A Question for Classic Who Fans

[ithildin]

Is that we're called? Sounds better than 'old Who fans'!

Anyway... about the Master.


Anyone else having trouble adjusting to the new Master? I can't quite put my finger on it, but he just doesn't seem like the Master to me. A good bad guy, but not him.

If I figure out what it is, I'll let you know :)

Comments

[donna-c-punk.livejournal.com]

No. I hate the new Master. Love John Simm, hate new Master. Did you read my nasty review the other night? Maybe it'll help you put a finger on it. http://donna-c-punk.livejournal.com/2326468.html

[ithildyn.livejournal.com]

No, I hadn't seen it. I tend to not get the time to go back and read DW posts that appear before I see the episode, so I'd missed it.

Yeah, the manic crazy is off putting for me. I didn't have as adverse a reaction as you did, but a lot of what you said in your review made me nod. I was really stoked after Utopia, and while I didn't hate this one, it wasn't what I'd expected.

Thanks for the link!

[donna-c-punk.livejournal.com]

RTD said he deliberately wrote him as a psychotic version of Ten. To me, he killed all of the genuine scariness of the character by doing that. "Oh, a genius who is every bit as good as the Doctor in charge of the world is scary, but if he's a lunatic, it's terrifying."

No, it's not because it excuses him from taking any responsibility for his actions. Someone who does the things The Master's done with full hold on his faculties is way more terrifying than a generic bonkers person. If he was really that crazy and didn't give a shit in the old days, he never would've sided with the Doctor temporarily in "Terror of the Autons" (or a few other stories). He would've just skipped out, cackling maniacally. Even in the Ainley days, he was more sadistic but was never a "lunatic".

This Master is just batshit insane and not interesting to watch. Which pains me because I'm a JS fan. If they'd let him approach the Master the way Delgado and Ainley did? That would've been scary AND interesting to watch.

[dejla.livejournal.com]

Word.

[sizequeen.livejournal.com]

I think that Master is absolutely in charge of his own actions. He's an egomaniac who gets off on destruction and is obsessed with defeating the Doctor. He's unbalanced, but I think he's in complete control of himself.

[wiliqueen.livejournal.com]

I agree. This is one of a myriad of reasons why I usually ignore what Rusty says in interviews. :-) Although I'll concede when he says the Master is insane, it may not necessarily mean in the legal sense where he cannot be held accountable for his actions.

My hypothesis after "Utopia" was that the Master (at least partially) intentionally regenerated into a proper equal-and-opposite for this particular incarnation of the Doctor.

One thought that I also had recently: he's always had peculiar blinders for any consequences of his action that aren't the primary effect he's looking for.

Think of "Logopolis," where he adamantly refuses, in the face of mounting evidence, to believe that knocking off a few bean-counters could possibly threaten the fabric of the universe. And even when he's finally convinced, and agrees to join forces with the Doctor to fix it, he can't resist double-crossing him the second his own survival is no longer in imminent doubt.

So the short answer is no, actually, he's working for me. He seems to me to be operating on the same underlying impulses he always has, but with a level of manic intensity designed to match Ten's.

[jinxed-wood.livejournal.com]

Okay, I seem to be in a minority among the Classic Who lovers, but I think that the new Master is actually a vast improvement on the old one. I, for one, didn't find the old Master even remotely scary, even at the age of eight. He just kept popping up, being evil and all - because, look, he has a goatee and cape and smiles evilly. *Sigh*

There was no reason given for his evil ways in the old series, other than ruling the universe, of course *sic* (there was in the books, but if we included those, RTDs version of the Master wouldn't look half as 'different' to the old version as one might think)

The new Master seems genuinely instoppable at the moment (barring the magical, doohickey sonic reset button) and his 'manic' behaviour seems to have a very mocking edge to it. I'm not sure if he's crazy - but angry and driven? Yes, definitely.

[ithildyn.livejournal.com]

Okay, I seem to be in a minority among the Classic Who lovers

Oh yeah? I'm just not very aware of what the sentiment is outside of a very small circle of friends, not really down with the fandom as a whole.

We'll see how I feel on Sunday [g]

[wiliqueen.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't be able to hazard a guess as to proportions, but I actually run into quite a few people who've always found him an ineffectual villain for the same reason. And others who think Delgado worked but Ainley didn't.

[1-mad-squirrel.livejournal.com]

I don't know about the "Classic" part but I have heard Who fans called "Whovians".

*sound of drums*

[kazlynh.livejournal.com]

It's the lack of the beard!!!!!

He needs that lovely little goatee!!!!