Big Finish has released a large number of Doctor Who spin-offs over the years, and many of them have been brilliant to listen to. But one of my favorites has to be The War Master. Bringing Sir Derek Jacobi back as the Master and exploring his barely seen incarnation in his own audio spin-off series was such a brilliant idea, perhaps one of Big Finish’s very best.
There have been many box sets released in the series since it began in 2017, the most recent being last year’s Future Phantoms. This is the final volume with Scott Handcock as the producer before Robert Valentine takes over this year’s volume, so I was curious to find out what this box set was like.
Out of all eleven volumes, Future Phantoms feels the most low-key. I wasn’t too surprised by this. The box set description didn’t promise stories of the Master facing Daleks and Time Lords in the Time War (which is a perfect description for his first volume, by the way). Instead, he’s at an English college, telling stories. Ghost stories, specifically.
This is extremely different for The War Master, and this is a series that has never been shy about trying something different. In fact, the last few volumes have felt very experimental. In recent years, we’ve seen the War Master on trial, face fictional characters, tell stories from an institution for dangerous criminals, and we've even had a story focusing on his human counterpart Professor Yana.
An unusual volume
But those earlier volumes usually reminded you that the Master was fighting in the Time War. The stories he tells in Future Phantoms, however, hardly feature the Time War at all. In fact, the Master doesn’t seem to appear in them, at least not directly. Derek Jacobi does play characters in the stories that the War Master is telling, but it’s not always clear if they are the Master in disguise or separate characters that Jacobi is playing.
The stories themselves are also extremely unusual. All of them are set firmly on Earth, although each story is set during a different time. They’re also full-on ghost stories, too, full of atmosphere and unseen horrors. On their own terms, these episodes work well as horror stories. It’s just strange to think of them as War Master episodes.
It’s not until the final episode that we’re reminded of the Time War, albeit in a very distant way. We also learn exactly why the Master has been telling stories and what his true purpose is. I must admit, I did find the ending itself to be a satisfying one, especially as it links back to the first volume nicely. In that sense, it feels like a fitting final volume for Scott Handcock’s run as producer, although I’m already eager to see how Robert Valentine will handle the series.
Future Phantoms stands out as the most unusual volume of The War Master series yet. For the most part, it doesn’t feel like a volume of The War Master at all. Anyone hoping for full-on Time War action will be disappointed. But if you’re in the mood for a few good ghost stories – particularly ghost stories told by Derek Jacobi – then you’ll likely enjoy this box set.