Doctor Who news: The War Master and the Eighth Doctor are reunited in Hearts of Darkness – out now!
By James Aggas
The Master hunts down his oldest foe for the Time Lords in The War Master: Hearts of Darkness, the latest volume of the Doctor Who audio spin-off.
Late last year, for a short while, it looked like Doctor Who audio spin-off The War Master had come to an end. While the series had proven to be extremely popular with Big Finish listeners – especially with an actor as brilliant as Sir Derek Jacobi playing the Time Lord villain – last year’s box set Anti-Genesis seemed to tie the whole thing up nicely.
Of course, there was plenty of room for more of the Master’s evil schemes in-between box sets. And like I said, the series was and still is extremely popular. So it wasn’t surprising when, earlier this year, two more box sets were announced in the series. One of which has been released today!
Written by David Llewellyn and Lisa McMullin, Hearts of Darkness sees the Master recruited by the Celestial Intervention Agency. His mission? To find and stop an extremely dangerous Time Lord. One that he knows rather well, in fact – his old enemy, the Doctor…
The War Master: Hearts of Darkness cast (L to R): Paul McGann, Amanda Shodeko, Colin McFarlane, Luyanda Unati Lewis-Nyawo, Henry Nott, Derek Jacobi.
Image courtesy of Big Finish Productions.
Master vs Doctor
This isn’t the first time that we’ve heard Derek Jacobi’s Master encounter Paul McGann’s Doctor. The two clashed last year in the box set Rage of the Time Lords, and it looks like they’re ready to confront each other once more. But what is the Doctor up to this time?
Producer Scott Handcock gives us a good idea of what to expect from this box set.
"It’s a nice examination of what makes the Master and the Doctor the people they are, and the unique relationship that ties them together. We veer from futuristic cities to spaceships, gothic castles to jungle planets. Each of the four episodes feels different tonally – we go from heist film to action movie, then Universal horror to race-against-time thriller. It moves along at a fair old lick!"
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Jacobi on the Master
Naturally, Derek Jacobi is still having plenty of fun playing one of Doctor Who‘s greatest villains.
"It’s been great! It’s a very complicated plotline so I’ve found it interesting and fascinating. Baddies are the best parts. The Master and the Doctor are two halves of the same coin really – like Jekyll and Hyde."
It’ll be great to hear these two confront each other once more. But when is it set? And how come the Doctor won’t recognize this particular Master later in the TV episode Utopia? Rage of the Time Lords offered one clear explanation, at least for that occasion. Will Hearts of Darkness offer another? We’re certainly eager to find out.
The War Master: Hearts of Darkness is available to purchase now on CD and download directly from Big Finish’s website.
dark. Next. Queen Elizabeth I will feature in The First Doctor Adventures: Volume Five
Have you listened to previous volumes of The War Master? Are you glad that the series has continued? What do you think of Derek Jacobi’s Master? Let us know in the comments below.