Monday, January 1, 2024

WILL WE EVER SEE THE INCARNATIONS BEFORE DELGADO?



When Roger Delgado joined ‘Doctor Who’ on a recurring basis as the Master, he was in the last incarnation provided him by the built-in restrictions of regeneration.  After that, his mummified yet living self took over a humanoid alien named Tremas and eventually exterminated by the Daleks.  The Doctor was able to secure the Master’s ashes and was bringing them back to Gallifrey, but the spirit of the Master was still powerful, mostly fueled by hate and anger.  It took over the body of a human in San Francisco before eventually being defeated by the Doctor yet again.  (That time by the Eighth Incarnation.

So desperate to triumph was the Ruling Council of Gallifrey in the Time War with the Daleks, that they granted a new cycle of regenerations to the Master in order to secure his alliance.  Instead, he fled to the farthest distance of Time and Space to hide.  There he took the name Yana.  He eventually remembered who he was, but was only able to revel in his villainy for about five minutes before he was forced to regenerate.  That time as Prime Minister Harold Saxon back in the 21st Century.

Although he finally did die, his followers resurrected him to once again attempt to take over the Earth.  Eventually he became a she and “Missy” could have found something of a rehabilitation, but once again the “Saxon Master” resurfaced, which led to both their deaths.

I like to think that when Sacha Dhawan arrived on the scene as the Master, he was one of the original incarnations who preceded Delgado.  That would still leave ten incarnations we need to see.      

If the show wants to live up to the standard set by Steven Moffat in its depiction of Time as being a wibbly-wobbly ball instead of always being linear, we need to see past incarnations of the Master appear in the current timeline for the Doctor (now in his fifteenth incarnation.

So I’m putting this out to you – who would you like to see playing those former incarnations of the Master?  Send me your casting suggestions!*

Here are a few whom I would like to see as the Master:
  • Adrian Lester
  • Judi Dench
  • Billy Boyd
  • Benedict Cumberbatch
  • James Lance
  • Nonso Anozie
  • Cillian Murphy
  • Laurence Fox
  • Emma Thompson
As you can see, for the most part, I favor the cold, calculating and reserved villain type.  I’ve had enough of maniacal madman supplied by Sacha Dhawan and John Simm.
So let me know whom you would like to see!


*Treat it as though you really were casting the part of the Master; don’t send me theoretical suggestions which could never have happened because the actor you’re espousing is pushing up daisies!  So no Laurence Olivier or Peter O’Toole or Ronnie Corbett! 

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