Celebrating the Master!

This weekend marks the sixth anniversary of the return of the Master in Utopia. The charismatic villain first appeared in 1971 in Terror of the Autons, immediately establishing himself as a worthy opponent. He was merciless, highly intelligent and willing to use futuristic firepower whenever he felt threatened, shrinking victims with his lethal ‘tissue compression eliminator’. But he was also charming and his dry sense of humour could raise a smile in the direst circumstances.

More interesting, perhaps, was the strange friendship the Master shared with the Doctor. In The Sea Devils, despite all his fellow Time Lord’s crimes, the Doctor feels sympathy for the Master when he’s cooped up in prison and even asks if there’s anything he can do to make his sentence more bearable. And the Master had an undoubted soft spot for his old adversary, remarking on one occasion, ‘A cosmos without the Doctor scarcely bears thinking about…’

We saw the Master in many forms from a suave-looking humanoid to a snake-like creature that was able to take over another body for his own nefarious ends. The Eighth Doctor branded this version of the Master ‘pure evil’ and was able to prevent him destroying Earth before he vanished… The next time the Doctor encountered him his nemesis was in the guise of Professor Yana on the planet Malcassairo. In this episode, Utopia, he resembled a kindly old scientist - a disguise that was so good even he didn’t realise he was the Master until his true personality was unleashed, at which point he killed his faithful assistant and stole the TARDIS, triggering a whole new round of battles with the Doctor…

This week we’re celebrating the Master with new galleries, clips and much more, so be sure to some back to find out more about the criminal that even his own people described as ‘one of the most evil and corrupt beings our Time Lord race ever produced!’ Here’s to the Master!