 This story introduces the character of Nyssa, played by Sarah Sutton, although she does not leave and begin travelling with The Doctor during this story and so technically does not become a travelling companion until the events of the following story "Logopolis".
This story also contains the first appearance of Anthony Ainley. Initially he plays the part of Tremas but who would become The Master when the decaying form of The Master kidnapped the body of Tremas at the conclusion of this story.
This story was written by Johnny Byrne. Johnny Byrne became a key player on the Gerry Anderson science-fiction series Space: 1999, for which he contributed a dozen episodes and also served as Script Editor.
Johnny Byrne had been approached several times to write for Doctor Who, by Script Editors Robert Holmes and Douglas Adams. In late 1979, Johnny Byrne was even offered, but declined, the post of Doctor Who Script Editor himself. Previously he had worked with Producer John Nathan-Turner when he wrote episodes of All Creatures Great and Small. However, Jonny Byrne did indicate his interest in providing scripts for the show.
With the immanent departure of Tom Baker (it was around this time that Tom Baker decided to leave the show at the end of Season Eighteen after being the Fourth Doctor for seven years), and the recent departure of both Romana, played by Lalla Ward, and K9, voiced by John Leeson, John Nathan-Turner wanted to reintroduce a popular element of the programme’s past in order to bridge the changeover from Tom Baker to his successor. He initially planned to bring back a former companion for a handful of stories and so he approached both Elisabeth Sladen (who had played Sarah Jane Smith from 1973 to 1976) and Louise Jameson (who had played Leela in 1977 and 1978), but both actresses declined his invitation to return to the show.
Since his efforts to bring back a former companion had failed, John Nathan-Turner decided instead to reintroduce an old enemy. He choose The Master, the evil Time Lord who had originally been played by Roger Delgado (from the 1971 Third Doctor story "Terror of the Autons" until the 1973 story "Frontier in Space") before the actor’s untimely death.
The Master has also been resurrected once before in the 1976 story "The Deadly Assassin", in which Peter Pratt had played the character in a condition of near-complete physical deterioration. John Nathan-Turner however, wanted to restore The Master to an echo of Roger Delgado’s incarnation - albeit in a less humorous and more malevolent form. John Nathan-Turner’s idea was that after the new Master was re-introduced in this story he would then appear in both Tom Baker’s final story ("Logopolis") and concludes in "Castrovalva" – the first story to feature the Fifth Doctor, so forming a loose trilogy of stories that would guide the audience through the major upheaval of Tom Baker’s departure.
John Nathan-Turner and Script Editor Christopher H. Bidmead felt that the character of Mogen could easily be replaced with The Master. However, in order to keep the true villain’s identity a surprise until the final episode, Mogen was replaced by the statue-like Melkur.
To play the revitalised Master, John Nathan-Turner cast Anthony Ainley, son of noted Shakespearean actor and silent film star Henry Ainley. The younger Ainley had enjoyed small roles in movies such as the James Bond movie "You Only Live Twice" but his career had chiefly been spent working on television. He had appeared in programmes as varied as The Avengers, Out of the Unknown and Upstairs, Downstairs, often playing the villain.
Anthony Ainley would go on to reprise the role of The Master in almost every season through to the end of the original run of the show in 1989, as well in the special Twentieth Anniversary special "The Five Doctors". It has been reported that Anthony Ainley was cast partly because of his facial similarity to the late Roger Delgado.
The name Tremas was chosen to be an anagram of ‘Master’, foreshadowing the fact that The Master would now possess Tremas’ body at this story’s conclusion. The Master has adopted numerous pseudonyms over the course of the show which usually plays on the word ‘Master’. Other examples include: ‘Colonel Masters’ ("Terror of the Autons"), ‘Reverend Magister’ - Magister is Latin for Master ("The Dæmons"), ‘Professor Thascalos’ - Thascalos is Greek for Master ("The Time Monster") and ‘Sir Gilles Estram’ - Estram is an anagram of Master ("The King's Demons").
This is the first story to feature a Master body change - though it is not a true regeneration, but rather the acquisition of another person’s body. The director appointed to this story was John Black, whose previous credits included Play For Today and Softly, Softly: Task Force. John Black had been recommended to John Nathan-Turner by costume designer Amy Roberts.
Amongst John Black’s first duties was to secure a cast for this story, including the role of the decrepit version of The Master and Nyssa – who would, in the next story, become a companion.
