Masterful

by James Goss

The Master's finally done it. He's won. He summons his other selves to a celebration of his ultimate victory. And they come - from across time and dimensions. But he's forgotten to invite someone. And Missy's not happy.

Has the Master really conquered the universe? Or has something more awful been unleashed? Something that even all the Masters cannot stop?

Missy is determined to reveal the truth. Because one fact about the Master's existence never changes. No-one can trust the Master.

Not even the Master.

A special release marking the 50th anniversary of the first TV appearance of the Master in January 1971.

Genres: Doctor Who, Science Fiction, Fiction, Audiobook, Time Travel, British Literature

Audiobook

First published January 1, 2021

About the author

James Goss has written two Torchwood novels and a radio play, as well as a Being Human book. His Doctor Who audiobook Dead Air won Best Audiobook 2010. James also spent seven years working on the BBC's official Doctor Who website and co-wrote the website for Torchwood Series One. In 2007, he won the Best Adaptation category in the annual LA Weekly Theatre Awards for his version of Douglas Adams' novel Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency.

Reviews

[Taksya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Per i primi cinquant'anni del Master, la Big Finish produce un audiodrama multi Master, nella più classica tradizione della serie.
Oltre agli interpreti della serie televisiva, che contano Geoffrey Beevers, Eric Roberts, Derek Jacobi, John Simm e Michelle Gomez (in ordine di apparizione nella serie, abbiamo anche Mark Gatiss (Master nella serie Unbound), Alex Macqueen (credo il primo Master in casa BF) e la new entry Milo Parker.
Non potendo avere Roger Delgado e Anthony Ainley, l'autore James Goss inserisce Katy Manning nel suo ruolo classico di Jo Grant e Jon Culshaw nei panni di Kamelion.

La trama è abbastanza complessa, intrecciando avventure di coppia che scaturiscono dal primo invito del Master di Simm che porta quasi tutti i suoi predecessori nel suo covo. Tutti invitati tranne Missy, per la quale prova un odio viscerale che metterà in pericolo il suo piano malvagio.
Non che la cosa impedisca a Missy di partecipare, per poi trovarsi incastrata su un misterioso pianeta con Jo. Una situazione simile a quella vissuta con Clara... ma le interazioni tra la Gomez e la Manning sono di un livello superiore e, tra tutti, è forse la coppia che spicca di netto sulle altre.
Non racconto altro della storia, perché l'evolversi delle varie situazioni porta l'ascoltatore a capire con i personaggi cosa sta accadendo e arrivare con loro all'epilogo.
Epilogo forse troppo frettoloso ma, visto le premesse, il solo possibile.

Nel complesso, calcolando anche la difficoltà nel riconoscere tutte le voci, soprattutto dei Master che ho frequentato di meno (sia in casa BF che per via del doppiaggio nella serie tv), la storia è ottima anche se non perfetta.
Una volta scoperto il trucco meriterebbe forse un secondo ascolto, per godere di più dei vari dettagli.

Il boxset dell'edizione contiene, oltre alle solite interviste, anche due short trip (Doctor Who: I Am The Master e Doctor Who: The Switching) e il romanzo Terror of the Master.

[Ellie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was 4 stars right up until the part where it just... stopped? I'm all for leaving endings ambiguous but I literally thought I was getting a repeat of Gallifey: Beyond (RIP Brax) and I spent five minutes triple checking I hadn't somehow missed a part or was missing a download.

I can't believe you made me feel sorry for Crispy Master. CRISPY. MASTER.

[The Post Monument · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part One - 5 stars
Part Two - 4.5 stars
Part Three - 5 stars

Overall - 5 stars

[Graham Barrett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Multi-Doctor stories are fairly common in Doctor Who both in the show and the various expanded universe stories like Big Fish audio productions. But as far as I know there hasn’t been any multi-Master stories beyond two 2017 episodes (among my favorite DW episodes). “Masterful” is a Big Finish production released in honor of The Master’s 50th anniversary appearance and has Classic Who Masters, New Who Masters, and Big Finish Masters (who I had no idea existed) gathering together in a massive crossover. The story had a lot of potential for scenery-chewing fun and it was entertaining…for the most part.

