Doctor Who: The Second Doctor will meet the First Master later this year!
By James Aggas
Later this year, the Second Doctor will meet the Master for the first time in the Doctor Who audio, The Home Guard!
I’ve been waiting for this news for a long time now. On Christmas Day 2017, the same day that David Bradley guest-starred in Doctor Who as the First Doctor in Twice Upon a Time, he also played the same role in the first volume of The First Doctor Adventures. Using the same cast that had played the actors of the original TARDIS team in An Adventure in Space and Time, it was a very strong set of stories.
But David Bradley playing the First Doctor on audio wasn’t the only thing that was special about this box set. The first story in the set, The Destination Wars, introduced James Dreyfus as the first chronological incarnation of the Master.
It was an excellent debut for the character, in more ways than one. Not only did Dreyfus give a very strong performance for the Doctor’s greatest enemy. It was also clearly their first meeting since they both left Gallifrey. As such, it genuinely feels like a retroactive “introduction story” to the character.
Since then, we’ve been waiting for news of more stories featuring this intriguing early incarnation, but alas, the only thing we knew was that Dreyfus had already recorded in the role twice before Destination Wars. But no details were given on when those stories would be released, or even in what ranges.
James Dreyfus first appeared as the Master in The First Doctor Adventures. What can we expect from his next story, The Home Guard?
(Image credit: Doctor Who/Big Finish Productions.
Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)
The Home Guard
Thankfully, we finally got some news on one of the stories today. Details have been revealed for this year’s season of The Early Adventures – a range that aims to recapture the eras of both the First and Second Doctors. Specifically, we have details for The Home Guard, a story that’s currently due out in November:
"It’s the middle of the Second World War and Ben Jackson has returned to visit his married friends Polly and Jamie in their quiet English village. But they can’t quite shake the feeling that something’s not right…"
As you’ve probably guessed, this story will feature James Dreyfus’s Master against the Second Doctor, played in this range by Frazer Hines, who also voices his original role of Jamie McCrimmon.
Naturally, this is quite a major moment. With the exception of The Five Doctors, (which was only a brief encounter,) we’ve never had the Second Doctor face the Master. Even the expanded universe has had very few stories on this.
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The only exception is The Dark Path, a novel from The Missing Adventures range from back in the Nineties. However, Big Finish, while they have adapted some of the novels, has already established itself as an almost entirely separate continuity to them, particularly in how they handle the Master and his early days.
Simon Guerrier
Regardless, it’s great to have the Second Doctor get a Master story of his own. Especially since Simon Guerrier’s the writer. For those of you who don’t know, Simon Guerrier is absolutely brilliant when it comes to writing Sixties era stories.
One of the best examples of this is The Sontarans, in which he reveals the Doctor’s earliest encounter with the infamous monsters. It perfectly fits the era while providing a satisfyingly fresh take on an iconic race. So a story where the Second Doctor meets the Master should be handled brilliantly.
Sadly, one thing that Big Finish has revealed about this year’s season of The Early Adventures is that it’s half as long as usual. Instead of four stories, we’re getting just two this time. Still, at least we’ll know that the first story will be very exciting. And while we don’t know much about the second story, Daughter of the Gods, Big Finish are also promising that to be a special story, too. We’ll be sure to report more details on this release when we hear them.
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Are you excited about the Second Doctor meeting the Master on audio for the first time? Have you listened to Dreyfus’s previous performance in the role against David Bradley’s First Doctor? If so, what did you think of it? Let us know in the comments below.