The Master and the Master must persuade the Master that the Masterful plan isn’t quite as Masterful as he (the Master) thinks.

On stage at the recent Gallifrey One convention, Big Finish supremo Jason Haigh-Ellery invoked the spirit of the late Craig Hinton (a name that sadly few except me seemed to recognise), calling this box set “fanwank”. And who are we to disagree with him?

There’s no two ways about it, the entire set has been an exercise of the sort of “what-iffery” that many fans adore – but writers Alan Barnes and Nicholas Briggs have dived into it whole-heartedly and if that’s the sort of thing you love then you’ll adore this. Even for those who aren’t loving every carefully crafted reference back to multiple Dalek and Master stories, though, this finale should be pleasing, as the Master finally wins… and has to be persuaded not to, or else everything will end.

Mark Gatiss and Derek Jacobi have great fun as the Master – or in Jacobi’s case, two different versions of his Master at different points in his timeline – and there’s a neat tie-up with an earlier part of the War Master box sets. Inevitably there’s a degree of a reset button involved (dealing with some, if not all, of my earlier reservations) and if ever there was a portion of Doctor Who ‘history’ that allows for some handwavium, it’s the Time War!

The War Master box sets have each been very distinct in tone, and I hope that when the range continues, this will still be the case.

Verdict: An appropriate end for a different sort of story. 8/10

Paul Simpson

Click here to order Anti-Genesis from Big Finish