Most of my exposure to the character of The Master has been confined to the New Who Masters (John Simm and Derek Jacobi) and Missy (Michelle Gomez) but through previous Big Finish stories I am slightly familiar with two Classic Who Masters (Geoffrey Beevers and Eric Roberts). One of my first problems with Masterful was the Masters I didn’t know as, other than the kid version, I had no context for who was voicing which Master (I honestly couldn’t tell if The Master trapped in the refugee ship was a Classic Master or Big Finish Master) nor their history (evidently there’s an alternate universe where The Master is played by Mark Gatniss because it's Gatniss and he needs to be in everything in Doctor Who and playing everyone). Still, for the most part it was an entertaining experience listening to Masterful and seeing the various iterations of this villainous megalomaniac interact with each other, as well as their performers hamming it up while doing so. Several of the regenerations of the Master have some really good storylines like Missy and Crispy Master (Beevers) that really expand on the character’s personality/motivations in a manner that can make you feel sorry for The Master.

While the first 2 parts of Masterful were entertaining, it fell apart at the end a bit. At some point the listener realizes the events of the story have to been undone to line back up with Doctor Who’s main continuity (i.e., reversing big deaths). The “timey-wimey” resolution is a bit rushed in the final 10 minutes of the story and felt a bit unearned/really unsatisfactory.
“Masterful” had potential but didn’t quite live up to that but maybe I’ll come around to the story in future listens because the things that worked about this multi-Master story do outweigh the issues I had with it.

[Ellen Schoener · Rating 4 out of 5]

My thought in a nutshell-
this very much about the journey and how everybody gets there, and less about the resolution.

For all fans of the Master, a recommendation.
This is 3 fun hours of delightful banter and murder. And lots and lots of backstabbing.
I enjoyed myself here, and I also liked the more quiet bits where nothing appeared to "go forward". I think that added some insight into the character.

In general, I think Missy completely stole the show.
Jacobi, Beevers and MacQueen were all great in their respective roles, and their Masters were the most memorable and interesting in their respective roles (beside Missy, that is).
Plus, Eric Roberts was surprisingly good, I think over the past few times he appeared in Big Finish, he got better each time.
However, I felt that the young Master and the Unbound Master were pretty much wasted.
And I did not warm up to Simm, which might be because he sounded quite different from the TV version. I have never been a fan of the Simm TV Master, and I am afraid he did not do a lot for me here, either.

So yes, this was a good set, but of course YMMV depending on how much you like the concept of the Master and enjoy his antics. This story certainly was no revelation and the plot also was not the most fascinating or original.
But it succeeds in being a fun romp and amusing entertainment.

I am actually happy for what we got, and for me this was worth it just for the Missy scenes.

[Steven Shinder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Masterful was an ambitious multi-Master story to make in honor of the character's 50th anniversary. Some of the arguing was fun, but I did not find this to be as enjoyable as multi-Doctor stories tend to be. Maybe I just don't like many incarnations of The Master that much? Including Jo Grant in the story was a nice touch, given that she debuted the same time as The Master. 3.5/5 I think.

The limited edition also includes two Short Trips from a while ago: I Am the Master and The Switching. While I'd previously heard the latter and gave it 4/5 stars, this was my first time listening to the former, a Geoffrey Beavers Master story which I found amusing and creepy but lacking since it had no music to it. So 3/5 for that one.

Then there's Terror of the Master, which includes a really well-voiced Third Doctor. However, much like some of the Classic Who serials, this story, which is more than 3 hours, feels like it drags. So 3/5 for that.

So overall, I really wish I could have enjoyed this collection more. Somehow, it just didn't hit me in all the right places.

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very fun 3-hour celebration of the Master with an overload of Masters. Multi-Master stories aren't done very often which is a shame considering how good this has been.

[Francis · Rating 5 out of 5]

incredibly fun! i couldn’t tell who anyone was apart from missy, jo, and saxon, but getting a bunch of masters together to wreak havoc (or do the opposite) is infinitely enjoyable! bonus points for the music (incorporating the drumbeat into everything!) and making saxon’s only character trait “really, really hungry.” 🤞 (someone get this man a burger)

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 out of 5 stars.
The Master/Missy is my absolute favourite character from the Doctor Who universe, and this did not disappoint! This was my first time listening to a Big Finish audiobook, and I thought the attention to detail, full-cast (including the gloriously unhinged Michelle Gomez and John Simm), and plot were fantastic quality. The only reason it's not the full 5 stars is because I felt the very very end was a bit rushed, and I'm not a big fan of unresolved cliffhangers. However, if you love hearing about the Master/Missy's mischief, back stabbing, and mayhem, then you will love this; a fantastic tribute to 50 years of the Master.

[Wen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful in many ways, and it was obviously written by someone who finds each incarnation of the Master fascinating in their own way. The dialogue is particularly witty and snarky and everyone gets a moment to shine, but Michelle Gomez steals the show in every scene she's in. If anything, listen to hear Michelle Gomez having a GREAT time playing Missy.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Masterful Part One: A bit of a slow burner to begin with, but once Missy arrives the story really comes to life. Michelle Gomez is excellent and continues to prove herself to be the best Master. She brings this addictive zany energy and a great sense of fun to the character, and her reactions to the other Masters are truly the greatest (I especially love how she refers to the Geoffrey Beevers Master as 'crispy').

