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David Tennant
The Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords
Tenth Doctor Logo


Synopsis


The Master
The Master
 Harry Saxon becomes Prime Minister, and his reign of terror begins. But his dark ambitions teach beyond the stars…

 Earth has been conquered and the Master rules supreme, with The Doctor his prisoner. Only Martha Jones can save the world…

Source: BBC DVD


General Information

Season: Twenty Nine (New Series 3)
Production Code: 3-12/3-13
Story Number: 188 (New Series: 32)
Episode Numbers:736 - 737 (New Series: 40 - 41)
Number of Episodes: 2
Percentage of Episodes Held:100%
Production Dates: February - March 2007
Broadcast Started: 23 June 2007
Broadcast Finished: 30 June 2007
Colour Status: Colour
Studio: BBC Wales (Upper Boat, Pontypridd)
Location: Hensol Castle, Cwrt-y-Vil Road and The Esplanade (Penarth), Cardiff, Cardiff Bay, Vaynor Quarry, RAF St Athan (Barry) and The Houses of Parliament (London).
Writer:Russell T Davies
Director:Colin Teague
Producer:Phil Collinson
Executive Producers:Julie Gardner and Russell T Davies
Script Editor:Simon Winstone
Editor:Mike Hopkins
Production Executive:Julie Scott
Production Manager:Tracie Simpson
Production Designer:Edward Thomas
Director of Photography:Rory Taylor
Casting Director:Andy Pryor CDG
Costume Designer:Louise Page
Make-Up Designer:Barbara Southcott
Cameramen:Erik Wilson (2nd Camera) and Tom Hartley (Assistant)
Visual Effects:The Mill
Special Effects:Any Effects
Prosthetics:Millennium FX
Stunt Co-ordinators:Crispin Layfield and Tom Lucy
Stunt Performers:Curtis Rivers, Dani Biernat and Gordon Seed
Incidental Music:Murray Gold
Special Sounds (SFX Editor):Paul Jefferies
Sound Recordist:Julian Howarth
Sound Supervisor:Paul McFadden
Sound Editor:Doug Sinclair
Music Performed By:The BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Title Music:Ron Grainer and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Arranged by Murray Gold
Number of Doctors: 1
The Doctor: David Tennant (The Tenth Doctor)
Number of Companions: 2The Companions: John Barrowman (Captain Jack Harkness) (Departs) and Freema Agyeman (Martha Jones) (Departs) Guest Cast: Adjoa Andoh (Francine Jones), John Simm (Harry Saxon/The Master), Sharon Osbourne (Herself), McFly (Themselves), Ann Widdecombe (Herself) Additional Cast: Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Tish Jones), Trevor Laird (Clive Jones), Reggie Yates (Leo Jones), Alexandra Moen (Lucy Saxon), Colin Stinton (President), Nichola McAuliffe (Vivien Rook), Nicholas Gecks (Albert Dumfries), Olivia Hill (BBC Newsreader), Lachele Carl (US Newsreader), Daniel Ming (Chinese Newsreader) Elize Du Toit (Sinister Woman), Zoe Thorne (Sphere Voice), Gerald Logan (Sphere Voice), Johnnie Lyne-Pirkis (Sphere Voice), Tom Ellis (Thomas Milligan), Ellie Haddington (Professor Docherty), Tom Golding (Lad), Natasha Alexander (Woman).Setting: London (2008) England and The Valiant (2009) Villain: The Master

The Episodes

No. Episodes Broadcast
(UK)
Duration Viewers
(Millions)
In Archive
736The Sound of Drums23 June 200746'11"7.5Yes
737Last of the Time Lords30 June 200751'24"8.6Yes

Total Duration 1 Hour 38 Minutes


Audience Appreciation

Average Viewers (Millions) 8.0
Doctor Who Magazine Poll (2007)84.97%  (Position = 3 out of 10)
Doctor Who Magazine Poll (2009)82.23% Lower (Position = 27 out of 200)
Doctor Who Magazine Poll (2014)78.70% Lower (Position = 55 out of 241)
Doctor Who Magazine Poll (2023) Position = 11 out of 36


Archives


 Both episodes exist and are held in the BBC's Film and Videotape Library.



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Notes


With Doctor Who continuing to be extraordinarily popular, the BBC consented to an overlong edit of the final episode "Last of the Time Lords". Thus allowing this episode to be screened in a 50-minute timeslot, rather than the 45-minute duration of the typical Doctor Who episode of the revamped show.

