The Master: Difference between revisions

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{{Infobox Individual|
{{Notdwu}}
name= The Master|
{{Infobox Individual
image=TheFiveMasters.jpg|
|individual name= The Master  
alias= [[Aliases of the Master|Full list of aliases]]|
|image=Master(CurseOfFatalDeath).jpg  
species= Time Lord|
|alias=  
origin=[[Gallifrey]]|
|species= Time Lord|
appearances= [[The Master - List of Appearances|Full List of Appearances]]|
|origin=[[Gallifrey]]  
actor=  
|appearances= [[DW]]: ''[[The Curse of Fatal Death]]''
}}{{lock}}
|actor= Jonathan Pryce
{{masters}}
}}
{{Dab page|Master (disambiguation)}}
A particularly incompetent version of '''[[the Master]]''' attempted to destroy the [[Ninth Doctor (The Curse of Fatal Death)|Ninth Doctor]] on the [[planet]] [[Tersurus]].
 
'''The Master''', also known as '''Koschei''' and also known by [[Aliases of the Master|various temporary aliases and pseudonyms]], was a [[renegade Time Lord]] who had grown up on [[Gallifrey]] and opposed [[the Doctor]] many times. He threatened the existence of the [[universe]] itself on several occasions. His diabolical madness was (in some part) the result of a [[The Drumming|never-ending drumming sound]] inside his head that was a link retroactively installed by the [[Time Lord]]s on the last day of the [[Time War]] to further their own goals.


== Biography ==
== Biography ==
=== Early life ===
While spying on the Doctor, the Master inadvertently enabled two way communication and unwittingly revealed  his plans to eliminate the Doctor. After the two had arranged to meet on Tersurus, it became apparent  the Master had travelled back in time to bribe a [[Tersuron]] architect to install traps in the castle they were now in. Unbeknownst to him, the Doctor had also done the same, bribing the architect with food to change the traps' details. This led to the Master floundering around the sewers of Tersurus for centuries, after which he was forced to ally himself with the [[Dalek]]s and then used his very own [[tardis]] to travel back to the point just after he fell. Then he threatened the doctor once again with the daleks, as the Daleks were the only life-forms without noses and hence the only creatures willing to work with him.
==== Childhood ====
The Master was originally named Koschei as he grew up on [[Gallifrey]] in the [[House of Oakdown]]. ([[PDA]]: ''[[Divided Loyalties]]'')
 
Despite his childhood being one more a life of duty, ([[DW]]: ''[[The End of Time (TV story)|The End of Time]]'') he had a friendship with the [[First Doctor]]. ([[VG]]: ''[[Destiny of the Doctors]]'') The two youths would play in the fields near Koschei's home which was his father's estates, with pastures of red grass near [[Mount Perdition]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[The End of Time (TV story)|The End of Time]]'') They used to sneak out of the [[Capitol]] and drink with the [[Shobogan]]s. ([[EDA]]: ''[[The Eight Doctors]]'') On one of these outings, Koschei picked a fight with six drunken Shobogans. ([[ST]]: ''[[UNIT Christmas Parties: Christmas Truce]]'')
 
Like most Gallifreyans who became Time Lords, Koschei was taken for his initiation at the age of eight. During the ceremony in which he gazed into the [[Time Vortex]] through the [[Untempered Schism]], Koschei went mad. This manifested by the constant drumming he heard ever after, worsening with time. ([[DW]]: ''[[Utopia (TV story)|Utopia]]'' / ''[[The Sound of Drums]]'' / ''[[Last of the Time Lords]]'') Unknown to Koschei, the drumming had been implanted retroactively into his mind by [[Rassilon]] as a link to later free the Time Lords from the [[time-lock]] imposed upon them. ([[DW]]: ''[[The End of Time (TV story)|The End of Time]]'')
 
[[File:Master 8 years old.jpg|thumb|left|The Master at the age of 8. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Sound of Drums]]'')]]
During their childhood, Koschei and the Doctor had been mercilessly and viciously bullied by a boy called [[Torvic]], the young Doctor being forced to kill the bully to save his friend's life. He was later confronted by the personification of [[Death]] who insisted he become her disciple. The Doctor refused and suggested Death make Koschei her champion, to which she agreed. The Doctor had ever since felt partly responsible for Koschei. ([[BFA]]: ''[[Master (audio story)|Master]]'')
 
==== Youth ====
At the [[Time Lord Academy|Academy]], Koschei joined a clique of young [[Time Lord]]s called [[the Deca]]. The Doctor and other future rivals [[The Rani|Ushas]] and [[The War Chief|Magnus]] also belonged to the Deca. ([[PDA]]: ''[[Divided Loyalties]]'') The Doctor and Koschei were also part of the 'Gallifrey Academy Hot Five', in which Koschei played the drums. ([[PDA]]: ''[[Deadly Reunion]]'') Koschei would also hypnotise people, likely as a joke, but anyone he did hypnotise the Doctor could un-hypnotise. ([[MA]]: ''[[The Dark Path]]'')
 