John Simm is also great in his audio debut, inviting his past incarnations to a party. Only the Simm Master would gather his other incarnations for karaoke.

Meanwhile, it's nice to also hear Jon Culshaw give a pitch perfect impression of the Ainley Master and the Third Doctor. He's truly one of the greatest all time impressionists.

Masterful Part Two: Stronger than the first part. Missy and Jo Grant are tons of fun together, as are the War Master and John Simm's Master. Mark Gatiss's Master feels like he's in a different story entirely however, and his appearances so far are somewhat jarring.

Masterful Part Three: A great conclusion to the Masterful trilogy. We get much more of the Mark Gatiss Master here, as he attempts to destroy Gallifrey, and the Jacobi and Simm Master combination continues to work especially well. It's Missy who steals the show once again, however, as her wonderfully batty nature sees her take control of the situation. Michelle Gomez brings this darkly manic energy to her performance that's always a joy to watch or listen to, and she will always be my favourite Master.

I also admire the twist with the Entropy Wave; it's not one that I expected, however it makes a considerable amount of sense given the hints throughout Masterful.

I Am The Master: A fun and chilling monologue written and performed by Geoffrey Beevers. This Short Trip allows us to get inside the mind of the Master, as he recounts how he destroyed a planet. His hatred for Sir David Attenborough provides a few chuckles, but alongside the brief moments of humour we get a real sense of just how cold, calculating and dangerous the Master is as a killer.

The Switching: A very entertaining body swap story, as the Doctor and the Master find themselves in the wrong bodies. I especially like the way the Master notes the Doctor's surprising lack of respect for his UNIT colleagues, and proceeds to salute them and call the Brigadier 'Sir'. It's a great way to acknowledge the Doctor's flaws and how he is perceived by those around him.

Terror Of The Master Part One: A suspenseful introduction to this epic UNIT adventure. This instalment does a great job at exploring the Doctor's sadness following Jo's exit, and we even get an origin story for the Whomobile. This first part also ends in spectacular fashion, with the Doctor and the Master chased by a hit squad, supposedly sent by the Master.

Terror Of The Master Part Two: An excellent second episode, as the story really kicks into gear. It feels like the Master is on the backfoot here, as his latest alien ally turns against him. Also great hearing the moment between the Third Doctor and the Brigadier, after the Doctor is poisoned. Their friendship is easily one of the biggest highlights of the Pertwee era.

Terror Of The Master Part Three: This final part acts as a fitting conclusion for Roger Delgado's Master, as he begrudgingly teams up with Jon Pertwee's Doctor. Jon Culshaw's impressions are as ever on point, and his narration is as great as in the other two parts. Overall, Terror of the Master is definitely a story worth a listen.

[Jamie Revell · Rating 4 out of 5]

The hook for this, as is clear from the cover and cast list, is that it's getting as close as possible to starring "every Master ever". The Delgado and Ainley versions only feature indirectly, and the Dawan version didn't exist yet (although the story does make what I believe to be the first BF reference to the 13th Doctor) but otherwise it's pretty close, even including some that one wouldn't normally think of.

The first part of the story, with the various Masters meeting up on a remote island, suffers from an overly large cast, and it's sometimes hard to tell which one's which or what they're up to. But soon they are scattered across time and space leading to a more intriguing set of four interweaved stories, focussed on the War Master, Missy, and the McQueen and Beevers versions. Each of these has a different tone - one of the Masters heads down a particularly surprising path - taking advantage of the varying interpretations of the character. As it unfolds, it also becomes clear that the stories are more interlinked than they initially appear, with things coming to a head as the other Masters gradually turn up.

The final part, once everything comes together and the real plot is revealed, is the strongest part, and makes everything else worthwhile. The four Masters that get their own plots, whether as protagonist or villain, come out of this the strongest, with good performances by all four actors - although, my goodness, Gomez is especially stand-out. The others are not so well served, which, given the confusion of the opening segment is probably just as well - there's simply too many of them, even for a three-hour story. Fans of the modern series may be disappointed that the Simms Master, while crucial to the plot, isn't in it all that much, but this is easily compensated for by the presence of Missy who enlivens things whenever she turns up.

I can't quite give this five stars, largely because the beginning doesn't work all that well and some of the storylines are perhaps more sedate than one might expect... but it pulls off an ambitious feat with aplomb and shows the Master as, quite literally, his own worst enemy.

