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June 16th, 2017 45 comments

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Big Finish The War Master 1 Only the Good

Available to order from www.bigfinish.com

1. Beneath the Viscoid by Nicholas Briggs

On the ocean planet Gardezza, deep beneath the Viscoid, a mysterious capsule is recovered from the Time War, and an equally mysterious stranger found within. The Doctor’s reputation precedes him, even here… but can he be trusted?

2. The Good Master by Janine H. Jones

The Time War rages around Arcking – a planet serving as a sanctuary for the sick and injured. But Arcking is protected by a mysterious, powerful force: a force the Master will stop at nothing to harness… even if time itself is against him.

3. The Sky Man by James Goss

When his new companion decides to save a planet, the Master indulges this most futile of requests. Materialising on a primitive, agrarian world, both the strangers quickly find their place in it… until fallout from the War invades their happy paradise.

4. The Heavenly Paradigm by Guy Adams

With his plans approaching fruition, the Master travels to Stamford Bridge in the 1970s: a location he believes might hold the key to his success. But what terrible secret lurks under the stairs of No. 24 Marigold Lane? And what sacrifices will the Master make in the name of ultimate victory?

Written By: Nicholas Briggs, Janine H Jones, James Goss, Guy Adams
Directed By: Scott Handcock

Cast

Sir Derek Jacobi (The War Master) and Nicholas Briggs (The Daleks).

More casting information to be confirmed.

Producer Scott Handcock
Script Editor Matt Fitton
Executive Producers Jason Haigh-Ellery and Nicholas Briggs


‘Peoples of the universe, please attend carefully – Sir Derek Jacobi is reprising his iconic role as the Master in new Doctor Who adventures from Big Finish Productions. Following his first unforgettable performance in the Doctor Who episode, Utopia, crafting an iconic role that thrilled viewers ten years ago, Sir Derek is once again taking on the mantle of the Master. His return will bring joy to fans, but disaster for the Doctor Who universe!

The ruthless renegade Time Lord returns in four brand new adventures made by arrangement with BBC Worldwide.

“His incarnation is very much the ‘Hannibal Lecter’ of Time Lords – intelligent, charming, but thoroughly ruthless – we had a lot of fun in studio bringing the War Master back to life,” explains producer and director Scott Handcock. “It’s been a gift of a project, and we can’t wait for listeners to hear it!”

“I didn’t expect to come back to it all these years later,” says Sir Derek, “but I was thrilled to be remembered. The plots in all these episodes have been very good indeed, very interesting, very dramatic, and beautifully written. The whole process has been a delight!”

Doctor Who: The War Master Volume One follows the exploits of the Doctor’s arch-enemy during the course of the devastating Time War, featuring stories from acclaimed Doctor Who writers James Goss, Guy Adams and Nicholas Briggs – as well as new writing talent from Janine H Jones.

Writer James Goss explains what makes this Master unique, “What was exciting about this was that normally the Master loses. He puts in the hours, he works through all these elaborate plans and yet it all goes wrong. It’s not fair! What did Sir Derek do in the Time War? It’s thrilling to have helped find out.”

The cast includes Jacqueline King (Sylvia Noble – Doctor Who), Mark Elstob (Number 6 – The Prisoner), Deirdre Mullins (Naomi – Man Down), Rachel Atkins (Vicky Tucker – The Archers), Jonny Green (Torchwood), Hannah Barker (Harriet Sloane – Holby City), Jake Dudman, Emily Barber (Gwendolen Fairfax – The Importance of Being Earnest), Robert Daws (Dr. Choake – Poldark), Nerys Hughes (Brenda Williams – Torchwood), Jonathan Bailey (Olly Stevens – Broadchurch) and Nicholas Briggs as the Daleks.

The War Master Volume One is available for pre-order from www.bigfinish.com on CD (box set) £23 and download £20. It is also available for pre-order in a bundle with upcoming releases Gallifrey: Time War and Tales of New Earth on CDs £63 and download £54.

