Keep in mind he just regenerated, and Time Lords generally are a bit strange after they regenerate.
Besides, it’s John Simm, and if you haven’t seen “Life On Mars” you should, he is a kickass actor.
(this was an especially good episode to watch the Dr Who Confidential of, you get to see a lot of info on why both Derek and John are on the show.)
But anyway, still, a million times awesome. I miss the bug chick, she was one of the best doomed minor characters from the whole new series, imo.
Yeah, pretty nasty. And did they ever officially retcon the half-human stuff in the books or audios? As Desslock noted, McGann is “canonized” as of “Human Nature,” so that claim is official now.
And since Jacobi was the Master, doesn’t that officially make Simm the seventh Master? Shouldn’t “Mister Saxon” be “Mr. Evan Estes?” That could make for some interesting casting.
We’ve already seen Simm as the Master, haven’t we? Wasn’t he the guy whispering in Mrs. Jones’ ear in the Dr. Lazarus episode? I thought it was pretty clear even at the time that he was the Master (given the rumors that the Master would be appearing), from the way that he obviously knew who the Doctor was, and was also being careful to keep out of his sight.
I would sure like some juicy information on the Time War. The Master hiding out by turning human makes sense, until you think about it. From the tidibits we’ve been given about the Time War, it was just that…a war. There’s been hints of actual battles being fought, and the Daleks and Time Lords ending up all fighting at once and being blown up by the Doctor. Based on that, The Master should have been able to avoid it by just not showing up to fight. I’m totally willing to believe that there was more to it than that, but it’s not really the impression they’ve been giving.
According to the BBC website:
Among the sounds heard by the troubled Professor Yana are the words and laughter of earlier incarnations of The Master.
The Doctor has now encountered six versions of The Master. The actors who have played him are:
Master No. One - Roger Delgado (1971-73)
Master No. Two - Peter Pratt (1976) and Geoffrey Beevers (1981)
Master No. Three - Anthony Ainley (1981-1989)
Master No. Four - Eric Roberts (1996)
Master No. Five - Sir Derek Jacobi (2007)
Master No. Six - John Simm (2007)For completists, however, Gordon Tipple played ‘The Old Master’ in the 1996 TV Movie, appearing very briefly in the pre-titles sequence and without dialogue. It is possible that he also played Master No. Three.
So while there have been more than six actors, they’re counting by incarnations.
Nope. That was another actor. Though we did see Simm in the latter-season preview at the end of the episode.
Based on that, The Master should have been able to avoid it by just not showing up to fight. I’m totally willing to believe that there was more to it than that, but it’s not really the impression they’ve been giving.
Perhaps the Master would have been “drafted” by the Time Lords and becoming human to hide was his version of fleeing to Canada.
Great, great episode. Love how they actually answered all the Captain Jack questions, and did so in a way that actually made a lot of sense. So great to have Captain Jack out of Torchwood - I really wish he was a permanent companion, and was surprised at how well he interacted with Tenant (and vice versa) without ever meeting previously. Great ending, loved the little soundbites from the previous incarnations of the Master.
Um ok, I haven’t seen any of the third season so far but I must say, Derek Jacobi as The Master is freakin’ bad ass. Awesome bit of casting. Maybe I’ll just skip all the earlier episodes and watch this one.
— Alan
It was a great episode, but it’s only one short scene you’re talking about. Just watch the third season. The first few (ok, 5-6) were fairly poor but come on.
John Simm (of Life on Mars) is the Master, not Derek Jacobi. Jacobi is really only The Master for a few minutes. And there’s definitely a whole wealth of good episodes you’re missing if you just start with this one.
The only episodes so far that are really crappy was the Dalek 2 parter. Everything else imo has been great.
Yes it was. I was watching the scene building and going “Say it! Say it! Say ‘I AM THE MASTER!’”.
And I love the long threads in these recent seasons. First Bad Wolf. Now John Saxon. Good stuff.
…and Torchwood, which was the connecting thread in the second season, starting with the X-mas special.
I forgot to mention the pivotal role of Murray Gold’s music. I don’t know if they’ll release another soundtrack, but if they do, I hope the piece playing during the rocket launch is on it.
Well, to nitpick, Master #2 was actually Master #13, as his body was breaking down at the end of his last regeneration. So assuming Tipple was playing Anthony Ainley’s incarnation, Simm would be Master #17.
But I guess “Mr. Steven Sean Tee” was too much of a mouthful.
What??? Oh. Crap.
I dunno I could have sworn everyone was ragging on the earlier episodes (not in this thread which I usually avoid) saying how meh the entire season was. To voice me thinking, I haven’t been a fan of much of the first two seasons except for a choice few episodes. Large tracks of the first season don’t stand very well with me and aged worse.
— Alan
Aside from The Daleks Take Manhattan, I’ve rather liked this season. Good quality overall with a few standouts. But I still think Season Two was stronger overall, so if you didn’t think much of that…
And I loved season one the most and hated season 2 for the most part. :P
The best episodes, like Girl in the Fireplace and Blink were written by Steven Moffat, who used to write Coupling and is doing the new Jekll show with James Nesbit and Michelle Ryan (the new Bionic Woman).
For those who haven’t liberated it from illegitimate sources, season 3 is coming to SciFi on 7/3. Damn, the time lag between UK and US is getting really short! I’ll tune in so it will get ratings, but I can’t stand the edits that SciFi does. (or the ads!)
Like what? Arbitrary cuts for commercials, or do they actually take stuff out?