The final episode is another episode of two halves but they aren’t
that different to each other. The first half is the aftermath of the Melkur
becoming the Keeper. It’s safe to say that it was never going to be the most
popular appointment in history. Knowing what happens in this episode, I just
want it to happen and I surprised to find out that the big scene between the
Doctor and the Master doesn’t happen until seven minutes before the end. That’s
pretty much what this whole episode and story have been about to be honest but
before I finish this entry, I will talk about other aspects of the episode like
I normally would.
I think that the sight of Melkur in the Keeper’s chair is
still impressive and I also like the idea that he can pop up pretty much
anywhere which perhaps isn’t quite a big thing considering the original keeper
popped up in the TARDIS in episode one. The Melkur not having the power for a
while does seem like a narrative stalling method which does work. The lead up
to the eventual confrontation between the Doctor and the Master is quite good
but I was just wishing that it would happen. The scene where the Doctor finds
himself inside the Master’s TARDIS is a great little scene and it’s the first
time since ‘The Deadly Assassin’ that the Master has appeared in Doctor Who and
I think that Geoffrey Beevers is a superb piece of casting not just because
Beevers doesn’t wear that odd mask and costume that Peter Pratt wore but
instead we get to see Beevers use his whole body to show us why even when he is
playing the role for Big Finish he is so damn good at it. On a side note, go to
the Big Finish website and purchase from the Main Range page the story ‘Master’
which is one of the finest stories ever made. Anyway back to the story and I
just wish that the scene with the Doctor and the Master was longer but that’s my
personal opinion.
The final scene is great because it ends with the Master
seemingly defeated and that appears to be the end of it. The Doctor and Adric
are on board the TARDIS but one of the things I like about this story is that
its not the end because we have the ‘regeneration’ moment with the Master
taking over Tremas’ body which is a mixed moment because whilst visually it’s a
great thing to see, I liked Tremas so much over the course of the four episodes
that it’s a shame that he paid the price for just being in the wrong place at
the wrong time. The last shot is of Nyssa walking into an empty room and that
is a proper cliffhanger for a final episode.
It was a great ending to a great story and my appreciation
for this story has gone up even more and I think that Tom Baker’s penultimate
story shows just how good Tom Baker has been recently and also how much JNT and
Christopher H Bidmead have improved the show in such a short amount of time.
However as much as I have enjoyed this story I do feel a bit down because I
know what comes next. The moment has been prepared for and things are about to
get loud.
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