As had now become traditional this story boasted several celebrity cameos, this time famous figures declaring their support for Harold Saxon. These included Sharon Osbourne (host of the The X Factor and star of The Osbournes alongside her husband, heavy metal icon Ozzy Osbourne), pop group McFly, and Ann Widdecombe (Conservative MP and presenter of The Widdecombe Project). The production team even managed to obtain the appropriate clearances to include the song Voodoo Child into the first epiosode.

The very first appearance of the Time Lords in Doctor Who was in the final episode of the 1969 Second Doctor story "The War Games". They were seen wearing simple black and white garments and so at the suggestion of script editor Gary Russell, the younger Master's outfit reflected the earlier Time Lord costumes.

In the scene with the old Time Lord and the juvenile Master, the Time Lord is seen dressed in opulent Gallifreyan robes which were are worn by senior Time Lords. These were first seen in the 1976 Fourth Doctor story "The Deadly Assassin". The headpiece worn was actually a prop from the original run of the show.

When The Master introduces Martha Jones to her captive family, he does so in the style of the fondly remembered show This is Your Life.

Earth was first referred to by its Gallifreyan name of Sol 3 in "The Deadly Assassin". According to the Time Lords it is in the Mutter's Spiral, the Gallifreyan name for the Milky Way.

The Master refers to The Doctor's previous battles with the Sea Devils and the Axons.

The Master seems to be a Scissor Sisters fan. He's singing along to "I Can't Decide", from their "Ta-Dah" album, on the flight deck of the Valiant.

'Peoples of the Earth, please attend carefully' is a very similar to a famous line 'People of the Universe, please attend carefully' that was spoken by The Master in "Logopolis". The Master may be an insane psychopath, but you can't fault his manners.

The Master has adopted numerous pseudonyms over the course of the show which usually plays on the word ‘Master’. In this story he uses the alias ‘Harold Saxon’. ‘Mister Saxon’ is an anagram of ‘Master No Six’ and John Simm, who played this incarnation of The Master, was the sixth major incarnation of this character.

The Teletubbies is not the only children's programme that The Master has enjoyed. In the 1972 Third Doctor story "The Sea Devils", he whistled happily along with The Clangers!

It is a known fact that The Doctor loves jelly babies. The Second Doctor had a bag of them as early as "The Three Doctors", and they were a favourite snack of his fourth incarnation. The Master has never displayed a fondness for the sugary treats until now.

Dictators love their big statues. Probably the most famous one in recent years was the statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad, toppled by occupying forces at the end of the second Gulf War. That was only 20ft tall though, not quite up there with a 200ft Master. It is also mentioned that The Master has added his likeness to Mount Rushmore - thus joining 60ft granite sculptures of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. The god Xoanon did something very similar, carving the giant head of the Fourth Doctor into a mountain in "The Face of Evil".

Winters is the second US President that The Doctor has seen killed. A photo seen in the Ninth Doctor story "Rose" implies that he also witnessed the assassination of JFK in 1963.

The Doctor also suffered problems with premature aging in "The Leisure Hive", when a sabotaged machine caused him to age decades in seconds. The Doctor is also no stranger to wheelchairs. He escaped from hospital in one in "Spearhead From Space" and used an electric wheelchair to get around the TARDIS in his weakened post-regenerative state in "Castrovalva".

Could Captain Jack Harkness really be The Face of Boe? If so then The Doctor has met him so far in three stories "The End of the World", "New Earth". and "Gridlock" – the last of which he was seen to die.

This story marks the first mention of the Medusa Cascade, which plays a major part in Season Thirty (New Series 4).

Before the title sequence in episode two there is a brief recap of the main events that took place in the first episode.

Like the previous double episode story in Season Twenty Nine (New Series 3), the first episode of this story includes a title card reading "To be continued...". This is then followed, during the credits, with a trailer for episode two. The second episode of this story, being the last episide of the season does not include a trailer for the next story. It does though have a title card, at the beginning of the end the credits, that reads "Doctor Who will return at Christmas in VOYAGE OF THE DAMNED".

Following on immediately after each episode of this story, on BBC3, were the twelth and thirteenth chapters of the third series of Doctor Who Confidential. These being "The Saxon Mystery" and "The Valiant Quest". Both were presented by Anthony Head.



First and Last

The Firsts:

 The first appearance of the Time Lords (albeit in a flashback scene) since the show's revamp.

 The first mention of the Medusa Cascade, which plays a major part in Season Thirty (New Series 4).

