Eric Robert’s Master! joins the parade of Time Lord villains leading their own corner of the ongoing Dark Gallifrey saga.
The malevolent TV Movie Master made his onscreen stab for survival at the turn of the millennium. Despite that single outing, which aired in 1996, he made an indelible mark on the show with his brutality and sense of occasion.
Reprising the role on audio in 2019, Eric Robert’s insidious villain tussled with River Song, before joining other incarnations for the finale of the Eighth Doctor’s Ravenous series. Since, he’s gone on to appear in Masterful, celebrating the character’s 40th year, and become the star of his own Master! series, where he’s set against Big Finish favourite Vienna Salvatori.
Now, he comes to Dark Gallifrey in the fourth trilogy of stories from this series about Time Lord villains (three of whom have been incarnations of the Master so far…)
Dark Gallifrey: Master!
In her 60th Anniversary audio novel ‘The Box of Terrors’, Lizzie Hopley introduced the villain Mother Quiver in a tale which also took in Omega, a temporal prison and a host of other monstrosities. Here, we learn Mother Quiver’s origin story, digging deep into the concept of Regenerative Dissonance, the ailment which sees previous personalities remain active in a Time Lord mind.
The story works across two time frames. In the present, someone has been hunting down students who took part in a particularly eventful Academy field trip which began with a TARDIS crash in the wilds of Gallifrey.
To explore those past events, we meet Gamara who submits to analysis with a Mind Shield (played by writer Lizzie Hopley) to work through what happened. This involves progression through a 12-step psychological programme to provoke the memories.
Gamara’s fellow students, Olzel, Borrin, Soolinda, Tabreen and Torliss, are a bunch of the Academy’s bright young things – squabbling, clever and none of them particularly appealing. Each with something to prove, handfuls of baggage and plenty of ego. Well, they are Time Lords after all!
As they endure their test, the Vector (aka the Master) sets them tasks and also sets them against one another, digging into their insecurities and provoking reactions. He has a specific agenda which involves manoeuvring them into a certain situation. However, there’s also the mysterious figure of the Doctor, who occasionally appears delivering garbled messages, to contend with. We prompted to ask if he is friend or foe in this instance…
In Summary
Eric Roberts clearly loves this role, and his Master suits the role of arch manipulator. As the Vector, Lizzie Hopely’s story places him in a provocative background role at the start, before coming into his own in the final part. He delivers a terrific line at one point saying that he’d make an unforgettable one-off feature – fortunately, we’ve been treated to much more than that now!
The heart of the story is the relationship between the students, and that is satisfyingly resolved. Director Steven Kavuma marshals a talented young cast, with the standout being Claire Huckle’s Gamara who goes through the emotional wringer in both time zones. However, the final confrontation between the Master and the Doctor felt all too brief, if deliberately referencing a classic encounter. After such a long wait, it would have been nice to have had more of their direct interaction.
Dark Gallifrey: Master! is an absorbing slow burning tale which takes the listener on twists and turns on the way to its revelatory finale. It’s much more of a characterful ensemble piece than the saga’s previous trilogies and could have done with being released as a box set rather than being monthly. There’s so much going on so it’s worth listening to the parts in quick succession.
Dark Gallifrey
This tale contributes a little more to the overall Dark Gallifrey arc, taking place on the alternate planet/realm itself. We find ourselves amid a forest of psychic trees, from where the oh-so-handy paper comes from, but there’s no sense that this Master is after some great power like Morbius was. Reaching the half way point of this saga, we’re still as baffled as ever!
There are four further trilogies to come, across 2026 and 2027, and promises the inclusion of two versions of the (Meddling) Monk alongside who knows which other Time Lord renegades and Doctors?
The Worlds of Doctor Who – Dark Gallifrey: Master! Parts One to Three are available as single-disc collector’s edition CDs (+ download), or as downloads only, from Big Finish.
Catch up on our reviews of the first three Dark Gallifrey trilogies, starring Morbius, The War Master and Missy.