As much as I loved Simm's Master, I truly feel the top two spots should've been flipped. Michelle Gomez as Missy was intense and nuanced in ways even Simm couldn't reach. That said, as the NuWho Masters go, shuffling their seats a bit is no insult, as each of them were mesmerizing from word one. I really wish we'd gotten more time with Jacobi's Master on the small screen, his energy was amazing and I feel he could've raised up the ranks further if we got to see more of him. (Yes, I know he did some audio dramas, but it's not quite the same, is it?)
I'd put the OG Master, Delgado, at the top, but I'd be hard pressed to sort Gomez vs SImm for number 2. I grew up with Ainley's Master but he's just to over the top to break top 3 for me (not his fault at all and when Survival finally gave him the chance to go as dark as he wanted he absolutely rises to the occasion) .
Really it comes down to this - when Simm was on screen, I was entertained. When Gomez was on screen, I was riveted. With all due respect to Delgado who will always be the original, my top three would have been 1) Gomez 2) Jacobi 3) Simm. Jacobi won that spot with one line alone. The way he delivered "I am the Master" before electrocuting Chantho is forever burned into my brain.
Michelle Gomez' Missy is the stuff Doctor Who - and the world, for that matter - needs more of. An absolute delight and my favorite incarnation thus far.
@@DanTheMan2150AD Let's agree to disagree, I believe she brought much needed character development to what was becoming a tired and predictable character
Derek Jack-O-be, famed British actor, known for grand roles in Shakespearen plays. Derek Ja-Co-Be, the guy who probably runs a bit of a dodgy chippy on the wrong side of the tracks.
Sacha Dhawan and Bradley Walsh are the best parts of the 13th Doctor's tenure. And as much I love John Sim's Master, my vote's gotta go to Michelle Gomez, she KILLED IT.
Personal favorite scene with John Simm's Master was after Lucy shot him and he refuses to regenerate, he said to the Doctor "I win." Allowing himself to die and refusing to regenerate out of essentially spite and to not have to be always with the Doctor and considering it a win, beautiful.
She turned it up to 11 and was great. Sacha Dhawan tried to turn it up to 20 and completely blew a fuse for me. Just one more thing wrong with the Chibnall era.
With Missy I felt she was more suited to be the Rani and I loved that. John While great did not scare me like Delgado did. I felt that the Doctor could beat this master. Delgado felt like he was close to the upper hand. He truly felt equal to the doctor in the same token. I know it’s a matter of opinion, but to have him be so low was a discredit to the character itself.
Trust me, you'll have a better opinion of the Derek Jacobi master if you listened to the war master bug finish series, the man needs to be in the main tv series again
I love the visual of the Master and Missy dancing together on a rooftop (in a city that blends the 1920's industrial look with futuristic sci-fi qualities) beneath a an orange-redish sky.
one of the most underrated master scenes is in the end of time pt 2 when he kinda calms down and tells wilf about the time lord initiation and the never ending drums
The thing that I liked about Roger Delgado is that he doesn't really look like a bad guy,not at first sight, he reminds me of a therapist or psychiatrist and that's what makes him even scarier. He looks like some one that wants to help you... But watch out!!
For me I’m very torn between Michelle Gomez and Sacha Dhawan for the best.... Michelle had an epic arc and storyline that kept me hooked to her throughout but Sacha was so complex and for me showed the true insanity of The Master... I really hope they bring Sacha’s incarnation back
“I can’t decide whether you should live or die oh you’ll probably go to heaven so don’t hang your head and cry no wonder why my heart is dead inside it’s cold and hard and petrified so lock the doors and close the blinds we’re going for a ride”
_Oh I could throw you in a lake,_ _Or feed you poisoned birthday-cake,_ _I won’t deny; I’m gonna miss you when you’re gone..._ _Oh I would bury you alive,_ _But you might crawl out with a knife_ _And kill me when I’m sleeping THAT’S WHY!_
Katy Manning said that when Delgado was doing the hypnotism scene with her, she actually felt herself almost going into a trance while looking into his eyes. He was brilliant in everything he did.
Gotta give it to Missy. She was just so much fun. From her dark intro to her iffy redemption, it was such a ride. And her quirk and charm was just so much fun.
I grew up with the Anthony Ainley version, but both John Simm and Michelle Gomez were brilliant. Also regarding Missy, she was how you change the sex of a Timelord done right.