As the decrepit version of The Master, John Black cast Geoffrey Beevers on the strength of his vocal abilities. Geoffrey Beevers’ previous credits included Coronation Street and the part of Private Johnson in the 1970 Third Doctor story "The Ambassadors of Death". He was also married to Caroline John, who had played companion Liz Shaw ten years earlier. So as to conceal this plot twist Geoffrey Beevers was credited as The Melkur.The walking Melkur statue was played by Graham Cole (now better known for his starring role in the ITV police series The Bill).
The actress selected to play the part of Nyssa was Sarah Sutton. Sarah Sutton had been acting since childhood, including starring roles in Alice Through The Looking Glass and the supernatural drama The Moon Stallion.
Denis Carey, who plays the Keeper, previously played Professor Chronotis in the Season Seventeen uncompleted "Shada". He also played the Old Man in the 1985 Sixth Doctor story "Timelash".
Margot Van der Burgh, who plays "Katura", had previously appeared as Cameca in the 1964 First Doctor story "The Aztecs".
This story also marks the final appearance of John Woodnutt in Doctor Who. He also appeared in the Third Doctor stories "Spearhead From Space" (1970) and "Frontier in Space" (1973) as well as Commander Broton in the 1975 story "Terror of the Zygons".
The Master’s TARDIS is not an ‘ordinary Type 40’ as The Master is heard calling it his ‘new ship’. His TARDIS first appears disguised as the Melkur and then, as in "The Deadly Assassin", as a grandfather clock. It is also shown to have offensive weaponry, which it uses in its Melkur form, and will again in "Castrovalva".
The decrepit version of The Master in this story is implied to be the same form as that portrayed by Peter Pratt in "The Deadly Assassin".
Peter Pratt’s Master costume from the 1976 story "The Deadly Assassin" was refurbished for Geoffrey Beevers’ use, although the mask was altered so that more of the actor’s face was visible.
The Master again mentions that he has passed through all of his twelve regenerations (see "The Deadly Assassin").
The Melkur statue’s design was based on a 1913 statue by Umberto Boccioni.
It is revealed that the planet of Traken is in Mettula Orionsis, and its Union is the most harmonious the Universe has ever seen. Despite this Traken seems to attract evil, although such creatures are calcified on contact with the planet, and pass harmlessly into the soil. Melkur means ‘a fly caught by honey’.
The Keeper is the ‘organising principle’ of all the minds of the Traken Union, channelled through the Bioelectronic Source. The Keeper typically lives for a thousand years or more before his or her Dissolution, and the period of transition between Keepers is usually difficult. It seems that The Keeper is also one of the few beings capable of penetrating and controlling the TARDIS (see "Warriors' Gate").
The Doctor consults two old hand-written time logs, presumably detailing some of his journeys, but says that he doesn't keep them any more.
The Doctor and Romana’s recall to Gallifrey (see "Meglos and "Full Circle") is mentioned again.
This story continues the season-long thread on entropy; The Doctor refers to the Second law of thermodynamics, of particular relevance to the earlier "E-Space trilogy", and which will be of far greater significance in the following story, "Logopolis".
The BBC Books’ The Past Doctor Stories novel "Asylum", by Peter Darvill-Evans, reveals that the Fourth Doctor actually met an older Nyssa. This however, took place in her future after she left the TARDIS crew in the 1983 Fifth Doctor story "Terminus" and before she met the Fourth Doctor and Adric in this story.
In the Big Finish Productions audio story "Dust Breeding", the body The Master steals is lost so reverting him back to his zombie-like state. Once again, he is played by Geoffrey Beevers.
A prequel to this story can also be heard in Big Finish Productions’ 2001 Fifth Doctor audio story "Primeval". This story reveals how the Source was created and the origins of the position of The Keeper.
In the DVD release the fourth episode is extended slightly to incorporate a dedication to the memory of Anthony Ainley, who died between recording his commentary and the DVD’s eventual release. This dedication includes a brief outtake of Anthony Ainley from his recordings for the videogame "Destiny of The Doctors".
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The Firsts:
The introduction of companion Nyssa played by Sarah Sutton.
Anthony Ainley's first appearance in the show as The Master.
The first Doctor Who story to be written by Johnny Byrne.
The first Doctor Who story to be directed by John Black.
Roger Limb's first involvement in the show providing the incidental music.
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(Position = 32 out of 159)
(Position = 70 out of 200)
