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The initial incarnation of the malevolent Time Lord known as the Master opposed the Doctor and UNIT, mainly in late 20th century England though occasionally in other times and places.
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Personality
This incarnation of the Master was suave and debonair with a sardonic sense of humour. A haughty psychopath, he regarded most beings as his inferiors but had a mutual respect for the Doctor as a worthy opponent and (almost) his intellectual equal. (DW: The Sea Devils)
Biography
- Though formerly friends with him, the Master had, by this time, already sworn enmity against the Doctor.
Prior to the Doctor becoming aware of his presence, the Master infiltrated UNIT's headquarters. Here he learned of the failed Nestene invasion and decided to ally himself with them. (DWM: Reconnaissance)
- The Master appears to have originally intended to proceed directly with his plan to use the Keller Machine, as he spent many months establishing his (and the Keller Process') credentials, and must have brought the mind parasite to Earth with him prior to joining forces with the Nestenes.
The Master then appeared at a circus, his TARDIS materialising in the form of a circus trailer or horse box. He promptly hypnotised the circus troupe to obey his orders, as part of his plan to assist the Nestenes in their latest bid to conquer Earth. A Time Lord emissary alerted the Doctor to his rival's presence on the planet. (DW: Terror of the Autons)
The Doctor stole the dematerialisation circuit of his ship, stranding the Master on Earth. He returned again, using the Keller Machine to try and foment nuclear war (DW: The Mind of Evil); recovered his mobility and brought Axos to Earth, (DW: The Claws of Axos); and used information stolen from the Time Lords to visit an alien world in the future to try to gain control of a doomsday machine (DW: Colony in Space)
In the Wiltshire village of Devil's End, he summoned the Dæmon Azal, to no avail. At the conclusion of this event, UNIT captured him (DW: The Dæmons). Following a trial by Human authorities, the Master was given a sentence of life imprisonment on 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 in preventing an invasion by a fascist version of Earth. (PDA: The Face of the Enemy). The Master quickly gained control over his jailer, George Trenchard, and nearly caused a war between Humans and Sea Devils. He later escaped in the confusion. (DW: The Sea Devils)
Sometime 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 traumatized UNIT soldiers and in particular of Francis Cleary. He also tried to undermine UNIT in the short term. In the long term, he planned to use a time ring and have Cleary go to 1963, prevent the Kennedy assassination and thus alter Earth's history to make it more vulnerable to invasion. The plan failed. (MA: Who Killed Kennedy)
The Master travelled back to ancient Atlantis, confronting the Doctor there, brought forth Kronos, king of the Chronovores, and escaped the destruction that followed in Kronos' wake (DW: The Time Monster). Returning to 1970s Earth, he used time-displaced 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 later worked with the Gaderene race to conquer Earth (PDA: Last of the Gaderene)
He forged a short-lived alliance with the Daleks, acting as their agent to provoke warfare between the Earth Empire and the Draconian Empire in the 26th century. (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 a future Doctor without his even knowing it. (VD: The Duke of Dominoes)
The Master finally went under cover in Earth following the 22nd century Dalek invasion. After being defeated by the Doctor, he eventually Regenerated when exposed to a lethal blast from a Dalek artifact caused by Susan Foreman. (EDA: Legacy of the Daleks)
- For later events in the Master's life, see main article.
Behind the Scenes
Although they played antagonists onscreen, in real life Roger Delgado, who originated the role of the Master, and Jon Pertwee, the Third Doctor, were actually close friends. In interviews and convention Q&A sessions, Pertwee often cited the death of Delgado as one of the factors which led him to give up the role.
His death meant that, on-screen, the feud between the Doctor and the Master never came to any resolution. Originally the Master would have died saving the Doctor's life. The Doctor would have then regenerated. Rumours suggest that the story would have revealed the Master as the evil side of the Doctor's personality, which would have explained why the Master never sought to actually kill the Doctor.
The End of Time later used a similar plot to the Master's rumoured finale, with the Master sacrificing himself to save a regenerating Doctor.
A persistent rumour, not verified by the production team of that era, has said that story would have revealed the Doctor and the Master as brothers. The later story Planet of Fire included a line of dialogue which led to some speculation in this regard. A reference to this occurs much later in The Sound of Drums when Martha Jones tells the Tenth Doctor she thought he and the Master were brothers, to which he dismissively replies, "You watch too much TV".