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In Doctor Who, Just How Many Lives Does The Master Have Left?

One of Doctor Who’s greatest foes needs more than a makeover. Instead maybe The Master just needs writers who cares to give him what he wants for once, and show how The Doctor attempts to reverse the damage.

The Master throughout the Years The Master was once an exceptional villain in the Doctor Who series, but after revisiting some recent material during the Canadian Thanksgiving, I couldn’t help but consider one unsettling fact. Just how many lives (regnerations) does he have left? Lately, ever since this series returned to the airwaves back in 2005, he’s been burning through his regenerations quite fast and he’s no longer the Wile E. Coyote he once was.

After stealing the body of Tremas, he basically was at his last regeneration until this full on material swap broke the mold. The Time Lords offered a new set to take advantage, but what has changed? How have the rules been altered? While everything has evolved for The Doctor now in his/her 15th incarnation, I got curious and had to revisit past episodes, consult a few guides and figure out what went wrong.

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Talking About A New Generation with Doctor Who’s 14th Season (or is that one?)

There’s some revisionist changes to the changes of Doctor Who that few will appreciate, and what’s explored here concerns the misaligned episode “The Devil’s Chord.”

Doctor Who Season 14 Poster A lot has changed with The Doctor over the years. And to say which Doctor Who incarnation is better depends on whom you ask, which generation they’re from and if the show can survive the test of time. As for why The Beatles was chosen over the The Who to market the new era under Disney’s distribution network, that’s because the British Invasion with the former really changed the landscape of the music industry. Both gained recognition around the same time (1964).

With today’s woke culture inspiring Russell T. Davies to further change all that was classic with the series, I’m not as keen to call myself a fan of everything new. The Doctor’s reward of getting a new set of regenerations (“Time fo the Doctor”) is because he saved his homeworld from complete destruction. Unlike The Master, when he transferred his essence to other bodies to extend his own cycle (this character was originally male), the Doctor was keen to expire and let someone else save the universe. But the BBC said we can’t put an end to their best known media empire.

To explain how regenerations work, it’s all because of the power a black hole contains. If one can harness the energy from the singularity, it can supercharge the cells of a Gallifreyan body. The Eye of Harmony was made to contain all this power, and as for why this is important, perhaps Ruby (Millie Gibson) has some ability to tap into that or be a storehouse of energy too. Continue reading “Talking About A New Generation with Doctor Who’s 14th Season (or is that one?)”

Looking at Doctor Who at 60 after Three Specials and the Holiday One in Full

What I offer in this late review of Doctor Who and all four specials is in what my expectations are for this franchise’s future.

Doctor Who at 60 Years Spoiler Alert

After a good start to celebrate Doctor Who’s 60th Anniversary, where I reviewed the first of three specials, the next one, “The Wild Blue Yonder,” sadly doesn’t raise the bar. It’s a surreal episode, and as for the third, “The Giggle,” that’s going to be an episode returning showrunner Russel T. Davies must have had a hard time writing. The result is neither nostalgia ridden or forward thinking.

It doesn’t feel like a full return to form when all fans got is the return of a few characters, like The Toymaker, played by Neil Patrick Harris. There should’ve been more acknowledgement of the past rather than simply recycling and retconning characters (namely Davros in the latest Children in Need special). The return of Mel is nice, but what about the others? And why does U.N.I.T. headquarters look like the Avengers Tower?

This headmaster missed an opportunity to recognise all 60 years and fill in the gaps when the Doctor was hit with a huge blaster! He could’ve suddenly reverse regenerated or have a moment where his entire life flashed before his eyes to answer those questions. That way, all of his past incarnations could’ve made an apperance. And to have the faces of past companions give their farewell would have done a better job at acknowledging all that history! A few lines here and there isn’t enough to acknowledge all that history. The specials just didn’t feel like an anniversary when there’s very little said about how long this Time Lord has been around.

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Everything is Back with The Star Beast in the First Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Special!

Everything fans have been wanting to see in Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Special is here, and The Star Beast certainly delivers fun quips and chuckles along the way!

BBC’s Doctor Who is 60-years old, and honestly, they should spend part of their increased budget to have David Tennant back on some semi-permanent basis. He’s a tough act to follow and although this actor has nothing but praise for Ncuti Gatwa, who will take over the role after these specials, I just want him! When “The Star Beast” is part one of a three-story arc, thankfully that means there’ll be a month of this actor doing what he does best–to play Sherlock the only way he best knows how!

And when he says he’s not an interim incarnation, and he’s equally mystified, I’m here for the ride!

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On Doctor Who at 60 Years, Disney Plus’ Desire to Restart the Numbering System and Beyond

As much as I’d love to see Doctor Who last forever, it’s living on borrowed time.

Doctor Who at 60 Years As much as I love BBC’s Doctor Who, to distinguish between their time and what Disney Branded Television announced may well be troubling for anyone maintaining online episode guides. According to Dark Horizons‘ report over last weekend, the season count is being reset! And honestly, after catching David Tennant’s return and departure in the three anniversary specials, that’ll be the end for me.

Although I sense this announcement is more of a method to make the “acquisition of broadcast rights” more distinguished, there may be other reasons for the change. It’s about how their handling can be recognised in the eyes of many. What they’re doing is no less confusing than how LEGO Ninjago‘s seasons are represented. Series One to Ten are known as Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu (also known as the WILFilm years) and eleven on up is simply Ninjago (aka Wildbrain). The latest, which is sixteen, is Ninjago: Dragons Rising (also handled by this new studio). If there’s a rename to the British series because Disney wants to, I’m going to be furious!

When the two broadcasters made a deal to deliver Doctor Who to a worldwide audience rather than stay “in the country,” I’m sure the house of the mouse had some requirements. Although reports say the BBC has creative control, I suspect not every detail in the contract got revealed a year ago. I’m sure many coins from Disney’s golden vaults will get offered to influence how Doctor Who will now look!

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Doctor Who Celebrates the Eve of the Daleks

This episode of Doctor Who has all the makings of showing just how dangerous a pair of Daleks are than just one.

Jodie Whittaker’s tenure as the Doctor is almost at an end, and with another New Year’s Day Special, Eve of the Daleks instead of Revolution, I have to wonder if this enemy will ever cease to amaze? Nearly every appearance manages to upgrade them somehow, and that’s when I watch Doctor Who.

The previous year’s holiday episode was good, because John Barrowman returned as Captain Jack Harkness. Flux was a season I more or less ignored. If all the seasons of the Doctor Who had to be ranked, I’d have to say this latest is not in any top ten. That season is more about bringing back the classic enemies and giving them a chance to shine one more time.

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