Editing The Master (Doctor Who) (section)

=== Audio plays ===

The Master has made regular appearances in various [[radio drama|audio plays]] produced by [[Big Finish Productions|Big Finish]]. [[Geoffrey Beevers]], [[Derek Jacobi]], [[Michelle Gomez]], [[Eric Roberts]], [[John Simm]] and [[Sacha Dhawan]] have all reprised the role from the television series, while [[Mark Gatiss]], [[Alex Macqueen]], [[Gina McKee]], [[James Dreyfus]] and [[Milo Parker]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/masterful-standard-edition-2198|title=Masterful(standard edition) – Cast|access-date=15 June 2020}}</ref> portray versions of the Master original to Big Finish. [[Jon Culshaw]] has performed as the [[Roger Delgado]] and [[Anthony Ainley]] incarnations of the Master.

The Master appears in the Big Finish Productions ''[[Dust Breeding]]'', where Geoffrey Beevers reprised the role. The story reveals that at some point after ''[[Survival (Doctor Who)|Survival]]'', the Master's Trakenite body is damaged when he attempts to take control of a psychic weapon trapped in the painting ''[[The Scream]]'', which returns him to his walking corpse state once again. He is presented using the alias Mr Seta, another anagram of Master.<ref>{{cite serial |title=[[Dust Breeding]] |series=Doctor Who: Main Range |series-link=List of Doctor Who audio plays by Big Finish#Monthly releases |first=Mike (writer) |last=Tucker |author-link=Mike Tucker (special effects artist) |first2=Gary (director) |last2=Russell |author-link2=Gary Russell |publisher=[[Big Finish Productions]] |date=June 2001 }}</ref>

In ''[[Master (audio drama)|Master]]'', the origin of the Master and the Doctor's enmity is explored. As children, a school bully attempted to drown the Master but was killed by the Doctor in defence. Unable to cope with the guilt and grief, the young Doctor made a deal with [[Personifications of death|Death]] to take away his pain, inadvertently transferring the memories and guilt of the murder to the Master. In the main plot, the [[Seventh Doctor]] ([[Sylvester McCoy]]) has made another deal with Death to remove the Master's memory and let him live in peace for ten years, in exchange for the Master then becoming Death's Champion. Upon learning this, the Master absolves the Doctor of his actions as a child before having his memories restored and becoming Death's servant once again.<ref>{{cite serial |title=[[Master (audio drama)|Master]] |series=Doctor Who: Main Range |series-link=List of Doctor Who audio plays by Big Finish#Monthly releases |first=Joseph (writer) |last=Lidster |author-link=Joseph Lidster |first2=Gary (director) |last2=Russell |author-link2=Gary Russell |publisher=[[Big Finish Productions]] |date=October 2003 }}</ref>

An alternate-universe Master appears in the Big Finish audio play ''[[Sympathy for the Devil (audio drama)|Sympathy for the Devil]]'', voiced by Mark Gatiss, as part of the ''[[Doctor Who Unbound]]'' series. In this version of events, an alternate [[List of actors who have played the Doctor#Audio|Third Doctor]]—now voiced by [[David Warner (actor)|David Warner]]—does not arrive for his exile on Earth until 1997. Without the Doctor's help, [[UNIT (Doctor Who)|UNIT]] was unable to cope with a series of extraterrestrial disasters, and the political landscape of the planet changed drastically. Stranded on Earth, the Master worked as an advisor to the United Nations.<ref>{{cite serial |title=[[Sympathy for the Devil (audio drama)|Sympathy for the Devil]] |series=Doctor Who Unbound |series-link=Doctor Who Unbound |first=Jonathan (writer) |last=Clements |author-link=Jonathan Clements |first2=Gary (director) |last2=Russell |author-link2=Gary Russell |publisher=[[Big Finish Productions]] |date=June 2003 }}</ref> This version of the Master later appears in Big Finish's ''[[Bernice Summerfield#Volume 3: The Unbound Universe (2016)|The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield]]'' range, opposite Warner's Doctor, when [[Bernice Summerfield]] is temporarily pulled into the ''Unbound'' universe. He later escapes to Benny's universe and is recruited by the Daleks to stop a plan by his main universe counterpart that threatens to destroy the universe. Another alternate version of the Master, played by Beevers, appeared opposite Colin Baker's alternate Doctor (known as The Warrior) in the ''[[Doctor Who Unbound]]'' duology—''Doctor of War''.<ref>{{cite serial |title=9. Doctor Who - Unbound: Doctor of War 1: Genesis |series= Doctor Who Unbound |publisher=[[Big Finish Productions]] |date=April 2022}}</ref>

