Masters of War (audio story)

Masters of War
Doctor:	Unbound Doctor
Companion(s):	Alistair
Main enemy:	Quatch
Main setting:	Skaro (Unbound Universe) (Unbound Universe)
Key crew
Publisher:	Big Finish Productions
Writer:	Eddie Robson
Director:	Jason Haigh-Ellery
Producer:	David Richardson
Music:	Martin Johnson
Sound:	Martin Johnson
Cover by:	Alex Mallinson
Release details
Number of parts:	2
Release number:	8
Release date:	1 December 2008
Format:	2 CDs Download
Production code:	DWUN08
ISBN:	ISBN 978-1-84435-331-6 (physical); ISBN 978-1-78575-803-4 (digital)
Doctor Who Unbound
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Masters of War was the eighth and final Doctor Who Unbound audio story produced by Big Finish Productions.

Serving as a sequel to the second Unbound story, Sympathy for the Devil, this story saw David Warner reprising his role as the Unbound Doctor alongside Nicholas Courtney as the Unbound Universe's version of Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart. Also featured in this story was Terry Molloy as the Unbound Universe's Davros, and Nicholas Briggs as the Unbound Universe's Daleks.

Narratively, this story is set centuries after an alternative version of the creation of the Daleks free of the Doctor's presence, in contrast to Genesis of the Daleks' depiction of the creation of the N-Space Daleks. Brief mentions are also made to the Unbound Universe's version of the events of The Daleks, refered to as the 'Great Siege'.

Production-wise, this story was double the length of the previous Unbound stories, being 2 CDs in length, as opposed to 1.

While this was the last story in the Unbound series, the Unbound Doctor would later appear alongside Bernice Summerfield in The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield, starting with the third volume, The Unbound Universe

Publisher's summary

The Doctor and his travelling companion, retired army officer Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart, take a random trip in the TARDIS - and land on the planet Skaro. The Doctor helped the Thals to defeat the Daleks years ago, so he is surprised to find the Thal city under Dalek occupation. He determines to help them again, but what is the Daleks' purpose in keeping the Thals alive? Does it have anything to do with the Daleks' mythical creator, named in their teachings as Davros?

Plot

to be added

Cast

• The Doctor - David Warner
• Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart - Nicholas Courtney
• Davros - Terry Molloy
• The Daleks - Nicholas Briggs
• Nadel - Amy Pemberton
• Gillen - Sarah Douglas
• Delt - Jeremy James
• Toloc - Christopher Heywood

Uncredited

• Quatch - Jeremy James, Jason Haigh-Ellery

References

• The Doctor uses a sonic screwdriver at one point.
• The Brigadier gets food from the TARDIS' food machine.
• The Quatch are from another dimension.
• The Daleks mobilise several saucers to attack the Quatch.
• The Daleks' gunsticks are detachable and can fire independently of the Daleks.
• The Doctor's absence from the creation of the Daleks meant the Daleks abandoned their creator Davros instead of taking the chance to exterminate him.
• Nadel has bipolar disorder.
• The Dalek race has split in half - one group abandoned the search for Davros and went off to conquer the universe while the second group continue to search for Davros. The first group are known as Renegade Daleks. The Doctor is more familiar with those who abandoned the search for Davros.
• The Daleks plan to transform the Thals into Daleks to fight against the Quatch.

Notes

• The Dalek/Thal war being caused by a third alien race, and Daleks being capable of coexisting with the Thals, were elements dropped from Terry Nation's original proposal for TV: The Daleks.
• The Thousand Year War and Davros' history are different (to the proper timeline), most notably that the war was considerably shorter than a thousand years and started closer to the end. The Quatch's involvement - and the Quatch themselves - do not seem to be caused by any difference in the Doctor's timeline.
• This would be the final Big Finish audio drama to feature Davros until AUDIO: The Curse of Davros in January 2012.
• This is the only story in performed Doctor Who to feature both the Brigadier and Davros.
• This story was originally released on CD and download on 1 December 2008. It is now available as a download only.
• This story was recorded on 11 & 12 October 2007 at The Moat Studios.

Continuity

• The Thals remember the Doctor. (TV: The Daleks)
• The Brigadier fought three Daleks on Earth in 1972, an alternative version of the events of TV: Day of the Daleks.

External links

• Official Masters of War page at bigfinish.com

• Masters of War at the Doctor Who Reference Guide
• DisContinuity for Masters of War at Tetrapyriarbus - The DisContinuity Guide