Whilst at the Academy, the Doctor and Koschei travelled into Gallifrey's past in search of [[Valdemar]]. They found nothing of the Old Ones except for warnings. Koschei was fascinated by the power that Valdemar represented while the Doctor was horrified. ([[PDA]]: ''[[Tomb of Valdemar (novel)|Tomb of Valdemar]]'') At some point, Koschei had a falling out with the Doctor at the Academy as a result of the former not keeping his word about something. ([[PDA]]: ''[[Last of the Gaderene]]'')
 
=== Vendetta against the Doctor ===
 
==== 13th life ====
[[File:DelgadoMaster.jpg|thumb|The Master as he appeared to [[UNIT]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[Terror of the Autons]]'')]]
After the Doctor fled Gallifrey in [[The Doctor's TARDIS|his stolen TARDIS]], Koschei left Gallifrey as well, surprised to find no one chasing him. However, his unstable obsession with order prompted the Time Lords to plant the Time Lady [[Ailla]] as a spy to monitor his actions. She posed as a [[human]] so Koschei would take her on as his companion during a stopover in the [[28th century]].
 
Koschei caught up with the [[Second Doctor]] at the [[Darkheart]] colony in the early years of the [[Federation]]. The temptation posed by the Darkheart device proved too much for Koschei, and the revelation that Ailla was a spy killed the last traces of good in him. After the Doctor trapped him in a [[black hole]], Koschei swore to take revenge. ([[MA]]: ''[[The Dark Path]]'')
 
Before the [[Third Doctor]] became aware of his presence, the Master had in fact been on Earth for some time.
 
The Master was present at the first [[Auton]] [[Black Thursday|invasion of Earth]]. He had apparently seen or heard about [[Channing]] attempt to capture the [[Third Doctor]]. He contacted journalist [[James Stevens]] by phone, whose article he had read in the ''[[Daily Chronicle]]'', and told him about the near-kidnapping. ([[MA]]: ''[[Who Killed Kennedy]]'', [[DW]]: ''[[Spearhead from Space]]'')
 
He later called Stevens again, during the [[Silurian]] attacks on [[Wenley Moor]]. He informed Stevens that [[Edward Masters|Frederick Masters]] had been the first to have died from the plague sweeping London. ([[MA]]: ''[[Who Killed Kennedy]]'', [[DW]]: ''[[Doctor Who and the Silurians]]'')
 
Shorty after the [[Inferno Project]] incident, the Master once more contacted James Stevens, this time to check up on his work on his [[U.N.I.T.]] article. He promptly hang up when Stevens mentioned [[C19]] and [[Glasshouse]]. ([[MA]]: ''[[Who Killed Kennedy]]'')
 
[[File:Reconnaissance.jpg|thumb|left|The Master interrogates [[Liz Shaw]]. ([[DWY]]: ''[[Reconnaissance]]'')]]
He first infiltrated [[UNIT HQ|the headquarters]] of [[UNIT]] while [[the Brigadier]] and the Doctor had gone to meet with government officials. He [[hypnotised]] the Doctor's assistant [[Liz Shaw]] and, through her, learned of recent events, including the recent failed [[Nestene]] invasion and the awakening of the [[Silurian]]s. This inspired him to ally himself with them and to locate any more Silurian colonies. ([[DWY]]: ''[[Reconnaissance]]'')
 
The Master invented the [[Keller Machine]], and spent many months establishing his and it's credentials. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Mind of Evil]]'')
 
The Master had already appeared at a circus, [[the Master's TARDIS|his TARDIS]] in the form of a circus trailer or horse box. He [[hypnosis|hypnotised]] the circus troupe to obey his orders as part of his plan to assist the [[Nestene]]s in their latest bid to conquer Earth. A [[Time Lord Messenger (Terror of the Autons)|Time Lord emissary]] alerted the Doctor to his rival's presence on the planet. After the failure of the Master's plan, he fled. ([[DW]]: ''[[Terror of the Autons]]'')
 
[[File:Master's_Fear.jpg|thumb|The Master experiences his greatest fear. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Mind of Evil]]'')]]
The Doctor stole the [[dematerialisation circuit]] of the Master's TARDIS, stranding him on [[Earth]]. He returned again, posing as the scientist who had "developed" the [[Keller Machine]], in reality a living alien entity. He used prisoners as a plan to hijack a missile containing [[nerve gas]] and use it cause a conflict that would trigger a [[nuclear war]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Mind of Evil]]'')
 
The Master recovered the functioning of his TARDIS and brought [[Axos]] to Earth hoping to ally himself with them. Instead he became the prisoner of Axos and only escaped with the aid of CIA agent [[Bill Filer]]. The Doctor tricked the Master into thinking he was going to betray Earth. Instead, he trapped the Master with Axos in a [[time loop]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Claws of Axos]]'')
 
Posing as an [[Adjudicator]], the Master then visited a [[human]] colony on the [[planet]] [[Uxarieus]] in the year [[2472]]. The stolen Time Lords' records had informed him that here he would find the [[Doomsday Weapon]] created by [[Uxariean|a near-extinct]] native species. The Doctor once more defeated him. ([[DW]]: ''[[Colony in Space]]'')
 
[[File:Daemons title.jpg|thumb|left|The Master during the incident at Devil's End. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Dæmons]]'')]]
In the [[Wiltshire]] village of [[Devil's End]], he summoned the [[Dæmon]] [[Azal]]. At the conclusion of this event, UNIT captured him. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Dæmons]]'') Following a trial by human authorities, the Master was sentenced to life-long imprisonment in a prison on an island designed especially to hold him. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Sea Devils]]'') The government used him as a scapegoat for all the alien attacks that had occurred. ([[MA]]: ''[[Who Killed Kennedy]]'')
 
