks’ infamous quote about the Doctor (the “never cruel or cowardly” one) for the Master, although James Goss comes up with some potential qualifiers in the course of this three-hour extravaganza, which sees both TV incarnations and those created by Big Finish have equal footing. It also marks John Simms’ first (and I hope not only) appearance as the 21st Century’s first Master on audio – and he’s given a suitably central role.

Very sensibly, Goss gets the “bring the Masters together” sequence out of the way at the start of the story. Usually with multi-Doctor stories, we see or hear them having their own adventure before they meet their past or future selves; here, it’s where we begin with the differences between them already obvious. For those of us who’ve missed him, it’s great to have Alex Macqueen’s Master get a tidy chunk of the story, and Milo Parker’s young Master makes his mark. Kamelion (and Jon Culshaw) gets well-used, and there’s plenty for Derek Jacobi, Eric Roberts, Mark Gatiss and Geoffrey Beevers to do.

The tone of the story changes dramatically depending on which incarnation is being focused on, which director Ken Bentley brings out well, aided by Joe Kraemer’s score and sound design. It’s very appropriate that it’s Katy Manning who appears as a companion – I laughed out loud at Jo’s first appearance. There’s some madcap elements (well, Missy’s involved, with Michelle Gomez as ever seeming to revel in the role), as well as some rather beautifully bittersweet scenes, as each Master stays true to him or herself.

I’ve not listened to the extras yet, but I suspect this was a nightmare logistically – I know Geoffrey Beevers had recorded his scenes by the end of 2019 – and Ken Bentley and producer David Richardson deserve plaudits for bringing it together.

Verdict: A suitably epic tale to mark one of the most important characters in the show’s history. 9/10

Paul Simpson

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