GUY ADAMS, WRITER: “Once I got over the idea that giving my words to Sir Derek was rather like filling the Holy Grail with Special Brew, I allowed myself a brief cry of joy! Writing for villains is always a pleasure because a writer is roughly ninety percent more ‘stares at cat and awaits inspiration’ than ‘boils planet alive for fun’.”

NICHOLAS BRIGGS, ACTOR, SCRIPT EDITOR, WRITER: “I was lucky enough to have directed Sir Derek fourteen years ago in Deadline (one of our Doctor Who Unbound releases), so I was delighted to be able to work with him once again. The thrill for me has been just how fascinating and exhilarating it is to write a series when the leading character is a bad guy. Writing my own script and working on the others with Scott has been such a rewarding challenge. I’m really keen to do it again, and further explore exactly what the Master did get up to in the Time War.”

JAMES GOSS, WRITER: “What was exciting about this was that normally the Master loses. He puts in the hours, he works through all these elaborate plans and yet it all goes wrong. It’s not fair! It’s brilliant that Big Finish have finally awarded him for all that hard work. And, even better, it’s the most intriguing, exciting barely-glimpsed actor to have ever played the Master. What did Sir Derek do in the Time War? It’s thrilling to have helped find out.”

PRICING: Pre-order: £23 CD box set / £20 download from www.bigfinish.com Bundles – Pre-order: £63 CDs / £54 download from www.bigfinish.com


Categorised under: Big Finish, CD, Featured, spin-offs

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45 comments

  • Sam

    June 25th, 2017 - 2:34pm

    “I didn’t expect to come back to it all these years later, but I was thrilled to be remembered.”

    That so sweet

    Reply
    • Anonymous

      February 12th, 2018 - 12:48am

      I like the war master theme titles square

  • Sascha

    June 20th, 2017 - 3:21pm

    Is there a “definitive” Version of the live Cycle of the master?

    I mean – sure – the Delgado-Master is the 13th and final incarnation of the TimeLord known as the Master;
    And because of this prolonged life he turns into the decayed Version of hinself.

    Than he Tries to expand his life beyond his Natural lifespan – and he does it by transferring his life essence into other beings;
    Amongst them a Trakenite named Tremas; and a human male named Bruce;
    Before he was sucked into the eye of harmony link aboard the Doctors TARDIS…

    We know that the master was resurrected to fight in the time war; we know that the Jacobi-Master was known as the War-Master and at last fled the war;
    Hid His essence away and than regenerated into the Simm-Master; who was sucked back to the time war…

    We also know from titan comics that a child-master aged/regenerated into the war master/Jacobi master …

    But what about the McQueen master (I have not heard the audios);
    Is this the master resurected by the time lords to fight the time war; but for whatever reasons regenerated into a child how luckily aged/regenerated into the war master so that could continue to participate in the time war?

    Enlighten me;)

    Reply
    • whofan36

      June 20th, 2017 - 8:38pm

      well the audios and DWM show that Delgado is actually the 12th Master and that the Pratt/Beevers master is 13th and he was not always deformed. then he turns into the Ainley then he loses that body and ends up as the Beevers master again. followed by the Roberts master from the TV Movie. then it turns out he survived the eye of harmony and ended up as his beevers self again. The time lords revive him as the Maqueen master who I assume would turn into the child master (not read the comics). child master then Jacobi then Simm then Gomez. thats what I know about the masters timeline. sorry for any spoiler I did my best to not mention them

  • Harold Saxon

    June 19th, 2017 - 12:00am

    I heard the trailer , it mentions a professor Kellor ! Interesting ! The Master has a great evil laugh at the end !

    Reply
    • Harold Saxon

      June 19th, 2017 - 12:03am

      I mean Doctor kellor ! ( maybe a ref to the mind of evil )?

