Masterology Part 2 – The Corpse
Gustaff Behr continues the series examining each incarnation of the Master.
This is the part where I’m supposed to do the whole ‘intro’ paragraph thing. The Master. Rival Time Lord. Arch enemy of the Doctor. But you know all that already. Instead, let’s get to the fun stuff. “Masterology” is the study of the Master, focusing in-depth on each of the various incarnations, chronology, aims and a psychological personality deconstruction of the multiple bodies, specifically concerning psychoanalytical, behavioural and social-cognitive perspectives. Sounds fun eh? Let’s continue with…
The Corpse – Peter Pratt & Geoffrey Beevers
After the Master’s final body began to decay and rot, suggesting centuries spent in that single incarnation, the Time Lord underwent a radical change. In clear contrast to his predecessor, this Master could feel death’s hand drawing ever nearer. Whilst before he was both mobile and capable of blending in, now he was forced to hide his involvement until the very last moment. The decrease in mobility/increase in carefulness pointed to a very cautious individual and it showed too in this Master’s plans.
Whereas before he would freely interact with others regardless of how far along his plans were, this Master would spend most of his stories inside his TARDIS closely observing the events taking place outside until the very moment victory was within his grasp. This was not always the case though as the Master was forced to do his own bidding on occasion such as when he assassinated the Lord President.
His priorities shifted during this incarnation. Staying alive was his primary concern, followed by a vengeful desire to kill the Doctor. Extending his life became a desperate obsession, often turning this Master feral when backed into a corner. Universal Conquest was a side-venture that very rarely popped up during this Master’s life. He still regarded the Doctor as a worthy opponent, but considered him more of a burden now.
This Master was usually calm and amused by the responses his opponents gave him. He was in many ways the Batman amongst all the Masters: Meticulous in his schemes, as well as planning for almost every imaginable obstacle and putting in place a counter for it. This ‘crazy-prepared’ attitude proved to be quite formidable to combat on several different occasions. This is particularly evident (and tremendously entertaining) in Trail of the White Worm and The Oseidon Adventure.
This attention to detail also suggests that this Master was vastly more creative and imaginative than his predecessor. Given the nigh-uselessness of his body, it is only natural for this Master to have cast a wide net during his encounters with the Doctor to make up for the obvious disadvantage. This Master also seemed uncomfortable killing people just for the sake of it, citing that he only ever kills when he needs to accomplish some kind of goal and that nothing he ever did ‘is ever pointlessly cruel’. He did however get a particularly sick pleasure when he did kill someone, showing a sadistic amusement not present in his former self.
After facing off with the Fourth Doctor numerous times, the Master cough* regenerated *cough by possessing the body of Nyssa’s father Tremas after obtaining the power of the Keeper.
Join me next time when we examine the Master as portrayed by Anthony Ainley.
