News The Tenth Doctor faces off against The War Master again for Big Finish

[The Nth Doctor]

Big Finish announced today that David Tennant and Derek Jacobi will reunite in the upcoming War Doctor box set Self-Defence.

David Tennant said: “One of the joys of these Big Finish stories is that any little corner of the Doctor Who universe can be re-explored – and what a treat to get to do a story with Derek! There’s something so vivid in those moments when Derek became the Master on TV. It feels very natural that that character should be expanded and have all these stories to tell because there was so much going on there.”

Scott Handcock added: “Self-Defence has been a thrill to pull together. We have four brilliant scripts from Lou Morgan, Una McCormack, Lizbeth Myles and Lizzie Hopley and an incredible guest cast across the stories – plus the Tenth Doctor himself getting propelled back into the Time War for the box set's conclusion! And given that Derek and David only shared a look as Doctor and Master on screen, it’s great to hear them face off against each other properly – and for the Master to have no idea who this Doctor is!”
​

Which reminds me...I really need to listen to The War Master series. I've only heard his appearance in Gallifrey: Time War and of course he was brilliant.

 

[Timby]

Proofread your thread titles next time.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Unless I'm brainfarting badly, I don't see what's wrong...?

 

[Timewalker]

Unless I'm brainfarting badly, I don't see what's wrong...?

Presumably if they haven't "faced off" once ("sharing a glance" hardly counts), how can they do it "again"?

 

[thribs]

Rather they had him face off against a classic Master. This is just NuWho vs NuWho.

 

[Timewalker]

Rather they had him face off against a classic Master. This is just NuWho vs NuWho.

The Classic Masters were played by Roger Delgado and Anthony Ainley, both of whom have died.

Unless you mean Eric Roberts in the 1996 movie, in which case, NO. Just. No.

(besides which he didn't last past the end of the movie anyway)

 

[thribs]

The Classic Masters were played by Roger Delgado and Anthony Ainley, both of whom have died.

Unless you mean Eric Roberts in the 1996 movie, in which case, NO. Just. No.

(besides which he didn't last past the end of the movie anyway)

You’re forgetting Geoffrey Beevers and Alex McQueen.
There is also James Dreyfus who supposedly plays a Iteration of the Master before Delgado.

 

[Timewalker]

You’re forgetting Geoffrey Beevers and Alex McQueen.
There is also James Dreyfus who supposedly plays a Iteration of the Master before Delgado.

Beevers was in Keeper of Traken, right? The one that stole Nyssa's father's body (played by Anthony Ainley). I don't remember the others.

 

[thribs]

Beevers was in Keeper of Traken, right? The one that stole Nyssa's father's body (played by Anthony Ainley). I don't remember the others.

That’s correct. The others are all Big Finish creations to fill the gaps. They’re still technically classic DW creations.
MacQueen plays a post Eric Robert’s Master who faces off usually against the 8th Doctor. Dreyfus goes up against the first Doctor.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Presumably if they haven't "faced off" once ("sharing a glance" hardly counts), how can they do it "again"?

Well, if that's the case, then that's just silly and nitpicky. They did face off each other, they jus didn't know it until the end. So, yes, I meant "again."

Unless you mean Eric Roberts in the 1996 movie, in which case, NO. Just. No.

Normally, I'd agree but Roberts has done a bunch of Big Finish audios recently and I really enjoyed the one I've listened to so far. I look forward to hearing his other appearances when I get to them.

That said, I'm really looking forward to Tennant and Jacobi acting because they're both amazing actors and I'm very curious to see how The Tenth Doctor reacts to encountering The War Doctor.

 

[Timewalker]

Well, if that's the case, then that's just silly and nitpicky. They did face off each other, they jus didn't know it until the end. So, yes, I meant "again."


Normally, I'd agree but Roberts has done a bunch of Big Finish audios recently and I really enjoyed the one I've listened to so far. I look forward to hearing his other appearances when I get to them.

That said, I'm really looking forward to Tennant and Jacobi acting because they're both amazing actors and I'm very curious to see how The Tenth Doctor reacts to encountering The War Doctor.

Hey, it was Timby's nitpick. Not mine. Since I have never heard any Big Finish stories, I wouldn't have known anything was iffy. I just parsed out your post and realized what he must have meant.

I loathed Eric Roberts as the Master. The American accent grated. The overblown, hammy acting was ludicrous. I had a hard time wrapping my head around this being the same actor who starred in "King of the Gypsies" (a movie I enjoyed).

This Master inspired a filksong: "As the Master Goes Oozing Along."