Simm's Master was underrated AF, I'm glad he was given the number 1. Say what you want about certain parts of his incarnation, I think he was written masterfully. Constantly one step ahead of the Doctor and only lost because of his obsession with torturing the Doctor, the only time a villain has had this level of power against the Doctor was with the Daleks. While Missy had a better arc, Simm's Master was a perfect mirror image of the Doctor. Also, regarding Sacha Dhawan's Master, he performed it amazingly too, but his writing was not nearly as good. He was given the most cliche lines for a villain and he has been lacking a real level of power against the Doctor since Spyfall part 1. I'd honestly love it if Dhawan's Master was the cause of Whittaker regenerating into a new incarnation, because that'd give him a victory over the Doctor which he sorely needs to be considered on the levels of Simm and Gomez (also, fix that bloody Timeless Child arc, Chibnall).
@@Themineccraftkid I think Jodie Whittaker is a great actress, but I don't think she can play the Doctor (baring in mind it's incredibly difficult to portray a character so complex, and only the best have been able to pull it off in New Who, such as Capaldi, Smith and Tennant)
Complain about Sacha Dhawan being given bad writing (which is the only argument when discussing movies/TV these days....) but defend the absolutely shitty finale of series 3 where The Doctor is rejuvinated by "enough people thinking about him" and then reversing the events of the Master's invasion in the most uncreative way ever. If that came out during Chibnall's tenure people would rip it to shreds. (Oh and John Simm was a great master nonetheless! Loved his chemistry with Michelle Gomez)
@@KasCalwein Don't get me wrong, the S3 finale was trash for that moment alone. However, S3 also had The Sound of Drums, which truly is where Simm's Master shines, while Dhawan's Master had Spyfall Part 2, an absolute letdown of an episode which only acted as a cheaper version of The Sound of Drums (and pretty much the whole plot of Gallifrey's destruction). In addition, the dialogue Simm was given is vastly better than Dhawan's. With Simm, the dialogue felt natural and had barely anything generic about it (if at all), while Dhawan had "everything's about to change," the most uninteresting and generic dialogue The Master has ever had (disregarding the movie).
Dhawan’s master just never got a chance to breathe. He was just 100% in every scene, but not in a good way. In the scenes that should have given us a chance to see something subtler in his character, we got climax levels of energy. This meant he had no where left to go for the climax scenes so he ended up just being a bit cringe. It doesn’t help he didn’t have another actor to play off of. Jodie’s doctor is just boring next to him and it’s like watching the joker scream at a plank. She doesn’t play off him like the doctor should. She also doesn’t forgive him... that’s a big part of the doctor, they’re always there to catch the master and try. The fact that Jodie just seemed to forget about the redemption arc just makes her look like a dick... it’s worse than master forgetting about his own redemption arc. Chibnall could have really pushed both Doctor and the master to be so much better if he hadn’t just decided that he was too good for new who.
John Simm has nailed the crazy, the scary, and the sexy(that last one is 100% my bias) Missy is a great successor to him, she's perfect. The new guy has the crazy vibes, but the seriousness falls short.
Yeah, i can see how people might not like either Jacobi or Beevers as much as the others if they've not experienced the Big Finish stuff, Jacobi is a brutal incarnation capable of making people think he's a sweet innocent old man before destroying everything they know or love, or manipulating innocent people into making his plans succeed. Beevers does the cold, calculated but angry incarnation so well, he feels like he would kill you without thought, but isn't as openly psychotic and it's chilling.
You'd think that he would have listened to a ton of Big Finish while writing scripts for videos. It would open up his mind so much. And give him so much to talk about.
I have always loved every moment the master has revealed themselves to the doctor and the look of betrayal, shock and terror on the doctor’s face when they realise who they have really been dealing with. The master is just that, master of disguise, manipulation and hypnosis which is the true theme of the character.
The redemption arc being undone isn't as farfetched as people think. Remember how the Doctor said "Everything I am dies. Some new man goes sauntering away... and I'm dead." The personality change goes hand in hand with regeneration, so it makes sense even if we don't like it.
