Doctor Who's new Master reveals that he has no remorse for making the Doctor regenerate in a classic series episode from 1981. Season 12 of Doctor Who began with style, both of the literal and narrative kind, as the TARDIS crew suited up as secret agents for the "Spyfall" two-parter. By far the biggest talking point, however, has been the introduction of Sacha Dhawan as the Master. Teaming up with a previously-unseen alien race called the Kasaavin and an evil tech entrepreneur on Earth, the Master hatches a plan to destroy the entire human race, kill the Doctor and cause maximum carnage. Needless to say, the Doctor puts a stop to these sinister designs, but not before some classic Time Lord back-and-forth.
Due to the Doctor's time-traveling artron energy, the Kasaavin can't wipe her as they do the rest of the human race, and so Jodie Whittaker winds up unpredictably jumping through space and time until she can hijack herself a TARDIS. Disappointed about her survival, the Master gives chase, first disguised as a crazed 19th century inventor, and then as a Nazi. It's during the latter timeline that the Doctor finally confronts the Master at the summit of the Eiffel Tower, aiming to outmaneuver her fellow Time Lord.
During this tempestuous conversation, the Doctor says, "It's cold up here...It's worse than Jodrell Bank!" The Master then retorts, "Did I ever apologize for that?" When the Doctor confirms he did not, the Master coldly replies, "Good." The Jodrell Bank reference is a callback to the classic Doctor Who series, in particular Tom Baker's final episode, "Logopolis." This 1981 adventure sees the Master accidentally trigger the end of the universe, necessitating an alliance with the Doctor to put things right. The Time Lord duo use a giant telescope in England to fix the calamity but, naturally, the partnership doesn't last any longer than it needs to, and as soon as the universe is out of danger, the Master threatens to restart the apocalypse unless he is installed as ruler of everything. The Doctor realizes he can sever the Master's connection by climbing out onto the dish's gantry and removing a cable. Baker's Doctor succeeds in doing so, but the Master tilts the gantry and knocks the Doctor to the ground far below, triggering a regeneration from Fourth to Fifth.
In "Logopolis," the location of the Fourth Doctor's regeneration is not called Jodrell Bank, but the Pharos Project - a fictional operation to send messages into outer space with the hope of contacting extra-terrestrial life. In fact, the connection between "Logopolis" and Jodrell Bank is the source of some debate. The BBC hoped to use the real-life Jodrell as the setting for the Pharos Project but this proved impossible, so a replica model of the telescope was built instead and a different location was used for filming. The connection between "Logopolis" and Jodrell, then, is perhaps more spiritual than physical. With that said, it's clear that the Pharos Project was intended as a fictional allegory for the Jodrell Bank Observatory, and this was confirmed when the recent "Logopolis" Blu-Ray release shot additional footage at the actual Jodrell Bank to insert into the episode.
The Master's lack of apology is a display of how villainous Sacha Dhawan's version of the character is compared to Missy, who was relatively friendly towards the Twelfth Doctor by the end. There's still no confirmation of where Dhawan's regeneration falls in the Master's timeline, but he's undoubtedly more along the lines of the classic, irredeemable Masters of old in tone and personality. The Jodrell Bank exchange also highlights the Master's pettiness when it comes to besting the Doctor - something Dhawan seems particularly keen on given the kneeling scene earlier in the episode.
Doctor Who season 12 continues with "Orphan 55" January 12th on BBC and BBC America.