Was this recorded before John Hurt died? Otherwise, they'll have to have hired someone else to play that part.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Hey, it was Timby's nitpick. Not mine. Since I have never heard any Big Finish stories, I wouldn't have known anything was iffy. I just parsed out your post and realized what he must have meant.

Yeah, sorry, I didn't mean that towards you but entirely towards Timby.

I agree Roberts' original performance as The Master is awful. But like Big Finish has gone a long way in redeeming characters (or at least simply allowing the original actors more room to expand their performances) such as The Sixth Doctor, Mel, and Adric, his performance as The Master in the recent audios are much, much better.

Was this recorded before John Hurt died? Otherwise, they'll have to have hired someone else to play that part.

John Hurt recorded four box sets for a total of 12 of stories before passing away. Big Finish recently recast the role for a young version of The War Doctor and I think the first set either came out recently or is coming out soon.

 

[JaxsBrokenHeart]

It wouldn't surprise me to see Big Finish do a special/series for the 60th Anniversary that mixes up different Doctors and Masters from various eras. Something like:

7th Doctor vs. the War Master
10th Doctor vs. Crispy Master
6th Doctor vs. Missy
8th Doctor vs. Saxton Master
5th Doctor vs. Reborn Master
4th Doctor vs. Movie Master

Maybe a small epilogue scene with the likes of the War Doctor and a certain spoiler character from one of Missy's BF boxsets just to finish things out.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

That would be very cool.

 

[Timby]

Unless I'm brainfarting badly, I don't see what's wrong...?

Your original title read "War Doctor," not Master.

 

[diankra]

Dreyfuss appears to have been cancelled due to his comments on transgender people.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Your original title read "War Doctor," not Master.

It did? I honestly don't remember doing that. I know I edited the main body after I posted but that was it.

Eh, whatever. I often post and then immediately edit.

 

[coryjosb]

l loathed Eric Roberts as the Master. The American accent grated. The overblown, hammy acting was ludicrous. I had a hard time wrapping my head around this being the same actor who starred in "King of the Gypsies" (a movie I enjoyed).

Have always been a fan of Eric Roberts' Master. Suitably campy for the vibe the were going for, even if that vibe wasn't the best idea.

More importantly for audio than television he has a really sexy voice, looking forward to the inevitable Roberts Vs McGann audio they haven't really done yet.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

It occurred to me this morning that if you're going to do a box set of Jacobi and Tennant, one of the stories needs to be about Shakespeare! And the obvious one...

The Daleks decide to take advantage of the Time War to rewrite Shakespeare's history along the lines of the Marlovian theory.

The War Doctor sees an opportunity to rewrite Shakespeare according to the Oxfordian theory instead. (Derek Jacobi is a leading proponent of the theory that the Earl of Oxford was the real writer of Shakespeare's plays.)

The Doctor has no choice but to stop them and keep history flowing along its Stratfordian lines.

Play it as a comedy, and at the end leave it open who actually succeeded! Was Shakespeare Marlowe, or de Vere, or the Stratford man?

 

[matthunter]

It occurred to me this morning that if you're going to do a box set of Jacobi and Tennant, one of the stories needs to be about Shakespeare! And the obvious one...

The Daleks decide to take advantage of the Time War to rewrite Shakespeare's history along the lines of the Marlovian theory.

The War Doctor sees an opportunity to rewrite Shakespeare according to the Oxfordian theory instead. (Derek Jacobi is a leading proponent of the theory that the Earl of Oxford was the real writer of Shakespeare's plays.)

The Doctor has no choice but to stop them and keep history flowing along its Stratfordian lines.

Play it as a comedy, and at the end leave it open who actually succeeded! Was Shakespeare Marlowe, or de Vere, or the Stratford man?

Would be a bit too similar to the Big Finish story Time of the Daleks, though?

The Doctor has always admired the work of William Shakespeare. So he is a little surprised that Charley doesn't hold the galaxy's greatest playwright in the same esteem. In fact, she's never heard of him.

Which the Doctor thinks is quite improbable.

General Mariah Learman, ruling Britain after the Eurowars, is one of Shakespeare's greatest admirers, and is convinced her time machine will enable her to see the plays' original performances.

Which the Doctor believes is extremely unlikely.

The Daleks just want to help. They want Learman to get her time machine working. They want Charley to appreciate the first-ever performance of Julius Caesar. They believe that Shakespeare is the greatest playwright ever to have existed and venerate his memory.

Which the Doctor knows is utterly impossible.