While in custody, with the Doctor gone to [[Peladon]] ([[DW]]: ''[[The Curse of Peladon]]''), the Master collaborated with UNIT to prevent an invasion by [[Parallel universe (Inferno)|a fascist version of Earth]]. ([[PDA]]: ''[[The Face of the Enemy]]'')
 
Some time during his obvious actions against the Doctor and UNIT, the Master infiltrated the government's Department [[C19]] to a shocking degree. He took control of the [[Glasshouse]], a facility for traumatised UNIT soldiers, and in particular Private [[Francis Cleary]]. He also tried to undermine UNIT in the short term. In the long term, he planned to use a [[time ring]] to have Cleary go to [[1963]] to prevent the [[Kennedy assassination]], thereby altering Earth's history to make it more vulnerable to invasion. The plan failed. ([[MA]]: ''[[Who Killed Kennedy]]'')
 
The Master quickly gained control over his jailer, [[George Trenchard]], and nearly caused a war between [[human]]s and [[Sea Devil]]s, a species related to the Silurians. He later escaped in the confusion. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Sea Devils]]'')
 
The Master travelled to ancient [[Atlantis]] and, confronting the Doctor there, brought forth [[Kronos]], king of the [[Chronovore]]s. Kronos captured him but allowed him to go free. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Time Monster]]'') Returning to [[1970s]] Earth, he used [[time travel|time-displaced]] [[Scotland|Scottish]] warriors to seize a [[nuclear submarine]] and threaten Britain with obliteration if he wasn't given [[the Doctor's TARDIS]]; he ended up temporarily trapped in the [[18th century]]. ([[TVC]]: ''[[The Glen of Sleeping]]'') He also worked with the [[Gaderene]] race to conquer Earth. ([[PDA]]: ''[[Last of the Gaderene]]'')
[[File:Master_(Delgado).jpg|thumb|left|The Master and [[Jo Grant]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[Frontier in Space]]'')]]
 
He forged a short-lived alliance with the [[Dalek]]s, acting as their agent to provoke warfare between the [[Earth Empire]] and the [[Draconian Empire]] in the [[26th century]]. To achieve this, he employed a force of [[Ogron]]s who, through the use of [[hypnosound]], made themselves appear human or Draconion, thus provoking the other side. When the Doctor revealed the true perpetrators, the plot was abandoned. ([[DW]]: ''[[Frontier in Space]]'')


For a short while the Master adopted the identity of Duke Dominus, a gangster on early [[20th century]] Earth, but his plan on this occasion was halted by the [[Fourth Doctor]] without the Master even knowing it. ([[VD]]: ''[[The Duke of Dominoes]]'')
As part of this alliance, the Master had himself "augmented" with Dalek technology, resulting in a more youthful appearance and "Dalek bumps" on his chest. Although he remained adamant they were [[etheric beam locator]]s, the Doctor continually teased the Master because they resembled breasts.


The Master finally went under cover on [[Earth]] following the [[22nd century Dalek invasion]] and killed [[David Campbell]], the husband of the Doctor's granddaughter [[Susan Foreman|Susan]]. After being defeated by the [[Eighth Doctor]], he became deformed when exposed to a lethal blast from a [[Dalek]] artefact, caused by [[Susan Foreman]]. ([[EDA]]: ''[[Legacy of the Daleks]]'')
When he believed the [[Twelfth Doctor (The Curse of Fatal Death)|Twelfth Doctor]] to have been killed by the [[zectronic beam]], the Master renounced his evil ways before the Doctor [[regenerated]] into [[Thirteenth Doctor (The Curse of Fatal Death)|a female form]]. Attracted to each other, the Time Lords walked off, arm in arm. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Curse of Fatal Death]]'')
 
When the [[Time Lord]] [[Chancellor]] [[Goth]] came to Tersurus to investigate the materialisation of an unauthorised [[TARDIS]], ([[EDA]]: ''[[Legacy of the Daleks]]'') he found the Master in a wasted condition, that of a decaying animated corpse. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Deadly Assassin]]'')
 
[[File:DA_Master_close_up.jpg|thumb|The Master whilst on Gallifrey. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Deadly Assassin]]'')]]
The Master made Goth, in line for the position of [[Lord President]] of the [[High Council]] of Time Lords, into his slave. He also took over the mind of [[Solis]], one of the [[Chancellory Guard]]. With a [[telepathic]] summons and a vision of the future created by [[the Matrix]], the Master lured the [[Fourth Doctor]] to [[Gallifrey]] to prevent the murder of the then-serving Lord President. The Doctor failed and ended up on trial for the President's murder. In the mean time, the Master casually killed a guard with his [[Tissue Compression Eliminator]] and left it for the Doctor to find like a grisly calling card.
 
Secretly, the Master had access to [[the Matrix]]. He also had guessed the secret of the [[Eye of Harmony]] and various artefacts left behind by [[Rassilon]]. He realised that the Eye of Harmony, a [[black hole]], resided beneath the [[Panopticon]] and, realising that it had immense power, believed he could use the [[Sash of Rassilon]] to protect himself from the raw power of the Eye and the destruction that unleashing it would cause. He thought that it could channel that energy to renew himself.
 