[Danny Welch · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is by far the most ambitious Big Finish story done in recent years, with it not only being a huge Multi-Master epic, something that hasn't been tried before on such a huge scale but also a very clever idea, which in recent years Big Finish haven't done much of and James Goss has managed to pull it off with impressive scale!

This is a story with so many little plot threads that fold into one another so seamlessly by the end it's brilliant and every Master get's something worth while to do which I imagine was quite hard to do, I also liked the inclusion of Jo Grant and Kamelion who were great characters to include in such a gigantic story.

But apart from the writing, the cast particularly all The Master's have given us some of the best performances Big Finish has to had to offer in a long time and the direction from Ken Bentley is outstandinly good.

I don't want to say too much about this release since I really don't want to spoil much about this amazing release, but it is really worth while and I just want to welcome John Simm and Milo Parker to Big Finish as The Master, I really hope Big Finish include them in future releases, but these two were brilliant, John Simm does sound a bit different to then he does on TV but you can easily tell it's his Master, whilst Milo Parker was a fascinating new perspective of what The Master could be like in his first incarnation!

Overall: This is in my opinion Big Finish's most impressive release in the last five years and it's absolutely stellar! 10/10

[Holly Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great compilation celebrating the long lived character of The Master from the Doctor Who series. I love Big Finish audios and this was another great example of their excellent work. The first 3 parter in this series was a bit difficult for me to follow with all the mixed story lines, but I did enjoy the banter back and forth between the different masters on that set. 4 stars for Part 1. I also enjoyed the two short trips, especially the Geoffrey Beevers one which I remember listening to years ago and always wanted on hard copy. 3 stars for The Switching and 4.5 stars for I Am The Master. Beevers’ Master is one of my absolute favorites on audio because he is such a talented voice actor. But by far my favorite of this set was the Terror of The Master by Trevor Baxendale. Such a clever story narrated by the exceptionally talented voice actor Jon Culshaw. Jon is the master (no pun intended) when it comes to bringing so many unique voices to his work. In particular voices that audiences have come to know so well over the many years of Doctor Who. I felt transported back to the 3rd Doctor era by Jon’s lovely performance. He is truly a gifted actor. I have thoroughly enjoyed all his work on Big Finish including this piece. 5 stars for the closing piece in this set. 4.5 stars overall for the collection as a whole. Definitely worth the purchase I made to get the collectors limited edition.

[Stephen Higham · Rating 4 out of 5]

A three-ish hour play featuring all your fave living Master Who’s. Michelle Gomez, John Simm, Eric Roberts, Derek Jacobi, Whoverse’s favourite make-a-wish kid Mark Gatiss, Neil’s Dad from The Inbetweeners.
John Simm has done a world-domination and gathers all of the old Masters to gloat about his victory.
He didn’t invite Missy because apparently all of the other Masters think she’s too loopy. It’s a fun detail in a character who makes very little sense at the best of times.
The stories are fun and serviceable, but the best scenes are the ones when all the Masters are together trying to out-malevolence each other.
Some of the plot and scenes were a little difficult to follow because it took me a while to assign voices to faces in my head. Fortunately when the masters split off into side-adventures their distinct personalities are able to shine through. Neil’s Dad is absolutely fantastic as an audio-only version of the character. I’d never heard any of his stories before, glad I have now. John Simm takes a while to find the mannerisms and quirks of his incarnation which is odd because his is a particularly idiosyncratic version. He gets there in the end. Michelle Gomez never quite goes full-barmy in the play like she does in the tv show. But there is a marvellous resolution to an ‘is she good? Is she bad?’ Arc and I really appreciated it.
Big Finish will bankrupt you if you let them. Keep your wits about you, stay strong.

[Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

7/10
Verdict: Optional

Fun Master crossover story that has several different plotlines that are all pretty solid. The opening act of this is definitely the highlight, with all the masters able to openly interact with each other, banter and insult, you know the drill with these types of stories, properly entertaining, especially once Jo Grant gets inadvertently captured by them all. Much like most Master plots, this story quickly becomes quite convoluted and they end up pairing up in different locations, crispy at the countryside retreat is my favourite of these though, really heartbreaking. Honestly all the banter is pretty solid overall and the pair ups all work surprisingly well, the way their plots all wrap up makes perfect sense. The conclusion to the overall story is a bit iffy though, I can see what they were going for but it ended up feeling pretty unsatisfying for me, but that doesn't discredit the journey up till that point.