The Master was set to appear in the television story ''The Hollows of Time'', proposed for the show's 23rd season but ultimately never produced. When Big Finish adapted the story for their [[Doctor Who: The Lost Stories|Lost Stories]] range, while [[Colin Baker]] and [[Nicola Bryant]] voiced their original roles as the [[Sixth Doctor]] and [[Peri Brown|Peri]], rights to the Master could not be obtained (and Anthony Ainley had died), so the role of Professor Stream (originally meant as the Master's alias—another anagram) was played by David Garfield and left ambiguous as to his true identity, the story presented as a semi-flashback with the Doctor and Peri's memories distorted so that they cannot clearly recall certain key details.<ref>{{cite serial |title=[[The Hollows of Time]] |series=Doctor Who: The Lost Stories |series-link=Doctor Who: The Lost Stories |first=Christopher H. (writer) |last=Bidmead |author-link=Christopher H. Bidmead |first2=John (director) |last2=Ainsworth |publisher=[[Big Finish Productions]] |date=February 2010 }}</ref>

The Master, played by Geoffrey Beevers, returns in the [[Fourth Doctor]] audio plays ''[[Trail of the White Worm]]'',<ref>{{cite serial |title=[[Trail of the White Worm]] |series=Doctor Who: Fourth Doctor Adventures |series-link=List of Doctor Who audio plays by Big Finish#The Fourth Doctor Adventures |first=Alan (writer) |last=Barnes |author-link=Alan Barnes (writer) |first2=Ken (director) |last2=Bentley |author-link2=Ken Bentley |publisher=[[Big Finish Productions]] |date=May 2012 }}</ref> ''[[The Oseidon Adventure]]'',<ref>{{cite serial |title=[[The Oseidon Adventure]] |series=Doctor Who: Fourth Doctor Adventures |series-link=List of Doctor Who audio plays by Big Finish#The Fourth Doctor Adventures |first=Alan (writer) |last=Barnes |author-link=Alan Barnes (writer) |first2=Ken (director) |last2=Bentley |author-link2=Ken Bentley |publisher=[[Big Finish Productions]] |date=June 2012 }}</ref> ''The Evil One'',<ref>{{cite serial |title=The Evil One |series=Doctor Who: Fourth Doctor Adventures |series-link=List of Doctor Who audio plays by Big Finish#The Fourth Doctor Adventures |first=Nicholas (writer/director) |last=Briggs |author-link=Nicholas Briggs |publisher=[[Big Finish Productions]] |date=April 2014 }}</ref> ''Requiem for the Rocket Men''<ref>{{cite serial |title=Requiem for the Rocket Men |series=Doctor Who: Fourth Doctor Adventures |series-link=List of Doctor Who audio plays by Big Finish#The Fourth Doctor Adventures |first=John (writer) |last=Dorney |author-link=John Dorney |first2=Nicholas (director) |last2=Briggs |author-link2=Nicholas Briggs |publisher=[[Big Finish Productions]] |date=March 2015 }}</ref> and ''Death Match''.<ref>{{cite serial |title=Death Match |series=Doctor Who: Fourth Doctor Adventures |series-link=List of Doctor Who audio plays by Big Finish#The Fourth Doctor Adventures |first=Matt (writer) |last=Fitton |first2=Nicholas (director) |last2=Briggs |author-link2=Nicholas Briggs |publisher=[[Big Finish Productions]] |date=April 2015 }}</ref> Beevers also appears in the fiftieth anniversary story ''[[The Light at the End (Doctor Who audio)|The Light at the End]]'',<ref>{{cite serial |title=[[The Light at the End (Doctor Who audio)|The Light at the End]] |series=Doctor Who: Fiftieth Anniversary |series-link=List of Doctor Who audio plays by Big Finish#Special releases |first=Nicholas (writer/director) |last=Briggs |author-link=Nicholas Briggs |publisher=[[Big Finish Productions]] |date=23 October 2013 }}</ref> where he attempts to erase the Doctor's travels by using an advanced weapon to erase the TARDIS from existence, and in the Companion Chronicle ''[[Mastermind (Doctor Who audio)|Mastermind]]'',<ref>{{cite serial |title=[[Mastermind (Doctor Who audio)|Mastermind]] |series=Doctor Who: Companion Chronicles |series-link=List of Doctor Who audio plays by Big Finish#The Companion Chronicles |first=Jonathan (writer) |last=Morris |author-link=Jonathan Morris (author) |first2=Ken (director) |last2=Bentley |author-link2=Ken Bentley |publisher=[[Big Finish Productions]] |date=July 2013 }}</ref> which looks at how he stole a new body in the early twentieth century after his essence escaped from the Eighth Doctor's TARDIS, and survived by possessing a series of human hosts until he tricked UNIT into helping him regain access to his TARDIS.