The Doctor defeated the Master in physical combat and he appeared to have fallen into a crevice created by a localised earthquake. In fact, he had gained access to [[the Master's TARDIS|his TARDIS]], disguised as a [[grandfather clock]], and escaped. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Deadly Assassin]]'')
 
[[File:A New Body At Last.jpg|thumb|left|The Master steals the body of [[Tremas]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Keeper of Traken]]'')]]
 
The Master later encountered the Fourth Doctor again, along with his companion [[Leela]]. ([[BFA]]: ''[[Trail of the White Worm]]'')
 
The Master was drawn to and became stranded on the [[planet]] [[Traken]], the centre of the [[Traken Union]], in a [[TARDIS]] configured into the sculpture-shaped [[Melkur]]. He set about a plan to steal [[the Source]] to restore himself. To this end, over a period of years, he won over [[Kassia]], who later married [[Tremas]] and became a stepmother to [[Nyssa]]. Defeated once more by the [[Fourth Doctor]] and [[Adric]], he took over the body of Tremas. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Keeper of Traken]]'')
 
The Master's thirteenth incarnation degenerated into a decaying corpse-like state after he was exposed to a Dalek superweapon. ([[EDA]]: ''[[Legacy of the Daleks]]'') Being taken to Gallifrey by [[Goth]], he infiltrated Time Lord society to gain a new regenerative cycle using the [[Eye of Harmony]] but was stopped by the [[Fourth Doctor]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Deadly Assassin]]'') At a later point while on [[Traken]], the Master possessed the body of a [[Trakenite]] named [[Tremas]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Keeper of Traken]]'')
 
==== Usurpation ====
[[File:AinleyMaster.jpg|thumb|left|The Master's first non-regenerative metamorphosis. ([[DW]]: ''[[Logopolis (TV story)|Logopolis]]'')]]
After completely possesing Tremas, The Master's [[The Master (Tremas)|first non-regenerative incarnation]] immediately set out on a new career of villainy. ([[DW]]: ''[[Logopolis (TV story)|Logopolis]]'') Eventually, he found himself taken over on the [[Cheetah World]] by a foreign influence and began to lose control and ended up trapped there as his body began to die. ([[DW]]: ''[[Survival]]'')
 
=== New regenerative cycle ===
The Master made a deal with the [[Tzun]] to restore his Time Lord DNA, corrupted by his physical merger with [[Trakenite]] [[Tremas]]. This succeeded and he was able to regenerate into a new body. ([[NA]]: ''[[First Frontier]]'') The Master's body eventually broke down. He stole the [[Loom of Rassilon's Mouse]] to make himself a new body. The plan failed and the Master only escaped by hypnotising [[Kitai]] into posing as a decoy. ([[NA]]: ''[[Happy Endings]]'')
 
The Master later attempted to seize control of a powerful artefact known as the [[Warp Core]]. This plan backfired and due to his exposure to the device, the Master's body reverted to [[The Master (First Frontier)|a state similar to his degenerated form]]. For a while he persisted in trying to acquire the Core. During that time he habitually wore a mask and adopted the alias Mr. Seta. ([[BFA]]: ''[[Dust Breeding]]'')
 
After the [[Seventh Doctor]] made a deal with [[Death]], [[The Master (Dust Breeding)|the Master]] was allowed ten years in a new life as a good man, then he would be killed. The Master was found wandering the streets of [[Perfugium]] with [[amnesia]]. Ten years later the Doctor and Death returned for the Master. Death made a deal with the Master; the Master would be allowed to live if he became Death's servant, to which the Master agreed. ([[BFA]]: ''[[Master (audio story)|Master]]'')
 
=== "Death" and Glory ===
[[File:Gordontipplemaster.jpg|thumb|left|thumb|The Master awaiting his execution at the hands of the Daleks. ([[DW]]: ''[[Doctor Who (1996)|Doctor Who]]'')]]
[[File:The Master (TV Movie).jpg|thumb|right|thumb|The Master after yet another non-regenerative metamorphosis. ([[DW]]: ''[[Doctor Who (1996)|Doctor Who]]'')]]
After he was tried and executed by the [[Dalek]]s on [[Skaro]] as part of a Time Lord-Dalek treaty, the Master's "last wish" was for his remains to be transported to Gallifrey but his essence survived in a fluid-like form that was either a [[morphant]] ([[DWM]]: ''[[The Fallen]]'') or a [[deathworm]] ([[EDA]]: ''[[The Eight Doctors]]'') and sabotaged the Doctor's [[the Doctor's TARDIS|TARDIS]] during the trip which forced it to land on Earth in [[1999]]. His snake-like essence then possessed [[Bruce|an ambulance driver]]'s body to create [[The Master (Bruce)|another non-regenerative incarnation]] which was only intended to be a temporary one as he launched a scheme to steal the [[Eighth Doctor]]'s remaining regenerations. At the end of a battle with the Doctor, the Master fell into the [[Eye of Harmony]] and appeared to be destroyed. ([[DW]]: ''[[Doctor Who (1996)|Doctor Who]]'')
 
