After several appearances since Doctor Who returned in 2005, the Doctor's Time Lord nemesis the Master could be replaced by two other meddlesome time travelers from the show's history. Introduced in 1971's serial Terror of the Autons, the Master was devised by executive producer Barry Letts and script editor Terrance Dicks as Moriarty to the Third Doctor's Sherlock Holmes. Thanks to Roger Delgado's iconic performance as the Master, and his interplay with Third Doctor actor Jon Pertwee, the character became the best-known of the Doctor's Time Lord foes.
The Master wasn't the first of the Doctor's fellow Time Lords to go rogue, however, and both William Hartnell's First Doctor, and Patrick Troughton's Second Doctor faced off against their own Gallifreyan villains. Patrick Troughton's epic final serial The War Games - which also featured the Second Doctor's forced regeneration - forced the Doctor to seek assistance from his people to defeat the nefarious schemes of the villainous War Lord (Edward Brayshaw). Before that, the First Doctor had two run-ins with the Meddling Monk (Peter Butterworth), a Time Lord who attempted to change the course of the Battle of Hastings, and later teamed up with the Daleks. As such, either character would be an ideal alternative for the Master.
Doctor Who's Meddling Monk & War Chief Are Perfect Master Alternatives
Both the Monk and the War Chief would be ideal characters to bring back to Doctor Who in the Ncuti Gatwa era because they have very different motivations from the Master. The War Chief was a Time Lord who used Gallifreyan technology to build an army of Earth's greatest warriors from historical conflicts with the intention of using that army to launch a full-scale invasion of Earth's solar system. The Meddling Monk, who almost came back in an unmade Steven Moffat era episode, also interfered with historical conflict, but because he had an inherent fascination in seeing how history would change as a result of him altering the outcome of the Battle of Hastings.
A Time Lord who interferes with history for his own entertainment, like the Monk, would be a fascinating foe for the new era. Some of the best Doctor Who time travel stories like "The Fires of Pompeii", "Rosa" or the 1960s serial The Aztecs have been about the Doctor ensuring history runs its course, despite the harm it will do to others. Introducing a character like the Monk, who could ostensibly promise a more positive alternative could provide dramatic conflict between Ncuti Gatwa's Doctor and companion Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson). Updating The War Games for the modern era of warfare could be a way for Doctor Who to comment on how little humanity has actually moved on since the serial first aired.
Why Doctor Who Should Rest The Master (For Now)
The Master in the modern Doctor Who series has been defined by their obsession with the Doctor. John Simm and David Tennant played the Master and the Doctor as a toxic romantic relationship, while Michelle Gomez and Peter Capaldi played it as two old friends who had lost their way and were seeking redemption through each other. Both portrayals of the relationship were excellent, but there are only so many alternative takes on that story.
Sacha Dhawan's Master's obsession with the Timeless Child was rooted in his desire to finally break Jodie Whittaker's Doctor's hopeful optimism, making her more like him. If the Master was to return again in the new Russell T Davies era of Doctor Who, then it would be hard to provide a fresh spin on the relationship. Looking back through the Doctor's history for new versions of previous Time Lord villains would be the perfect way to reinvigorate their relationship with their fellow Gallifreyans.