[[Alex Macqueen]] plays a new incarnation of the Master – existing after [[Eric Roberts]]' incarnation (and the subsequent corpse form played by Beevers) – in the [[Seventh Doctor]] release ''[[UNIT: Dominion]]'' pretending to be a future version of the Doctor before his true identity is revealed.<ref>{{cite serial |title=[[UNIT Dominion]] |series=Doctor Who: Special Releases |series-link=List of Doctor Who audio plays by Big Finish#Special releases |first=Jason (writer) |last=Arnopp |author-link=Jason Arnopp |first2=Nicholas (writer/director) |last2=Briggs |author-link2=Nicholas Briggs |publisher=[[Big Finish Productions]] |date=October 2012 }}</ref> He goes on to become a recurring antagonist in the [[Eighth Doctor]]'s ''[[List of Doctor Who audio plays by Big Finish#Dark Eyes|Dark Eyes]]'' series where it is explained that the Time Lords resurrected the Master to fight in an approaching conflict, implied to be the [[Time War (Doctor Who)|Time War]].<ref>{{cite serial |title=[[Dark Eyes 2]] |series=Doctor Who: Dark Eyes |series-link=List of Doctor Who audio plays by Big Finish#Dark Eyes |first=Nicholas (writer/director) |last=Briggs |author-link=Nicholas Briggs |first2=Alan |last2=Barnes |author-link2=Alan Barnes (writer) |first3=Matt (writers) |last3=Fitton |publisher=[[Big Finish Productions]] |date=February 2014 }}</ref> The events surrounding the Master's resurrection were depicted in the ''Ravenous'' series five years later.

Chris Finney plays a character named 'Keith Potter' in the story ''The End of the Line'' from the audio anthology ''[[The Sixth Doctor: The Last Adventure]]'', later revealed to be an avatar under the control of the Master.