However, the Master was rescued from [[the Vortex]] by a being named [[Esterath]], the then-controller of [[the Glory]], the focal point of reality. It would soon be time for the Glory to gain another controller, but the power had to be fought for. The Master assumed the fight would be between himself and his greatest foe. He was mistaken because the true battle was between his companion, Sato, and the Doctor's, the [[Cyberman (Mondas)|Cyberman]] [[Kroton (Throwback: The Soul of a Cyberman)|Kroton]]. Kroton was the victor. Amongst his first acts as controller of the Glory were to cleanse the TARDIS of the Master's influence, and to banish the Master somewhere that he could not escape. The Master declared he would survive and return. ([[DWM]]: ''[[The Glorious Dead]]'')
 
Imprisoned inside the Doctor's [[the Doctor's TARDIS|TARDIS]], the Master offered the [[Eighth Doctor]] advice through a portrait, a mirror and later the [[Eye of Harmony]]. ([[EDA]]: ''[[Sometime Never...]]'', ''[[The Deadstone Memorial]]'', ''[[The Gallifrey Chronicles (novel)|The Gallifrey Chronicles]]'')
 
The Master escaped the Doctor's TARDIS through the [[Eye of Harmony]] by influencing the dreams of [[Edward Grainger]] in order to be freed from the sealed Eye. The Master was now just a being of energy that could travel through the air. After escaping he managed to evade the Doctor's detection on [[Earth]] and possessed the body of a [[human]] native named [[Richard (Prologue)|Richard]] in [[1906]]. ([[ST]]: ''[[Forgotten]]'')
 
Later, [[Man with the Rosette|the Master]] visited the [[Eighth Doctor]] on Earth during the attack of the [[Babewyns]] in the late [[18th century]]. While there he attended the Doctor's wedding and attempted to explain the Doctor's past to him and the fate of the Time Lords. The Doctor was suffering from amnesia at the time but still knew who the Master was. ([[EDA]]: ''[[The Adventuress of Henrietta Street]]'')
 
=== Return ===
[[File:TheMaster(Yana).jpg|thumb|The Master soon after he opened the [[chameleon arch]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[Utopia (TV story)|Utopia]]'')]] In the [[Last Great Time War]], the Time Lords themselves resurrected the Master back from oblivion to use him in defence of Gallifrey. He deserted the instant the [[Dalek Emperor]] took control of the [[Cruciform]] as the sheer scale of the conflict seemed to frighten even him. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Sound of Drums]]'')
 
He fled to the end of the [[universe]] and used a [[Chameleon Arch]] to become [[human]], eventually growing into the elderly [[Professor Yana]]. [[Martha Jones]], who had travelled to this time with the [[Tenth Doctor]], recognised Yana's fob watch as a Chameleon Arch and unintentionally prompted Yana to open it. The Master [[The Master (Yana)|returned into his old identity]] and attacked his [[Chantho|assistant]], killing her even as she shot him in the chest with a laser gun. Fatally wounded, the Master regenerated into [[The Master (Harold Saxon)|a younger incarnation]] and escaped to [[2000s]] Earth in the Doctor's [[the Doctor's TARDIS|TARDIS]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[Utopia (TV story)|Utopia]]'')
 
[[File:14k.jpg|thumb|left|The Master with his laser screwdriver. ([[DW]]: ''[[Last of the Time Lords]]'')]]
There he assumed the identity of [[Harold Saxon]] and won the election for [[Prime Minister]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Sound of Drums]]'') The Master took the [[Tenth Doctor]] prisoner and [[The Year That Never Was|took over the Earth]] with the help of the [[Toclafane]] and a [[paradox machine]] he had made from the TARDIS. This timeline was reverted when [[Jack Harkness]] destroyed the paradox machine. As the Doctor took him into custody, the Master was shot by his [[Lucy Saxon|wife]], and collapsed in the Doctor's arms. The Master refused to regenerate as his final victory over the Doctor, refusing to be imprisoned in the TARDIS for the rest of his life. The Doctor burned his body on a funeral pyre, but a mysterious figure retrieved the Master's [[the Master's ring|ring]] from the ashes. ([[DW]]: ''[[Last of the Time Lords]]'')
 
=== Resurrection and redemption ===
[[File:Resarection.PNG|thumb|The Master's resurrection. ([[DW]]: ''[[The End of Time (TV story)|The End of Time]]'')]]
 
After being resurrected by [[Disciples of Saxon|his disciples]], the Master rewrote the [[Immortality Gate]] to change all humans into [[The Master Race|his image]]. Having total control over Earth, the Master brought the Time Lords and Gallifrey back into the [[Universe]] using a [[White-Point Star]]. After learning that [[Rassilon|the Lord President]] had put the sound of drums in his head, he used the last of his life-force to disable the President and the Time Lords. Gallifrey, the Time Lords and the Master were thrust back to the [[Last Great Time War]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[The End of Time (TV story)|The End of Time]]'')
 