  • Harold Saxon

    June 18th, 2017 - 12:17am

    Which actor is playing the Doctor in story 1?

    Reply
    • DWCR

      June 18th, 2017 - 1:32am

      No one

    • Nuallain

      June 19th, 2017 - 3:55pm

      It would appear that the story features the Master arriving on a planet and, possibly simply because it amuses him, identifying himself as “the Doctor” to the locals.

  • Doctor Mysterio

    June 17th, 2017 - 8:05pm

    I find the idea of Tales From New Earth a bit of a turn off, but the War Master sounds brilliant!

    Reply
  • Someone

    June 16th, 2017 - 11:42pm

    Boo Boo when does this come out ?

    Reply
    • The Outcast

      June 17th, 2017 - 7:41am

      Not Boohoo, but it comes out at some point in December.

    • Someone

      June 17th, 2017 - 11:32pm

      thanks

  • Jordan Scott

    June 16th, 2017 - 12:53pm

    This looks great! Although such a shame that he’ll never get to face John Hurt’s War Doctor. 🙁

    Reply
    • The Outcast

      June 16th, 2017 - 1:09pm

      🙁 indeed. The Synopsis for story #1 makes me wonder if Big Finish where planning a confrontation between the two for Sir John Hurt’s unfortunate death.

    • Jordan Scott

      June 16th, 2017 - 3:31pm

      I presume he will be referenced in the stories, it would be nice if they had some unused audio of him that they could integrate into here but I’m not sure if they would be allowed to do that.

    • DannyTheNerd

      June 16th, 2017 - 3:51pm

      They might get a diffrent actor to voice him, if they do need him to appear for anything

    • Colin

      June 16th, 2017 - 5:01pm

      Would it fit…the 10th doctor had no idea who yana was ?

    • Jordan Scott

      June 16th, 2017 - 5:09pm

      Actually yeah good point

    • DannyTheNerd

      June 16th, 2017 - 5:38pm

      Good point Colin. Didn’t really think of that.

    • whonose1963

      June 16th, 2017 - 6:18pm

      I suppose that the Master could have wiped the Doctor’s memory of his face before he fled to the end of the universe so that he couldn’t look for him but still, definitely a fair point as memory wiping might be a bit of a cop out

    • The real master

      June 16th, 2017 - 6:22pm

      Either it’s the master pretending to be the master in episode 1 or (unlikely) John hurt already recorded the first episode before he died and was supposed to be in the rest of the stories

    • The real master

      June 16th, 2017 - 6:23pm

      Either it’s the master pretending to be the Doctor in episode 1 or (unlikely) John hurt already recorded the first episode before he died and was supposed to be in the rest of the stories

    • whonose1963

      June 16th, 2017 - 6:46pm

      I think it’s almost certain that it’ll be the Master pretending to be the Doctor, from the sound of it it seems like the people of Gardezza have heard of a Time Lord called the Doctor but don’t know his face so the Master claims to be him to receive help after his ship crashes

    • us republican

      July 2nd, 2017 - 7:44pm

      john hurt needs to come back to life with some respectable cgi, just like tarkin

    • Anonymous

      July 2nd, 2017 - 7:47pm

      Star Wars is a massive blockbuster and could barely pull it off, Doctor Who has nowhere near that amount of money. It’s not going to happen.

  • The Legend Doctor

    June 16th, 2017 - 12:32pm

    WOAH WHAT!!!

    Reply
  • Anonymous

    June 16th, 2017 - 12:30pm

    hopefully there will be a master story as the xmas special with Derek jacobi as the war master who helps re move Gallifrey and at the end uses chameleon arch to hide his shame.

    Reply
  • Harold Saxon

    June 16th, 2017 - 12:09pm

    Nice surprise that we get to hear more of this version of the master and perhaps yana too one day ! Wonder if simm and Gomez will later also do audios too?