The Master, played again by Geoffrey Beevers, makes a cameo appearance in series 10 of the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' spin-off ''[[Jago & Litefoot]]'', and later featured as the main villain for the eleventh series.<ref>{{cite serial |title=Jago & Litefoot: Series 11 |series= Jago & litefoot|first= Nigel (writer)|last= Fairs|first2=Lisa (director) |last2=Bowerman |author-link2=Matthew Sweet |publisher=[[Big Finish Productions]] |date=April 2016}}</ref>

To mark forty-five years since the Master's first appearance, Big Finish released a trilogy of stories featuring the Geoffrey Beevers and Alex Macqueen incarnations of the Master in 2016. ''And You Will Obey Me'' features the Beevers Master encountering the [[Fifth Doctor]], while ''Vampire of the Mind'' pits the [[Sixth Doctor]] against Macqueen's Master. In both stories, the two Masters are characterized very differently from their previous appearances. In the final story of the trilogy – ''The Two Masters'' – it is explained that the two Masters swapped bodies after the Macqueen Master went back in time and caused the event that gave the Beevers Master his emaciated corpse form. This results in a universe-destroying paradox fixed by the [[Seventh Doctor]], returning the two Masters to their rightful bodies and erasing their memories of the events.<ref>{{cite serial |title=The Two Masters |series=Doctor Who: Main Range |series-link=List of Doctor Who audio plays by Big Finish#Monthly releases |first=John (writer) |last=Dorney |author-link=John Dorney |first2=Jamie (director) |last2=Anderson |author-link2=Jamie Anderson (producer) |publisher=[[Big Finish Productions]] |date=June 2016 }}</ref>

In December 2017, Derek Jacobi reprised his role as the Master for ''[[The War Master (audio drama series)|The War Master]]'', an ongoing series of audios set during the [[Time War (Doctor Who)|Time War]], having originally appeared in the 2007 episode [[Utopia (Doctor Who)|"Utopia"]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Derek Jacobi Returns As The War Master!|url=http://www.doctorwho.tv/whats-new/article/derek-jacobi-returns-as-the-war-master|website=Doctor Who TV|access-date=16 June 2017|date=16 June 2017|archive-date=18 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170618120001/http://www.doctorwho.tv/whats-new/article/derek-jacobi-returns-as-the-war-master|url-status=dead}}</ref> The first series ends with the Master using a chameleon arch to turn himself into an infant human, setting up the events of "Utopia". Subsequent series occur earlier in the War Master's life and depict him getting involved with various battles in the Time War, sometimes at the behest of the [[Time Lords]] and sometimes for his own ends. [[Mark Gatiss]] made a guest appearance as the alternate-universe Master in series four and [[Paul McGann]] briefly plays the Master in series five. In the tenth volume—''Rogue Encounters''—Jacobi plays Professor Yana, the Master's human alter-ego seen in [[Utopia (Doctor Who)|"Utopia"]]. Jacobi has also appeared as the War Master in several other Big Finish ranges, including ''[[UNIT (audio drama series)#Series 6: Cyber-Reality (2018)|UNIT: Cyber-Reality]]'' and the first volume of ''Gallifrey: Time War''.

James Dreyfus portrays an early incarnation of the Master opposite [[David Bradley (English actor)|David Bradley]] as the First Doctor in ''[[Doctor Who: The First Doctor Adventures]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bigfinish.com/news/v/david-bradley-returns-to-the-tardis-in-doctor-who-the-first-doctor-adventures|title=David Bradley returns to the TARDIS in Doctor Who – The First Doctor Adventures! – News – Big Finish|website=bigfinish.com}}</ref> Dreyfus also appears in the [[Second Doctor]] audio ''The Home Guard'', the Fourth Doctor audio ''Solo'' (in the story "Blood of the Time Lords") and the Seventh Doctor audio ''The Psychic Circus''.

In May 2018, it was announced that the fifth series of ''[[The Diary of River Song]]'' would feature the title character, [[River Song (Doctor Who)|River Song]], encountering four incarnations of the Master. As well as Beevers and Jacobi returning, this release saw [[Eric Roberts]] and [[Michelle Gomez]] make their [[Big Finish Productions|Big Finish]] debuts as their incarnations of the Master.<ref>{{cite web|title=River Song 5|url=https://www.bigfinish.com/news/v/river-song-5|website=Big Finish Productions|access-date=3 May 2018}}</ref> This release explains how the Master (Roberts) was able to escape the Eye of Harmony, stuck in the time vortex until River's intervention enables him to escape back into the universe.

