Doctor Who news: The War Master meets two classic companions next year!
By James Aggas
The War Master returns next year in the sixth volume of his own Doctor Who spin-off – and he’ll be meeting two very old friends of the Doctor…
It’s been a week since the latest volume of The War Master has been released, and yet Big Finish has already revealed details of what we can expect from the next one. This isn’t too surprising, as one little bonus from this year’s volume of the dark Doctor Who spin-off was a brand new trailer. A trailer that features the voices of two very old friends – but not of the Master…
Released in Aug 2021, The War Master: Killing Time will focus on the Master’s latest scheme of trying to seize control of an empire. However, he’s got a rival – one who has a strong chance of winning.
To gain victory, the Master needs the help of two of the Doctor’s friends: Jo Jones (Katy Manning) and Nyssa of Traken (Sarah Sutton). You can listen to each of them meeting the War Master – as well as hear glimpses of other plot details of Killing Time – in the trailer below.
Grand schemes
There are two key reasons why I’m looking forward to this box set. The first is that it’s written by James Goss and Lou Morgan. Both have written many great stories for Big Finish, and Goss has even written for The War Master before: specifically, the episode The Sky Man from Only the Good, and half of the four-part epic The Master of Callous.
The latter is divisive, as the War Master only really appears for half the episodes, and it’s heavily focused on one extremely flawed family. But, personally speaking, it’s one of my favorite volumes of the series. It’s ambitious and has an epic quality to its storytelling, and I’m hoping for a similar approach in Killing Time. Producer Scott Handcock certainly promises that we can enjoy another grand scheme of the Master’s to unfold.
"The War Master: Killing Time is a fantastic set of adventures written by James Goss and Lou Morgan that form a loosely connected arc. James opens and closes the set with a story featuring the Master attempting to take over an empire in order to exploit the fallout from the Time War, while the middle two episodes by Lou are more intimate character pieces, pitting the War Master against classic companions Jo Jones and Nyssa, long after they left the Doctor."
Personal history
This brings me to the second reason why I’m excited about this box set. Both Jo and Nyssa have a history with the Master. Jo fought against him many times back in the Third Doctor’s era, so it’ll be nice to hear her reunited with a brand new incarnation, especially during the villain’s fiftieth anniversary year.
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But what’s perhaps more exciting is the return of Nyssa. Not only was Nyssa’s father murdered by the Master, but he essentially used his corpse as a new body to wear. It was never explored in depth on television how Nyssa felt about what the Master had done, and judging from the trailer, it sounds like Lou Morgan is going to fix that. So this is definitely a reunion that we’re excited to hear.
It’s not just the audience who’s excited about this release, though. Once again, Sir Derek Jacobi is very happy to play the Doctor’s archenemy.
"I love being the Master. Doctor Who was part of my youth – I think I was around for the very first one – so it’s wonderful to be able to go back and actually become a character and play with these old companions. That’s one of the joys of being an actor – I can carry on pretending."
The War Master: Killing Time will be released on CD and download in Aug 2021. You can pre-order it now from Big Finish’s website. Other releases to look forward to during the villain’s fiftieth anniversary year include Master! starring Eric Roberts, and the epic multi-Master story Masterful.
Next. The Paternoster Gang: Heritage 4 neatly resolves the spin-off’s first series. dark
Are you excited to hear the War Master reunited with two old friends? Whose return are you looking forward to more: Jo or Nyssa? Let us know in the comments below.