@@Lone_Cyberman_Productions if you look on the TARDIS Fandom website (which is essentially the Doctor Who-wiki), it says that the Curator is the Doctor. I believe that the Day of the Doctor-novelisation also confirmed it *(Here the page by the way: **tardis.fandom.com/wiki/The_Curator)*
HEY MISSY YOU'RE SO FINE YOU'RE SO FINE YOU BLOW MY MIND HEY MISSYY!! she's my fave and probably will forever be my favourite incarnation of the master
Agreed. Everything the other actors have put into the role has roots in the character as portrayed by Delgado. And note that the new series is based around making everything 'epic'... 'epic' characters, 'epic' stakes, 'epic' storylines. That sort of thing is a gift for an actor, you just make everything bigger and more extreme. Delgado fleshed out the character to that fantastic degree with straightforward 'monster of the week' storylines, and in doing so elevated the already excellent Pertwee and the whole of Who around him.
I think Sacha might actually be my favorite Master as a singular character, and it hurts to hear how much he actually struggled with self confidence and anxiety surrounding the role. But Michelle is so close in 2nd that when you pair her with Capaldi who is my favorite Doctor, her run wins over all. I think maybe something happened after Missy regenerated into Sacha's Master, something in the Matrix asides from the stuff about the Timeless Child that had the Master feeling betrayed. I mean he feels betrayed about the whole TC thing itself, but something even deeper.
Sasha's Master is a brilliant performance in an otherwise mostly meh to outrageously bad series...he's basically going through the same BS as Anthony Ainly in that regard. Brilliant character, brilliant performance, godawful writing.
At least at this point, technically, we don't actually know if Dhawan's Master IS after Missy. It's one of the things about the Master as an occasional presence in the Doctor's main story - unless we specifically see the Regen (like Yana or Tremas) or are given a specific chronology - we can never be ENTIRELY sure where we are in the Master's lives.
I feel like we're missing something important about what makes a good rendition of "The Master". And that is, how bonkers crazy is the evil scheme that they're running? -John Simm 1: "Becoming Prime Minister and taking over the world". A little traditional as far as villainy goes, but he gets extra points for how he was able to do all of this under The Doctor's nose for the whole series, and just how successful he was, even if it was all undone. Plus, something extra cold-blooded about using the last of humanity as his muscle. Solid B+ -John Simm 2: "Creating The Master Race" Absolutely top-notch villainy. Both incredibly ego-centric and a very solid plan overall. If he didn't feel the need to try and bring back The Time Lords too, he'd probably still be running Earth. A+ -"Missy": "Using Dying Minds to Create a Cyberman Army" I never really understood this plan, and I think that's mostly because at this point in the series, Cybermen felt really worn out. I like the scale of this plan and distorting the idea of heaven for such evil is on brand, but it doesn't quite gel together. Plus, giving the whole army to The Doctor is kind of lame even though she's clearly aiming to corrupt him. B - -John Simm 3: "Genesis of the Cybermen I guess?" I say I guess because I really don't know what his plan was. I guess he hid himself in plain sight from people who didn't know him, then he created some Cybermen I guess. But then The Doctor immediately makes the plan backfire and both renditions of The Master have to deal with the episodes' true villains: Cybermen and time dilation. Pity that this was the note he went out on. D- -Sasha Dhawan 1: "Spymaster". Weirdly, I don't really remember what his overall plan was regarding those weird light creatures and that tech billionaire except that he was using them to get what he wanted only to eventually betray them. To me, the real villain plan was when he was discovered as "O" and spent the whole episode hiding in plain sight. I honestly like to imagine that he had a backup plan at every stage of his deceit and when he was found out on the plane he was like, alright, perfect time to activate this plane bomb I planted just in case. Plus, he took so much glee in outsmarting The Doctor that that alone earns him some points. B+ -Sasha Dhawan 2: "Cyber Time Lords". Say what you will about the episode, but the idea of taking dead Time Lord bodies and hooking them up with Cybermen to make a near invincible army is evil genius. This took a lot of legwork to make happen from taking out all of Gallifrey single-handedly (which is absurd, but given these other schemes here... totally in his wheelhouse), luring The Cybermen and shattering The Doctor's understanding of reality while keeping her imprisoned to witness his glory. All great villainous stuff. Solid A. And there we have it. Thank you for coming to my TED talk...
John Simm is my favorite as well, but I haven't had the opportunity to watch classic Who, so I haven't seen the older versions of the character. One thing I would like to point out; Derek Jacobi is still around and still acting, so I still cling to the hope that his incarnation may yet be seen again.
