Random Topic Generator: Doctor Who’s Multi-Master Story

I discovered this confirmation quite late. As Stephen Moffatt says, it’s hard to keep things secret when working on Doctor Who, with all the hype generated from fans and the constant peeping from the media, pretty much anything you want to keep secret does eventually get released at some point down the line via one way or another.

One morning, I checked to see if there were any updates, and when I found that John Simm was to return to Doctor Who as the Master in Series 10, I did have a small moment where I genuinely believed it to be a fake story. As I read on, and discovered it to be a real story, my inner nerd started to creep its way to the surface.

Missy and the Master together on screen, now that’s something I definitely want to see. John Simm’s portrayal of the Master was superb. He brought his own version to the character along with the Master’s natural maniacal personality, he instantly became a fan favourite. His last appearance as the Master was in the two-part special, The End of Time. We saw him save the Doctor from the Time Lords, forcing them back to their world. When Matt Smith took over the role as the Doctor, people were wondering when the Master would return, and if so, would John Simm be playing him. Then Peter Capaldi took the reins and we were introduced to this mysterious woman, who was revealed as the female incarnation of the Master, Missy.

Somehow, between The End of Time and the series 8 two-part story, the Master regenerated. It was definitely as surprise, to say the least. However, people were happy with Michelle Gomez’s portrayal. Missy was even more insane compared to the others, and has made multiple appearances across all three series of Capaldi’s run as the Doctor. Now, in series 10, Missy and the Master are to appear together in the very first multi-master storyline in the show’s history, and my inner nerd cannot wait any longer.

If I weren’t looking forward to series 10 then, I most certainly am now. Because of their complete unpredictable nature, it’s hard to predict just how their interaction between the two will be, but I do have faith that Stephen Moffatt will write an excellent script. If he can write a multi-part Doctor story for the 50^th anniversary, it’s hard to imagine him not being able to pull off this challenge.

If he intended or not, Stephen is certainly going to go out with a bang, much the same as Russell T. Davis did with series 4 when he brought all the companions back in the biggest Dalek storyline to date.

Stephen’s last official episode will be this year’s Christmas special, and it will also feature Peter Capaldi leaving the show as well. He will regenerate into someone new, who will take the reins alongside Chris Chibnall who will become the new head-writer of the show.

Series 9 was one of the strongest series so far. Heaven Sent is now considered to be one of, if not, the best episode in its history. I, along with so many other fans have spoken about series 9’s greatness. With having multiple two-part stories, it was easy to really pull you in as you could emphasis precisely what you wanted without having to worry about the time limit too much. I think if Stephen tries to make this series better than the last, it’s not going to work, but if he makes this a standalone series that does its own thing, then it’s going to work just fine, and with the introduction of a new companion, it shouldn’t be hard to make this series the beginning and end of an era.

Although, I do have to admit, with Nardole becoming a full-time companion, when I first discovered that piece of news, I was a little worried the series wouldn’t do that well. Nardole was first introduced in the 2014 Christmas special, The Husbands of River Song, and was essentially the comic relief character. He appeared once again in the 2015 Christmas Special, The Return of Dr. Mysterio, and was once again the comic relief character, but I did enjoy is appearance, however, as a full-time companion throughout the entire series, I just hope he doesn’t become boring and predictable. I’m not saying series 10 is going to be bad, but I do hope Stephen doesn’t mess it up. However, with the multi-master storyline coming up soon, I don’t think I’m going to be worried about Nardole ruining anything.

Despite my worries, I will have to contradict myself and say that it is pointless trying to express an opinion before watching the series, because you’re either going to generate too much hype for yourself and it doesn’t live up to your expectations, or think it’s not going to do that well and miss a truly great series. The first episode starts this Saturday 15^th April 2017. If I am unable to catch it when it goes out live, I most certainly am going to watch it on catch-up.

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)