== Other information ==
 
=== Companions ===
Unlike the Doctor, the Master usually worked and travelled alone. On rare occasion, he was seen with companions. Examples included [[Ailla]] the [[Time Lord]] spy ([[MA]]: ''[[The Dark Path]]''), [[Chang Lee]], a young [[human]] whom the Master met in [[San Francisco]] ([[DW]]: ''[[Doctor Who (1996)|Doctor Who]]''); [[Katsura Sato]], an immortal [[Japanese]] [[Samurai]] who helped the Master in his quest for Glory; [[Chantho]], a female assistant and companion to the Master in his Professor Yana identity (although both of them were unaware of "Yana"'s true nature for most of that time) ([[DW]]: ''[[Utopia (TV story)|Utopia]]''); and [[Lucy Saxon]], his wife, who was described as having travelled with the Master in the TARDIS in the same fashion as the Doctor and his companions. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Sound of Drums]]''/''[[Last of the Time Lords]]'') [[The Rani]] may have also travelled with the Master when they were trapped together. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Mark of the Rani]]'')
 
=== Imitators ===
The Master has at least one (rather pathetic) imitator. This was [[The Mentor (Death to the Doctor!)|the Mentor]]. ([[DWM]]: ''[[Death to the Doctor!]]'')
 
== Other versions of the Master ==
* After graduating from the Time Lord Academy, the Master, then called Koschei, was a [[The Magistrate|Magistrate]] for the [[High Council]]. Over time his devotion to justice and discipline devolved into an obsession with order which marked the beginning of his descent into darkness ([[PDA]]: ''[[The Infinity Doctors]]'')
:''We do not know if this event occurred before the Master had left Gallifrey, in an alternative timeline or after he had reformed and returned to Gallifrey.''
* In a universe where the Third Doctor was exiled to Earth in 1997 by mistake, [[The Master (Unbound)|the Master]] was stranded on Earth in the 1970s, his TARDIS "placed beyond my reach". He allied with [[China]] under the alias Ke Le, creating the brainwashed Ke Le Divisions using alien parasites. He was bitter about being stuck on Earth and having to live through horrific crises that the Doctor wasn't turning up to stop. ([[BFDWU]]: ''[[Sympathy for the Devil]]'')
* While helping UNIT stop an invasion from [[Parallel universe (Inferno)|a parallel universe]], the Master met that universe's version of himself, still using the name [[Koschei (The Face of the Enemy)|Koschei]], imprisoned and tortured by order of the Leader of the [[Republic of Great Britain]], that reality's version of the Doctor. The Master killed his other self, claiming that it was an act of mercy. ([[PDA]]: ''[[The Face of the Enemy]]'')
* In an alternate timeline, a version of the [[The Master (Scream of the Shalka)|Master]] existed as an android companion to the [[Ninth Doctor (Scream of the Shalka)|Doctor]]. ([[WC]]: ''[[Scream of the Shalka (webcast)|Scream of the Shalka]]'')
* In an alternate timeline, a version of the [[The Master (The Curse of Fatal Death)|Master]] attempted to stop the [[Ninth Doctor (The Curse of Fatal Death)|Doctor]] from settling down with his companion [[Emma (The Curse of Fatal Death)|Emma]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Curse of Fatal Death]]'')
 
== Personality ==
 
The Master was the polar opposite of the Doctor in almost every respect. Though he retained a brilliant Time Lord mind and all of the Doctor's wit and cunning, he possesses two fatal character flaws - he was arrogant and exceptionally vain, which invariably always led to his downfall.
 
[[File:Rage.jpg|left|thumb|[[The Master (UNIT years)|The Master]] showing an understanding of his personality. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Time Monster]]'')]]
The Master's [[The Master (UNIT years)|thirteenth incarnation]] was suave and debonair with a sardonic sense of humour. Being a haughty psychopath, he regarded most beings as his inferiors but had a mutual respect for the Doctor as a worthy opponent and his (almost) intellectual equal. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Sea Devils]]'') But following his degeneration, he became less charming and witty and was mainly preoccupied with finding a way to [[Regeneration|regenerate]] and his vengeful and vindictive side was at its most apparent while he was in his degenerated state. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Deadly Assassin]]'', ''[[The Keeper of Traken]]'')
 
[[File:Master five doctors.jpg|thumb|right|[[The Master (Tremas)|The Master]] listens with pleasure as he is told by [[Borusa]] how evil he is. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Five Doctors (TV story)|The Five Doctors]]'')]]
The Master's [[The Master (Tremas)|fourteenth incarnation]] was charismatic, deadly and sophisticated but decidedly more flamboyantly evil, bombastic and futile but was prone to laughing maniacally and reciting lengthy and verbose speeches accompanied by melodramatic gestures and poses yet was possibly more dangerous. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Five Doctors (TV story)|The Five Doctors]]'')
 
The Master's [[The Master (Bruce)|fifteenth incarnation]] retained his propensity for "camp" villainy yet was capable of terrifying rage. ([[DW]]: ''[[Doctor Who (1996)|Doctor Who]]'')
 
The Master's [[The Master (Yana)|sixteenth incarnation]] was a cross between his thirteenth and fourteenth incarnations after he reverted out from his [[Yana|human persona]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[Utopia (TV story)|Utopia]]'')
 