 Depending on how you count the episodes/stories in this season, along with "Utopia", this is the first three-part story of the revived television series.

 The first Doctor Who story to be directed by Colin Teague.


The Lasts (Subject to Future Stories):

 The last story of Season Twenty Nine (New Series 3).

 Freema Agyeman's last story as regular companion Martha Jones.

 John Barrowman's last story as semi-regular companion Captain Jack Harkness.

 The last story for regular supporting characters Francine Jones (played by Adjoa Andoh) and Tish (played by Gugu Mbatha-Raw).

 The last time a story, with more than one episode, has a title card, reading "To be continued...", shown before the end credits of the current episode.

 Simon Winstone's last involvement in the show as Script Editor.


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The Plot

WARNING: May Contain SpoilersHide Text
The Master
The Master

With the TARDIS stolen by The Master our three travelling companions have been left stranded. It is therefore up to The Doctor to mend Captain Jack Harkness' Vortex Generator so that they can escape the attack on the Silo, by the Wild Ones, and to follow the newly regenerated Master.

And so The Doctor, Martha Jones and Captain Jack Harkness find themselves back on Earth. But things have changed since their last visit. There has been a British election. Harriet Jones is ancient history, and the new Prime Minister is Harold Saxon.

But while millions of voters trusted Harold Saxon’s sharp suit and winning smile, only The Doctor, Martha and Captain Jack Harkness know that Harold Saxon is in fact The Master. But what are his true intentions? – They can’t have anything to do with the lowering of council tax or reducing monthly rubbish collections. The planet Earth is about to enter its darkest days and only The Doctor with the help of his companions can stop The Master.

The Valiant
The Valiant

stop Martha’s family from being imprisoned. And then The Doctor discovers the location of his TARDIS but he is in for a shock when he enters the Console Room – The Master has turned The Doctor’s TARDIS into a Paradox Machine.

The Master knows The Doctor is on Earth and will do anything to thwart The Doctor and so during a televised first contact, with an alien race of metal spheres that The Master calls The Toclafane, onboard the Valiant the US President is killed, Captain Jack Harkness is immobilised, and The Doctor is prematurely aged.

The Toclafane
The Toclafane

Martha is the only one to escape from The Master but she is now alone and, as the planet is being attacked around her by hordes of Toclafane, things look very bleak. But what are the Toclafane and how is their very existence linked to the Paradox Machine? Could this be the end of the world? Is Martha planet Earth’s only hope? It is said that she is the only person on Earth who knows how to stop The Master – but is this true or a false hope and what will happen to Martha if she is caught by The Master who is keen to hunt her down?

It may be up to Martha to save The Doctor and Captain Jack Harkness, free her family and save the Earth but can one woman alone save the human race or does The Doctor have a far bigger plan to defeat his arch enemy and if so will it succeed?

 
The Doctor - Aged
The Doctor - Aged
A Caged Doctor
A Caged Doctor
The Master
The Master
The Young Master
The Young Master
 
A Determined Martha
A Determined Martha
The Doctor Returns to Normal
The Doctor Returns to Normal
The Master Dies
The Master Dies
The Paradox Machine is Destroyed
The Paradox Machine is Destroyed




Quote of the Story


 'I can remember the days when that famous Doctor, he was waging a Time War, battling Sea Devils, and Axons, he sealed the Rift at the Medusa Cascade, single-handed. And look at him now! How did he ever come to this? Oh yes! Me!'

The Master



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Release Information

FormatTitleRelease Date (UK)Code NumberCover ArtRemarks
Video
DVD
Utopia - The Sound of Drums - Last of the Time LordsAugust 2007BBCDVD 2384Photo-montage
Video
DVD
The Complete Third Series (Standard Version)November 2007BBCDVD 2579Photo-montageBoxed set containing all 11 stories
Video
DVD
The Complete Third Series (Woolworths Version)November 2007BBCDVD 2579Photo-montageBoxed set containing all 11 stories
Audio
CD
Original Television Soundtrack - Series 3November 2007SILCD1250Photo-montageMusic by Murray Gold
Video
DVD
The Complete Third Series (Amazon Version)November 2007BBCDVD 2579Photo-montageBoxed set containing all 11 stories
Video
DVD
Series 1 - 4 Box SetOctober 2009BBCDVD 3058Boxed set containing all 43 stories on 23 Discs
Video
Blu-Ray
The Complete Series 1-7 Box Set (Limited Edition)December 2013BBCBD 0242Photo-montageLimited Edition Blu-Ray boxed set containing all Series 1-7 stories at full 1080p high definition
Audio
CD
The 50th Anniversary CollectionDecember 2013Photo-montageOriginal Television Soundtracks
Video
DVD
The Complete Third Series (2014 Re-release)August 2014BBCDVD 3967Photo-montageBoxed set containing all 11 stories
Video
DVD
The Complete David Tennant Years Box SetNovember 2014BBCDVD 4000Photo-montageBoxed set containing all 37 stories on 26 Discs
Video
Blu-Ray
The Complete Third Series Box SetAugust 2015BBCBD 0263Photo-montageBlu-Ray boxed set containing 11 stories
Video
Blu-Ray
The Complete Third Series Box Set (Limited Edition Steelbook)May 2018BBCBD 0436Photo-montageLimited Edition Blu-Ray Steelbook boxed set containing 11 stories
Video
Blu-Ray
Series 1 - 4 & Specials Blu-Ray CollectionNovember 2023BBCBD 0582Photo-montageBoxed set containing all Ninth and Tenth Doctor stories upscaled to high definition