Like Jacobi, Michelle Gomez also performs her incarnation of the Master (renamed Missy) for an ongoing audio series. ''[[Missy (audio drama series)|Missy]]'' premiered in February 2019 and featured [[The Monk (Doctor Who)|The Monk]] played by [[Rufus Hound]].<ref name="MissyVolume1">{{cite web |url=https://www.bigfinish.com/news/v/missy-returns |title=Missy Returns! |publisher=[[Big Finish Productions]] |access-date=19 September 2018}}</ref> The second series introduced a character known as The Lumiat – revealed to be the next incarnation of The Master, the immediate successor to Missy – played by [[Gina McKee]]. It is explained that, after her "poetic" death at the hands of her predecessor, Missy used an Elysian field to rebuild her body at a cellular level, triggering a regeneration. Motivated by her recent attempt at redemption, she used the field to remove all negative aspects of her personality from her reconstructed body and became a benevolent force in the universe, adopting the title Lumiat. Missy encounters the Lumiat trying to undo some of her earlier incarnation's evil deeds. Sickened by her future self, Missy kills the Lumiat and abandons her to regenerate, implying the process might cause them to return to evil. In the third volume, Gomez and Hound were joined by [[Gemma Whelan]] as the [[The Monk (Doctor Who)|Meddling Nun]] – another incarnation of the Monk. A fourth volume was released in May 2024.

Gomez returned for a story in Big Finish's ''[[List of Doctor Who spin off audio plays by Big Finish#The Eighth of March (2019–present)|The Eighth of March]]'' range, which saw Missy stranded in Earth's past and threatening a young [[Amy Pond]] ([[Caitlin Blackwood]]) in a bid to get the Doctor's attention. Marking the 60th anniversary of ''Doctor Who'', Gomez and McKee reprised their roles as Missy and The Lumiat respectively in separate stories of the ''[[List of Doctor Who audio plays by Big Finish#Special Releases (2001–present)|Once and Future]]'' series. Gomez appears in ''The Martian Invasion of Planetoid 50'' and McKee in ''Time Lord Immemorial''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/doctor-who-once-and-future-the-martian-invasion-of-planetoid-50-2778|title=5. Doctor Who: Once and Future: The Martian Invasion of Planetoid 50|website=bigfinish.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/doctor-who-once-and-future-time-lord-immemorial-2779|title=6. Doctor Who: Once and Future: Time Lord Immemorial|website=bigfinish.com}}</ref>

Beevers, Jacobi, Roberts, and Gomez appeared in the fourth volume of the [[Eighth Doctor]] series ''[[Ravenous (audio drama)|Ravenous]]'' in October 2019. In ''Planet of Dust'', the Doctor and his companions encounter the Burnt Master (Beevers) on the planet Parrak, where it is explained that he has once again returned to his emaciated corpse form following his time in the body of Bruce (Roberts) before being killed by the Ravenous. In ''Day of the Master'', the Eighth Doctor encounters the Bruce Master. At the same time, his companions [[Liv Chenka]] and [[Helen Sinclair]] are confronted by the War Master (Jacobi) and Missy (Gomez), respectively, although Helen does not realise that the Time Lady she met is the Master, the Doctor speculating (without meeting Missy himself) that she is actually a new incarnation of the Rani. By the end of the story, the War Master, Missy, and the Bruce Master are sent by the Time Lords to the tomb where the Burnt Master is buried, using technology acquired earlier in the story to grant him a new regeneration cycle and, it is implied, turning him into the Alex Macqueen incarnation of the Master. The story also suggests the Bruce Master has his memory wiped and is flung into the time vortex by his future selves, ultimately leading him back to Parrak in his Burnt Master form to preserve the timeline.