[[File:Master firing laser screwdriver.jpg|thumb|left|[[The Master (Harold Saxon)|The Master]] with his [[laser screwdriver]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[Last of the Time Lords]]'')]]
[[File:Power unlimited Power.PNG|thumb|right|[[The Master (Harold Saxon)|The Master]] shows off his power. ([[DW]]: ''[[The End of Time (TV story)|The End of Time]]'')]]
The Master's [[The Master (Harold Saxon)|seventeenth incarnation]] appeared to be more insane than ever by regressing to an almost child-like spitefulness and obliviousness. He was more obviously insane, more strongly troubled by the sound of drums which had been building in his mind since he was eight years old. ([[DW]]: ''[[Utopia (TV story)|Utopia]]'', ''[[The Sound of Drums]]'', ''[[Last of the Time Lords]]'' and ''[[The End of Time (TV story)|The End of Time]]'')


== Behind the scenes ==
== Behind the scenes ==
=== Name ===
* He has been called '''"The 17th Master"''' by some fans, based upon a behind-the-scenes featurette on the making of the spoof. In the special itself he is not referred to as anything but the Master.
The name " Koschei" has been developed in various novels and other media, and does not appear in the TV series. The Master's real name has yet to appear in an episode of ''[[Doctor Who]]''.
 
Koschei (rus.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koschei Коще́й] or Коще́й Бессме́ртный, "Koschei The Deathless") is an antagonist in Russian folklore. He is an immortal who hides his soul inside a needle, which is inside an egg, in a duck, inside a hare, in an iron chest which is buried under a tree on the island of Buyan. As long as his soul is safe, he cannot die.
 
=== Character conception and development ===
When conceiving the character, the production team had originally considered the idea of the Doctor having a female arch-nemesis rather than male one (this idea was later revived with the creation of [[the Rani]]). Later, they thought of the Master as the evil half of a single personality. The Master's name was dreamed up as another counterpart to the Doctor's — like that of his enemy, "Master" is an academic title.
 
In the [[Third Doctor]]'s [[The Final Game|original final episode concept]], [[The Master (UNIT years)|the first major incarnation of the Master]] would have redeemed himself and given his life to save the Doctor, after which the Doctor would have [[Regeneration|regenerated]]; however, this story was never developed due to the accidental death of [[Roger Delgado]]. Over thirty years later, this idea would be reused in ''[[The End of Time (TV story)|The End of Time]]'' with [[The Master (Harold Saxon)|the sixth major incarnation of the Master]] sacrificing himself to save the [[Tenth Doctor]] from [[Rassilon]].
 
In ''[[The Deadly Assassin]]'', writer (and then [[Script Editor]]) [[Robert Holmes]] deliberately chose to show the Master in a "transitional" form in case future production teams wanted to bring back the character. This transitional form was used in ''[[The Keeper of Traken]]''.
 
=== How many Masters? ===
It has never been firmly established on screen how many incarnations of the Master have existed. The last "count" that was available occurred in [[DW]]: ''[[The Deadly Assassin]]'' in which the Master is said to be near the end of his thirteenth and final life (it was this serial that established the thirteen-life limit for Time Lords). Afterwards, in [[DW]]: ''[[The Keeper of Traken]]'', this same incarnation (albeit played by a different actor) takes over [[Tremas]]' body and this incarnation, notionally his fourteenth, went on to plague the Doctor for the remainder of the original series. The 2010 edition of [[REF]]: ''[[Doctor Who: The Visual Dictionary]]'' indicated that the Master played by [[John Simm]] from [[DW]]: ''[[Utopia (TV story)|Utopia]]'' onwards was the seventeenth. This would suggest the Gordon Tipple version of the Master is supposed to be the Ainley Master, with the remaining count incorporating the Eric Roberts and Derek Jacobi versions of the character. Whether or not the resurrected Master of [[DW]]: ''[[The End of Time (TV story)|The End of Time]]'' counts as an eighteenth incarnation (since he states several times that he is ''not'' the same man as the "[[Harold Saxon]]" Master) is unclear. As far as on-screen canon, it's unknown whether the Master might have had other incarnations during the [[Last Great Time War]] or between the Roger Delgado Master and the thirteenth incarnation (if they are different Masters).
 
=== Casting ===
:''Apart from the incarnations below, other incarnations of the Master have appeared in novels and comics.''
 
==== Television appearances ====
 
===== Classic series ([[1971]]-1973, 1976, 1981-1986, 1989) =====
* [[Roger Delgado]] as [[The Master (UNIT years)|the first version of the character]] to appear on ''[[Doctor Who]]''. He first appeared in the role in [[1971]]'s ''[[Terror of the Autons]]'' and was last seen in [[Frontier in Space|''Frontier in Space'']].
* [[Peter Pratt]] and [[Geoffrey Beevers]] as [[The Master (UNIT years)|a decaying version of the first version to appear]]. They appeared in ''[[The Deadly Assassin]]'' and ''[[The Keeper of Traken]]'', respectively.
* [[Anthony Ainley]] as [[The Master (Tremas)|The Master in the body of Tremas]] from the last moments of ''[[The Keeper of Traken]]'' through the last original series story ''[[Survival]]'', also returning for the 1997 video game [[Destiny of the Doctors]], making him the longest running actor to portray the Master up to the present day. Note that the character had several extended absences from the series.
 
===== TV Movie ([[1996]]) =====
* [[Eric Roberts]] played the Master in the body of [[Bruce]], in ''[[Doctor Who (1996)|Doctor Who]]''.
* In the same production, [[Gordon Tipple]] appeared in a non-speaking role as the Master's previous incarnation being executed in the pre-credits sequence.
 