In Print

No Book Release
Doctor Who Magazine - PreviewIssue 383 (Released: June 2007)
Doctor Who Magazine - PreviewIssue 384 (Released: July 2007)
Doctor Who Magazine - ArticleIssue 385 (Released: August 2007)
Doctor Who Magazine - After ImageIssue 386 (Released: September 2007)
Doctor Who Magazine - Time TeamIssue 466 (Released: December 2013)
Doctor Who Magazine - Time TeamIssue 467 (Released: November 2013)
Doctor Who DVD FilesVolume 20 (Released: October 2009)
Doctor Who DVD FilesVolume 21 (Released: October 2009)

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Photo Gallery


The Doctor and Companions

 
David Tennant
The Tenth Doctor

   

John Barrowman
Captain Jack Harkness
 
Freema Agyeman
Martha Jones
   




On Release

DVD Cover
DVD Cover

BBC
VIDEO
DVD Box Set<BR>(Standard Version)
DVD Box Set
(Standard Version)

BBC
VIDEO
DVD Box Set<BR>(Woolworths Version)
DVD Box Set
(Woolworths Version)

BBC
VIDEO
Original Television Soundtrack Cover
Original Television Soundtrack Cover

BBC
AUDIO
   
DVD Box Set<BR>(Amazon Version)
DVD Box Set
(Amazon Version)

BBC
VIDEO
Series 1-4 DVD Box Set
Series 1-4 DVD Box Set

BBC
VIDEO
Complete Series 1-7 Ltd Edition Blu-Ray Box Set
Complete Series 1-7 Ltd Edition Blu-Ray Box Set

BBC
VIDEO
The 50th Anniversary Collection Cover
The 50th Anniversary Collection Cover

BBC
AUDIO
   
Complete Series DVD Box Set<BR>(2014 Re-release)
Complete Series DVD Box Set
(2014 Re-release)

BBC
VIDEO
Complete David Tennant Years DVD Box Set
Complete David Tennant Years DVD Box Set

BBC
VIDEO
Complete Series Blu-Ray Box Set
Complete Series Blu-Ray Box Set

BBC
VIDEO
Complete Series Blu-Ray Limited Edition Steelbook Box Set
Complete Series Blu-Ray Limited Edition Steelbook Box Set

BBC
VIDEO
   
Series 1 - 4 & Specials Blu-Ray Collection Cover
Series 1 - 4 & Specials Blu-Ray Collection Cover

BBC
VIDEO



Magazines

Doctor Who Magazine - Preview: Issue 383
Doctor Who Magazine - Preview: Issue 383

Marvel Comics
Doctor Who Magazine - Preview: Issue 384
Doctor Who Magazine - Preview: Issue 384

Marvel Comics
Doctor Who Magazine - Article: Issue 385
Doctor Who Magazine - Article: Issue 385

Marvel Comics
Doctor Who Magazine - After Image: Issue 386
Doctor Who Magazine - After Image: Issue 386

Marvel Comics
   
Doctor Who Magazine - Time Team: Issue 466
Doctor Who Magazine - Time Team: Issue 466

Marvel Comics
Doctor Who Magazine - Time Team: Issue 467
Doctor Who Magazine - Time Team: Issue 467

Marvel Comics
Doctor Who DVD Files: Volume 20
Doctor Who DVD Files: Volume 20

GE Fabbri
Doctor Who DVD Files: Volume 21
Doctor Who DVD Files: Volume 21

GE Fabbri
   


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