With Sacha, you're missing the undertones of love, hate, wit, and deep history friendship (messed up as it is) like with Michelle (Missy) & John Simm (Master). 1 & 2 are the best, although in reversed position for my viewing pleasure ;)
I've only seen the new stuff, so I'm very much agreeing with having John Simm and Michelle Gomez at the top. John's Matser was insane but calculating, and had a manic energy that served to show how much he was a mirror of the doctor. Missy's flamboyant love of chaos mixed well with her "redemption arc", making her very well rounded as a character. Them killing each other and then laughing their asses off at how they "always stab themselves in the back" was a perfect and direct metaphor for their character, while also serving as the moment of realization that led one to become the other. Then Sacha Dhawan came along, and... well... all I can say is that he did a great job of salvaging a badly written character. Great acting, crappy plot. Now if it were to be revealed that he was actually an incarnation that came BETWEEN John and Michelle, it might make a bit more sense, but if he really does come after Missy, then he was just a complete backstep in The Master's character development.
For me it’s a tie between Gomez and Delgado for the number one spot. Dhawan is number two because of the fact he managed the murderous energy with the sense of pettiness and entitlement with a hint of maniac energy. Derek Jacobi is three for his masterful (excuse the pun) performance in such a short time. Simm and Ainley are tied in four. Simm was alright but the campiness kind of annoyed me slightly. Same goes with Ainley. Totally agree with the last two on your list.
Delgado will always be number 1 and not to sound rude but I feel like most people who put a modern Master/Doctor first have never seen the Classic show.
I mean I'm not familiar with Delgado's Master but I know for a fact that he probably be my favorite Classic Master for behind the scenes reasons alone. I would like to see some episodes of Delgado in action. May he rest in peace. Even then I like all the modern Masters from Jacobi to Dhawan. Delgado is still up there for starting it all. Gomez for me takes the top spot since she was a unique twist of the character mainly because of her writing and her arc in series 10. Dhawan is also great, and was the best thing Chibnail invented for the show since Brian Williams.
Missy add a “Joker-esque” characteristic to the master. She was as unpredictable as the Joker on Batman The Animated Series. Also, In my opinion, Her best, most defining, speech was in “The Lie of the Land”. She basically told the Doctor that he needed to redefine his perception of “Good” when looking at her, because she was going to be her own person, and that person was not going to have his sentimentality.
@@SmallWorldFilms I agree Missy was different and better because didn't just want to beat the dr. She also wanted to have fun which just makes her seem more understandable than other incarnations
@@oliverholland1205 No he didn’t. He brought life to the character, but he was more like.....The Penguin. Missy was both unpredictable and funny. We are talking about someone who turned all the dead into Cybermen just to give the Doctor a birthday gift. The Joker in BatMan TAS did something similar. He kidnapped people and hijacked the Gotham TV airways just to give Batman a Christmas gift that wasn’t even lethal, a pie in the face.
@@deprimiertSchwuchtel Missy, to me, seemed like the only incarnation that was not concerned with either world or galactic domination. She just wanted to cause chaos. Three things I do wonder: 1)What would she have done with a pony if she had gotten it in “Lie of the land”, 2)What would she have done with the Doctor if they “hooked up”, and 3)If she had hooked up with her previous incarnation, what would one call it?
The 'death' scene between Missy and Simm's Master was superb. It was the absolute ideal vehicle to demonstrate their total narcissism AND self-hatred simultaneously. Sacha's Master seems to be more of 'The Joker' to me. Even down to the purple coat. I don't like it. Delgado will forever be the true Master.
My favorite is Sacha Dhawan. I love every scene he played. He’s brilliant imo. I like the 13th Doctor/Master chemistry the best. Season 12 gave us a look at [what is left of] their friendship and that the Doctor still trusts the Master and vis versa.
@@NotSoRadical_ that’s why I liked it. He’s over the top and absolutely insane. His cruelty is there. Like for example bringing back the tissue compressor and using it like it’s nothing. Because to him it is nothing
Sasha acts more like childish obsessed fan than typical power hungry saxon in john simm incarnation. Where he loves doctor so much he literally want cause chaos to get her attention
Delgado was great, but a lot of his stories were kind of "lather, rinse, repeat". He'd assume some alias based on his name. Get involved with helping whatever the story's threat was. He'd plan on betraying and take over, only to be betrayed himself. Ultimately, he has to help the Doctor clean up his mess
Gotta say, it will always be John Simm for me. For all the reasons mentioned. He was perfection. Humourous, dangerous, witty, smart, energetic, scary, and completely bonkers. And a legitimate foil for the Doctor (and acting-wise, for David Tennant). The Masters before him were too campy and arch for me, and everyone after John Simm seemed to be trying a little too hard.