===== New series ([[2007]], [[2009]] & [[2010]]) =====
* [[Derek Jacobi]] played [[Professor Yana]], a [[human]] version of the Master, as well as the Master himself once he reverted to a Time Lord.
* [[John Simm]] played the Master's next incarnation, initially taking the name [[Harold Saxon]]. Both Jacobi and Simm debuted as the Master in ''[[Utopia (TV story)|Utopia]]'', though only Simm appeared in the following episodes ''[[The Sound of Drums]]'' and ''[[Last of the Time Lords]]''. He returned in ''[[The End of Time (TV story)|The End of Time]]'', during which the character renounced the Saxon name — not surprisingly considering the world had witnessed his death at the hands of his [[Lucy Saxon|wife]] — and chose to be called, simply, the Master.
* [[William Hughes]] had a non-speaking cameo as the young Master during a flashback sequence in ''The Sound of Drums'' which was later reused in ''The End of Time''.
 
==== Other media ====
===== Animation =====
* Derek Jacobi also played [[The Master (Scream of the Shalka)|another incarnation of the Master]] in the web-based animation ''[[Scream of the Shalka (webcast)|Scream of the Shalka]]''.
 
===== Audio =====
* [[Geoffrey Beevers]] reprised the role in the audio plays ''[[Dust Breeding]]'' and ''[[Master (audio story)|Master]]''.
* [[Mark Gatiss]] played an [[The Master (Unbound)|alternative version of the character]] in ''[[Sympathy for the Devil]]''.
 
===== Video game =====
* Anthony Ainley reprised the role in videotaped scenes included in the game ''[[Destiny of the Doctors]]''. These sequences appear as extras on the DVD version of ''[[Survival]]'', his last television story.
 
=== Continuity ===
* ''[[The Doctor Who Role Playing Game]]'' from the American gaming company [[FASA]] identified [[the Monk]] and [[the War Chief]] as earlier incarnations of the Master, causing a few fans to mistakenly believe that ''[[Doctor Who]]'' itself had stated a connection, when it had not done so. Novel and comic continuity specifically indicates otherwise.
* The [[Big Finish Productions]] audio play ''[[Master (audio story)|Master]]'' and the television episode ''[[The Sound of Drums]]'' have the Doctor telling two different and apparently contradictory explanations for how the Master turned evil (Although it may be that both the schism and the deal with Death were responsible, with the deal with Death making the Master's madness more powerful).
 
=== Anagrams ===
During [[Anthony Ainley]]'s tenure as the Master, [[pseudonym]]s made from anagrams of the actor's name were often used in the credits for the Master's disguises, such as Neil Toynay for [[the Portreeve]] in [[DW]]: ''[[Castrovalva (TV story)|Castrovalva]]''. [[Tremas]] is itself an anagram of Master.
 
At the same time, in [[Series 3 (Doctor Who)|Series 3]] (season 29), the Master takes on two new identities, Professor Yana in [[DW]]: ''[[Utopia (TV story)|Utopia]]'', and Mr. Harold Saxon in [[DW]]: ''[[The Sound of Drums]]'' and [[DW]]: ''[[Last of the Time Lords]]''. As it happens, "Mister Saxon" is a possible, albeit an unintentional anagram of "Master No. Six" as "Sam Tyler" (John Simm's ''[[Wikipedia:Life on Mars (TV series)|Life on Mars]]'' character) is an anagram of "masterly". Yana is an intentional acronym of ''''Y'''ou '''A'''re '''N'''ot '''A'''lone, the final words of the Face of Boe, which led the Doctor to discover that Yana was a Time Lord.
 
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Revision as of 14:52, 24 August 2012

This subject is not a valid source for writing our in-universe articles, and may only be referenced in behind the scenes sections or other invalid-tagged articles.

A particularly incompetent version of the Master attempted to destroy the Ninth Doctor on the planet Tersurus.

Biography

While spying on the Doctor, the Master inadvertently enabled two way communication and unwittingly revealed his plans to eliminate the Doctor. After the two had arranged to meet on Tersurus, it became apparent the Master had travelled back in time to bribe a Tersuron architect to install traps in the castle they were now in. Unbeknownst to him, the Doctor had also done the same, bribing the architect with food to change the traps' details. This led to the Master floundering around the sewers of Tersurus for centuries, after which he was forced to ally himself with the Daleks and then used his very own tardis to travel back to the point just after he fell. Then he threatened the doctor once again with the daleks, as the Daleks were the only life-forms without noses and hence the only creatures willing to work with him.

As part of this alliance, the Master had himself "augmented" with Dalek technology, resulting in a more youthful appearance and "Dalek bumps" on his chest. Although he remained adamant they were etheric beam locators, the Doctor continually teased the Master because they resembled breasts.

When he believed the Twelfth Doctor to have been killed by the zectronic beam, the Master renounced his evil ways before the Doctor regenerated into a female form. Attracted to each other, the Time Lords walked off, arm in arm. (DW: The Curse of Fatal Death)

Behind the scenes

  • He has been called "The 17th Master" by some fans, based upon a behind-the-scenes featurette on the making of the spoof. In the special itself he is not referred to as anything but the Master.
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