Synopsis: With all of space and time in chaos, the Master plots his most audacious project yet. Only one other Time Lord has ever been able to stop him. But where is that Time Lord when the universe needs him?
Review: Once again, Derek Jacobi takes center stage in The War Master: Rage of the Time Lords. Once again, writers Tim Foley and David Llewellyn prove why Big Finish is the best venue in which to showcase this brilliant actor in the plummiest of villain roles. For years, I and others have bemoaned the fact that Russell T. Davies didn’t give Jacobi more screen time. After over a dozen audio outings in the role, however, I accept that Davies wouldn’t have had the time or resources to do The War Master justice.
“The Survivor” by Tim Foley is a marvelous historical set during World War II. Listeners meet Land Girl Alice Pritchard, played to great effect by Katherine Pearce. Her arc is very Foyle’s War through a dark science-fantasy mirror. The Master is at his manipulative best, and his dynamic with Alice establishes patterns that hold through the remaining stories.
“The Coney Island Chameleon” by David Llewellyn is another lovely historical in which we learn that The Master can play Three Card Monte better than anyone else alive in that imperiled universe.
“The Missing Link/Darkness and Light’ by Foley and Llewellyn respectively is the main event. Derek Jacobi and Paul McGann play off one another superbly as the old frenemies each give as good as they get. Events play out logically and surprisingly — a difficult feat with plotting this intricate. Everything is paid off and continuity errors are avoided. According to the Extra Interviews, the writers reworked their original story ideas for this box set, and their revisions were gold. Again, they proved that having more time to craft these stories is a must.
- You can purchase The War Master: Rage of the Time Lords here.
Cast
Derek Jacobi (The War Master), Paul McGann (The Doctor), Mina Anwar (Valerie Pritchard)
Taj Atwal (Esther), Paul Clayton (Judge Hale), Lu Corfield (Stern), Su Douglas (Lady Raleigh), Ryan Forde Iosco (Fletcher), Youssef Kerkour (Giuseppe Sabatini), James MacCallum (Crantz), Shvorne Marks (Pryor), Ricky Nixon (Turma), Katherine Pearce (Alice Pritchard), Laura Riseborough (Hannah Raleigh), Anjela Lauren Smith (Genevieve),
Liz Sutherland-Lim (Professor Silver), Dominic Thorburn (Mandrake)
Production Credits
Cover Artist Lee Binding
Director Scott Handcock
Executive Producer Nicholas Briggs, Jason Haigh-Ellery
Music Ioan Morris
Producer Scott Handcock
Script Editor Nicholas Briggs
Sound Design Peter Doggart
Written by Tim Foley, David Llewellyn
Theme Music by Ioan Morris
- Story9.0
- Performances10
- Audio Production10