I am with this worst-to-best list 100%. Sad to see the non-canonical Master played in 1996 by Jonathan Pryce was omitted. Should have at least been an honorable mention. He was at least as good as Ainley.
I like Sasha’s Master a lot he’s great. I hope they fit him into continuity before Missy though cuz it’s still not worth ruining her redemption. Although kinda think he does anyway cuz she’s like…well…dead.
@@sarahjacko8316 by then, Zygons had evolved so much that they only needed a memory of the character to shapeshifter into them, so thats how they’d have survived if it was the Zygon-Osgood
Before I watched this I just KNEW either Gomez or Simm would be ranked as the best and the other one as the second best. I just loved them both so much! Simm's master was crazy and he was just that villain you must love. As for Missy, she was fuckin awesome and my favourite! I wasn't sure when would it go with the Master that wants to redeem herself but she played it so well. And when I watched that finale with both Masters it felt like Heaven. Can't decide if it's the characters who are the best or the actors!
John Simm will always be my number 1 master. After all, he was like a 90s action movie villain combined with a sort of Gary Oldman crazy vibe. Plus his constant fun-loving faux affably evil side was just the king.
I think Michelle was the best Master, then Sasha, and then John. John Simm was good in Utopia, Sound of Drums, and the Last of the Time Lords but his performance in The End of Time was slow and unnecessarily weird and just didn't have the Dr-Evil-Vibe while watching him.
I hope they'll find a way to make Missy the last incarnation of the master. Sasha's version seems like he would happen before Missy. Especially when Missy said the line "I knew the doctor when he was a girl.
Yeah but can we really trust the word of the master? Especially one as kooky as Missy? Besides I don’t see how the doctor stealing the moon or the cloister wars are absurd and inconceivable ideas considering everything that happens in this show. Also I wouldn’t really describe Jodie as a “little girl”
The top 3 were never really in question, though for me Missy might edge out even Simm for the top spot. Gomez’s portrayal is, if you’ll excuse the pun, truly masterful
My Ranking: 1. Roger Delgado 2. John Simm 3. Michelle Gomez 4. Anthony Ainley 5. Sacha Dhawan 6. Derek Jacobi 7. Peter Pratt/ Geoffrey Beevers 8. Eric Roberts
My favourite master is the War Master, Derek Jacobi's master, thanks to the amazing big finish boxsets he's done. Particularly boxsets 2 and 4 are phenomenal! I can't recommend them enough.
I think one reason why the progress Missy made towards redemption was reversed is because of the later interactions with John Simm's version of the Master, including but not limited to the fact that they basically kill each other.
Perhaps, for a character with multiple personae, i feel more comfortable to say "Delgado, Simm and Gomez form a perfect triangle of the Master, within that shape is his awesomest self, and outside that triangle, perhaps less impressive avatar constellations
Derek Jacobi was cast in the role and it was a shocker as at the time people knew John Simm had been cast as the Master in season 3. It came out early on John Simm was going to be the Master, so no one expected Jacobi to b revealed as the master. It was only when we saw the same type of watch that we saw Tennant's Doctor use early on in the season that people realised Jacobi Jana was a timelord and the Master. Sacha Dhawan's Master has been confirmed as being after Missy. I did suggest ages ago that it would be better if his Master was between John Simm's Master and Missy as we never actually saw who John Simm's master regenerated into.
Beevers went on to do a lot of Big Finish work as the crispy Master and of course Jacobi also did a lot of audio work as the War Master. Roberts has also done a bit of BF work.
I like Missy the most my favorite scenes with her would be the two scenes where she is on her way with Clara (searching for the anacronistic tank in medieval england and dancing in the too perfect gravity on the dalek-planet) Just fantastic
Roger Delgado wasn't just the best Master, he also had the best introductory scene of any villain ever. From "I am usually referred to as The Master. Universally." to that finger click as he walks away, the scene is just perfection. His full name was Roger Caesar Marius Bernard de Delgado Torres Castillo Roberto and he was one of the few people who.knew how to put Jon Pertwee's back right. A director once walked into the canteen and found Pertwee face diwn on the floor with Degado standing over him, his foot in the small of Pertwee's back, pulling both arms backwards until there was a loud crack.
