Will the real Mr Saxon please stand up

[dreamer_easy]

So far, fans have theorised that Mr Saxon, John Simms' character in the Doctor Who series finale, is the Master, the Monk, the Doctor, the Valeyard, the Doctor's brother, the Doctor's son, Dalek Caan, Timothy Latimer, the head of Torchwood Glasgow, and various combinations of these characters.

Amidst this madness, many fans have suggested that perhaps he's just an evil politician, and the Toclafane and/or Saxon's "right hand woman", Miss Dexter, are the real baddies. I'm really surprised by the level of excitement over the possible return of the Master, though. I'd trust RTD to work wonders with the worn old excuse for a villain, but what is it that people see in the character?

Personally, I agree with the fans who reckon Saxon will turn out to be Adam from Dalek (aka Davros).

Comments

[ionlylurkhere.livejournal.com]

what is it that people see in the character?

Well, he's got that whole equal-and-opposite-of-the-hero thing going on. And then there's the fact that they knew each other at school, which appeals to the sort of people who want to know more about the Doctor's past. And they can have a proper snarky relationship in a way that you can't get with catchphrase-reciting monsters like the Daleks and the Cybermen. (Not that the Master doesn't have his catchphrases, but they're not all of his vocabulary.)

Also: slashiness. Everyone seems convinced that Tennant and Simm are going to have Chemistry.

[kateorman.livejournal.com]

It would be cool if we met a fellow Time Lord who had the same terrifying intelligence and knowledge. Few other beings in the cosmos would actually threaten the Doctor with pwnage.

[hexacontium.livejournal.com]

Also: slashiness. Everyone seems convinced that Tennant and Simm are going to have Chemistry.

you mean shippiness? ;)

I really hope John Simm will not turn out the be the Master. I never liked him as a character, nor as a plot device: someone might be holding the threads in the background, Doctor investigates, the Master is identified and a few seconds later defeated. Just let Saxon be a politician who got more than he bargained for, or any other Time Lord who played with his chameleon arch quiet a while ago, but not the Master.

[notfromvenus.livejournal.com]

Well, slashiness = gay shippiness. ;)

[hexacontium.livejournal.com]

Argh! I suppose I'm getting old... in my country slashiness refers to something slightly different.

[lizbee.livejournal.com]

Don't forget Braxiatel! I'm writing that fic right now.

[notfromvenus.livejournal.com]

Yaaay, Brax! I totally want to read that fic right now.

[angriest.livejournal.com]

I adore the Master when Roger Delgado played him. In fact, he was pretty much the only part of the Pertwee era that I particularly love. He's not the Doctor's opposite, which is what most people argue him to be, because it's not like he's order to the Doctor's chaos. He's a different kind of chaos. He mucks it up, plays around. He tries to take over the world, sure, but he's not really trying to take over the world. He's just having fun in a very dangerous way and getting a big kick out of pissing the hell out of Pertwee.

There are so many directions you could take that character post-Time War. And he'd be so much more emotionally resonant than he used to be. The Doctor used to be distraught and damaged because he was the only Time Lord left. Now he's not, but the only other survivor is a homicidal prick that he might have to kill.

Completely honest: if Saxon does not wind up being the Master I am going to be so disappointed I'm likely to shout at the television. If he's got anything to do with the Daleks I am also probably going to shout at the television.

[wiliqueen.livejournal.com]

if Saxon does not wind up being the Master I am going to be so disappointed I'm likely to shout at the television.

I'll be a bit disappointed, but as long as he's something interesting I'll be okay. My fantasy of Jack Davenport as the Master will be dashed either way. *g*

If he's got anything to do with the Daleks I am also probably going to shout at the television.

Oh, yes. At the top of my classically-trained lungs. It won't be pretty.

[reveilles.livejournal.com]

The Doctor used to be distraught and damaged because he was the only Time Lord left. Now he's not, but the only other survivor is a homicidal prick that he might have to kill.

LOL!

I, too, will be annoyed if they resurrect the Daleks ONE MORE TIME without giving us at least 90% of a season without them. They have become such a one-note villian, and now we've gotten ourselves (again) into the "one-Time-Lord, one-Dalek" schtick, which we played so much better the first time, when we actually thought it was true.

[wiliqueen.livejournal.com]

I'd trust RTD to work wonders with the worn old excuse for a villain, but what is it that people see in the character?

Honestly? I have no idea. I freely admit it makes no rational sense. But I adore him anyway. Both incarnations.

If I try to make rational sense of it, I get about as far as (a) I identified with Nyssa liek woah, (b) Ainley did his job and then some in making Tremas a solid and very likable character of his own when he could have been a mere walking plot device, and (c) the resulting creepitude of the body-snatching spilled over into the not-always-as-effective later characterization of the Master.

But when all is said and done, I've just always thought he was great fun. And in my head, if there's only one other Time Lord who survived, it has to be him. For reasons that skip right over the Moriarty conceptual origin and straight into "Because he's a cockroach."

[michaellee.livejournal.com]

That's what it is for me -- in fact, given the Doctor's luck, if only one other Time Lord survived there really is no other choice than Mister Saxon.

I think the appeal is for all of the reasons he's a cliche -- if the Master didn't exist, they would have to create him. I don't think it's a coincidence that both the Meddling Monk and the War Chief have been assumed by some to be the same character -- because they really all fit the same whole in the mythology, which is the dark reflection of the central character.

[rj-anderson.livejournal.com]

I think the whole Saxon thing is a blind and the big shocker will be that Miss Dexter is a regenerated Romana. FOR REALS.

[notfromvenus.livejournal.com]

I suppose it's because he's a villian who's - at least in theory - the Doctor's equal. And there's just something about their dynamic.....

And right now, there's so much interesting drama they can pull out of his character. There's the obvious irony in the one other remaining Time Lord in the universe being the Doctor's archenemy. And then there's the basics that the old series never did much with. They were friends once upon a time when they were in school, and now are/were bitter enemies - which presents a lot of room for bitterness and regret and so on.

[matthewwolff.livejournal.com]

For me, mostly, I'd expect the Master to be done so well in the new series. I really wouldn't expect him to be the same old tired Master. And yes, the slash potential has it's appeal. ;)