    Reply
    • The Outcast

      June 16th, 2017 - 1:06pm

      Gomez really enjoyed working on Big Finish (she played a character in the story ‘Valhalla’), so she probably will, don’t know about Simm tho, but I reckon he might at some point.

  • Anon

    June 16th, 2017 - 11:35am

    The Master versus the Daleks! Why did no one think of that before?

    Reply
  • Omega63

    June 16th, 2017 - 11:06am

    WOWOWOW!
    Awesome news, continue in Sir John Hurt’s legacy for sure! How joyous it would have been to have them two together.

    Although, in Utopia Jacobi’s Master stated that they found him ‘as a child’, so I wonder how they’ll get around that?

    Reply
    • whofan36

      June 16th, 2017 - 11:38am

      well it was actually Yana not the master that said that. that is most likely a false memory put into his head by a chameleon arch when he turned himself human.

    • Omega63

      June 16th, 2017 - 11:53am

      It depends how you see it. He was in the process of realising at that point, he could well have been the Master

  • Whorules

    June 16th, 2017 - 11:02am

    One thing, yana says he was found as a child, so that means when the master became human if he was the Derek jacobi version he made himself both human and a “child” with a fob watch! I never thought the yana version was in the time war as he’d been found as a child. I do think big finish are doing far to much who, it was better when there was a limited amount of merchandise, I know that sounds odd, but I think that for instance, Peter davison had 20 TV stories but now if you include big finish it’s well over a hundred, and I feel that dilutes the enjoyment. I stopped getting big finish in 2012 due illness, but I found that I enjoyed the dvd who’s so much more when I wasn’t constantly trying to catch up on the audio releases. Mainly because I had time to watch dvds again. So for people who buy these great, but not for me.

    Reply
    • whofan36

      June 16th, 2017 - 11:40am

      well it was actually Yana not the master that said that. that is most likely a false memory put into his head by a chameleon arch when he turned himself human.

  • Doctor909

    June 16th, 2017 - 10:28am

    Wow! Did not see this coming!!! This is amazing! Along with the Galifrey: Time War as well! What I do find a bit odd though is the Tales of New Earth -I just hope they have a horror story about the disease that wipes out the population as that would be quite interesting and a very spooky listen however other than that I have no idea what else they’re going to do. Anyway very good announcements and can’t wait to pick them up!!

    Reply
    • Aries57

      June 19th, 2017 - 1:16pm

      Time War Stories are a welcome addition in my book, Pity it probably won’t get the chance to round off from the War Doctors point of view. finding an actor with John Hurts wit and gravitas is a tall enough order but getting someone who sounds even close, that is gonna be a task and a half

    • The Outcast

      June 19th, 2017 - 1:22pm

      They can still do companion chronicles or Short trips with War.

  • Rich1e

    June 16th, 2017 - 10:15am

    This. Is. AWESOME!!!!!!!!

    Reply
  • [email protected]

    June 16th, 2017 - 10:01am

    This is great news, it seems like we’ll be seeing three Masters this year with two former actors returning. I can already see that Big Finish have plans to do another box set because there is no mention in any of the four audios about him being on Gallifrey when the Dalek Emperor took control of the cruciform so I reckon we will see an audio with that furthee down the line.

    Reply
    • WouldYouLikeAJellyBaby?

      June 16th, 2017 - 10:02am

      Sorry that was me, I forgot to put in my username.

  • The Outcast

    June 16th, 2017 - 9:57am

    Finally, Big Finish will be developing the Utopia Master. This is going to be good. Shame he’ll never get to fight the War Doctor (They could do War Doctor short trips or companion chronicles), but atleast between this and the Gallifrey: Time War boxset, we’ll get stories that take place in the later years of the war. Mass Hype.

    Reply
  • DalekAgent

    June 16th, 2017 - 9:26am

    Now this was a suprise, I CANT WAIT!

    Reply
  • Reece

    June 16th, 2017 - 9:21am

    Ooooooo

    Reply

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