As part of the ''[[List of Doctor Who audio plays by Big Finish#Special Releases (2001–present)|Time Lord Victorious]]'' multi-platform storyline, a pair of [[List of Doctor Who audio plays by Big Finish#Short Trips (2009–present)|Short Trips]] stories introduced the [[Roger Delgado]] and [[Anthony Ainley]] incarnations of the Master to [[Big Finish Productions|Big Finish]] – ''Master Thief'' by Fio Trethewey<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/FioTrethewey/status/1642900762849050631|title=Fio Trethewey ✨🎲🏳️‍⚧️ on Twitter|website=twitter.com}}</ref> and ''Lesser Evils'' by [[Simon Guerrier]] were released in October 2020 with [[Jon Culshaw]] serving as narrator and voicing both incarnations of the Master.

In January 2021, to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Master's first television appearance, Big Finish released ''[[List of Doctor Who audio plays by Big Finish#Special Releases (2001–present)|Masterful]]'', a three-part special written by [[James Goss (producer)|James Goss]] uniting every living television and audio incarnation of the Master (other than [[Sacha Dhawan]] due to licensing). It saw [[John Simm]] reprise his role as the Harold Saxon version of the Master and introduced [[Milo Parker]] as a young incarnation of the Master. Beevers, Gatiss, Jacobi, Macqueen, Roberts, and Gomez all reprised their roles. Gina McKee makes a cameo appearance as the Lumiat and Jon Culshaw voices Kamelion impersonating the Ainley Master. In the story, the Saxon Master has killed the [[Thirteenth Doctor|Doctor]] and taken control of the universe using an entropy wave that has destabilized his body and threatens to destroy the universe. He summons his previous selves in an attempt to steal their lives and heal himself. The intervention of Missy, the alternate-universe Master and [[Jo Grant]] thwarts Saxon's plans and, after discovering that the entropy wave is a sentient manifestation of the Master from the future – their final incarnation, a being of pure rage and insanity – the War Master kills his other incarnations (including himself) to cause a paradox and return the universe to normal. The special edition release included an original audiobook ''Terror of the Master'' written by [[Trevor Baxendale]], narrated by Jon Culshaw and featuring the Delgado Master and the [[Third Doctor]]. This story was given a standalone re-release in March 2023.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bigfinish.com/news/v/the-terror-of-the-master-returns|title=The Terror of the Master Returns!|website=bigfinish.com}}</ref>

Roberts returned as the Master once again in March 2021 for a three-part special release entitled ''[[List of Doctor Who spin off audio plays by Big Finish#Master! (2021–present)|Master!]]'', featuring [[Chase Masterson]] as [[Vienna (audio drama series)|Vienna Salvatore]]. Following the events of ''Ravenous'', the Master is rescued from the vortex by a scientist named Lila Kreeg ([[Laura Aikman]]) – whom the Master had manipulated using a psychic link into freeing him – and steals the identity of a business magnate on twenty-third century Earth. Vienna is hired by the [[Daleks]] to assassinate the Master but, with Kreeg's help, succeeds only in sending the Master back into the time vortex. Masterson and Roberts returned for a second series—''Nemesis Express''—released in October 2022 and a third—''Planet Doom''—in February 2024.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bigfinish.com/news/v/a-big-finish-master-piece|title=A Big Finish Master! Piece! – News – Big Finish|website=bigfinish.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/master-planet-doom-2845|title=3. Master!: Planet Doom|website=bigfinish.com}}</ref>

At Big Finish Day 2022, it was announced that [[Sacha Dhawan]] would reprise the role of The Master from the television series for a new audio series, ''[[List of Doctor Who spin off audio plays by Big Finish#Call Me Master|Call Me Master]]''. The first volume debuted in February 2025.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bigfinish.com/news/v/sacha-dhawan-is-the-master-of-audio-drama|title=Sacha Dhawan is the Master of audio drama|website=bigfinish.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/call-me-master-inner-demons-2670|title=1. Call Me Master: Inner Demons |website=bigfinish.com}}</ref>