DW: Episode 3.12

Who is John Simm playing? Will that character please sign in?

Let's start off with the coolest thing about this episode: the drumming. The beat that everyone taps out as they play to the Master's tune. Way neat. Although I might be able to buy how it convinces everyone to vote for Saxon, how exactly does it hide the Master from the Doctor??

But, and this is the point, is this really the Master? The Master is after power, pure and simple. There is nothing about this 18 month plan that is either pure or simple. If this had been the Master (and, frankly, the Delgado Master moreover), he would have been able to bypass the Doctor's lock out and go roaming in time and space anyway. I don't know how long it takes for the "Paradox Machine" to work, but, again, if the Master was going to take over the world with the drone things, why did he need to be Prime Minister? Just something to pass the time? Hardly.

We do find out that the Time Lords resurrected him. Fine, that gets around a lot of problems, but they didn't create a brilliant mastermind, but really the evil twin of the Doctor. An incompetent evil twin at that. (At least RTD didn't give in and have the Master and Doctor as brothers.) I'm sure the Confidential episode (which I watch after writing these) will proclaim that this is the Master, but I'm not buying it.

As this is the episode before the last, it has the duty of ramping up the pace for the finale. Yep, but it surely takes it time doing so, and likes to undercut itself to. The Doctor isn't there?... oh wait, there he is. Will Marsha be fooled by her family?... oh, not really. Will they be captured walking around?... oh, never mind. And then they just stand around while the Master gets his way. Yeah, big heroes there.

I can see now why Bad Wolf had all that bit in the game shows and why Army of Ghosts spent so long getting to the "ghosts" breaking through. It's because RTD can't write a build-up. Skip on to next week...

Next Week: It's a big battle with the fate of everything at stake.... again!