[Jamieson · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, this is a review for Masterful the story. I have not had a chance to listen to the Short Trips or Audiobook included in the Limited Edition. Masterful is a decent enough story, but can be quite confusing at times. When everything was revealed at the end I found that wasn't as good as I expected. That said, hearing eight incarnations of the Master together in the same room together was a joy. Although, Beevers, Jacobi and Macqueen and Simm sound very similar on audio so it was hard to tell which one was speaking at any given time. It's worth a listen, but it wasn't quite what I was expecting.

[Drew · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of the criticisms I've read about this three-part miniseries is that it ends so abruptly. Or that the ending is a sort of deus ex machina. But I guess neither of those things bother me. By the time we near the final minutes, how it's going to end was properly signaled. I thought so, anyway.

No, my main problem with it was that it took nearly the whole thing before I quite understood what was going on. And now that I've finished it and I understand, I kind of want to start over from the beginning.

But I also want to move on to The Robots, Volume 3.

However, someday I'm going to listen to this one again, and maybe on a second listen, I'll enjoy it more.

[April Mccaffrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finally listened to Masterful and over all, I enjoyed it more than I expected too. I am a little confused with where the young Master comes into all this and where he is in his timeline but I loved the dynamics between the whole cast and crew of Masters.

The pacing was a little bit off at times but it was such a delight to hear Macqueen!Master again as he’s one of my favourite Masters and I loved Missy and Jo’s interactions.

Also, I loved Crispy!Master in this and how he was almost more...human? I loved his relationship with Kitty.

Having Simm!Master and Jacobi!Master pair together was delightful.

An enjoyable story.

[Trin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really creative and fun. Missy steals the show -- though with a strong and surprising second-place finish from Crispy Master?! I can't believe how much I felt for him, in particular, though at their worst, I always do sympathize with the Master. It's hard not to relate to someone who is, as Missy says, their own worst enemy.

I do wish there'd been a little more of a resolution, and honestly that there'd been a few more clues as to who was speaking, as I will I admit I sometimes had difficulty picking out particular iterations among the men. (I am just not great with voices?) But this had much more energy and verve and imagination than your typical tie-in.

[Samael Kovacs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Any story that can make me feel sorry for crispy master deserves 5 stars.

Missy and The War Master were the standouts.
They were just done perfectly.

Eric Roberts' Master was also way better then I though he would be. Interested to listen to more of him.

The young master and unbound were ehhh. Definitely the weakest parts.

Which they would have recasted someone for Delgado but the reason why he isn't here is quite funny so I'll let it slide.
This time.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

So fantastic though can we please stop with the master flirting with themself? It makes me so uncomfortable. Just unnecessary and not funny. But the rest of it. Fantastic. Michelle Gomez was amazing and I thought the individual storylines worked really well. Especially loved Missy and Jo. So fun and so enjoyable!!! This is my first time listening to any big finish productions and now I definitely want to get more

[Declan O'Keeffe · Rating 4 out of 5]

The beginning was a lot of fun, even if it was hard to tell who was who, and I didn't know or recognise all the masters

The middle was OK, the different storylines were good, but a little different to keep up with them all.

The ending kinda lost me a little bit and I was ready to be finished by the end.

Overall an enjoyable romp with the multiple masters all playing up their shticks, but there wasn't much more to it than that in my opinion

[A room full of books~ :) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mixed feelings.

This seemed like it was heading on track to be a full 5 stars; however, near the end, I'm not sure what happened, but it kinda just... fell apart. First it seemed like it skipped a scene (or several) when several Masters + Missy just appeared back at the castle with no real explanation; and then the end just... well, *ends.* I mean, yeah, it's stated that the timeline in this set will be erased; but even with that, it still didn't feel resolved at all.

It was mostly quite a fun romp with all the Masters (and everything that entails), so I still gave it 3 stars; but it really could have used a better ending.

[Gabriel Mero · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this story. The premise was great, the inclusion of Jo Grant was genius, and it kept me entertained. Missy definitely stole the show, which I'm more than okay with. My only complaint is that John Simm did not sound like he did on the show at all. I didn't even know he was in it until I went to close it out.

[Sara Habein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was I in it for some mind-blowing, canon-defining story? No. And this didn't need one either. I wanted to hear a whole bunch of Masters galavant around the universe and be kinda mean to each other, and this delivered.

[Rachel Redhead · Rating 4 out of 5]

it was the standard edition which isn't on goodreads atm, but it was a good drama, very abrupt ending but overall I enjoyed this box of mad cats each trying to screw the rest over

[Joseph S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gandalf's Husband might be the biggest pull for a bald joke. Amazing!

Long Live Missy!

[Stuart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this, though Michelle Gomez was the standout I thought!

[Gaz Galey · Rating 5 out of 5]

everything I want in a Master story. chaotic and back-stabbing fun.