After arranging the death of his “nephew” Davros, the Master sets about recreating the Daleks – with a few differences…

The War Master box sets have been very different from each other – and this one has gone down the rabbithole of Doctor Who continuity with a vengeance. I suspect that anyone without a good knowledge of the show’s history, and indeed the ins and outs of the full length version of Genesis of the Daleks (none of your LP-level knowledge for this) is going to get lost in Alan Barnes’ tale. I strongly suspect, given what we know happens later, that this is all going to be wiped from history as just another bubble in the Time War that is self-contained and not contagious.

The level of in-jokes and meta references is off the charts – from the Master’s adopted pseudonym (Sorvad) to the reworking of key moments from Genesis. I must admit that I did enjoy Jacobi’s performance of the infamous final Dalek speech – with its little addendum – but it feels as if this would be more sorted to a comic strip medium (where scenes such as the one between Livia and Narvin as Gallifrey changes instantly make sense).

For those of us who will admit to being steeped in this sort of Doctor Who minutiae, it’s fun listening to the alternate takes, and Jacobi can never fail to be anything less than entertaining, but I’m hoping the arrival of Mark Gatiss’ Master will take things up a level and allow it to be its own thing.

Verdict: If you love your Doctor Who continuity, you’ll be in heaven! 7/10

Paul Simpson

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