Doctor Who Should Return To The Classic Era By Breaking The Master’s Regeneration Streak

Doctor Who has been through several different iterations since it first began in 1963, from the classic era, to the rebooted era, to the re-rebooted era that started with Ncuti Gatwa’s introduction in 2023. However, the best episodes of Doctor Who are the ones that draw inspiration from many different points in the show’s past, blending the eras together in a way that pleases both new and returning fans. This is something that’s generally been done very well in the rebooted era, but there’s certainly room for improvement.

Bringing characters from the classic era back to the modern iteration is a great way to bridge the gap between the eras, and Doctor Who has been doing this way back in the beginning. The Master is perhaps the strongest example of this; he’s appeared consistently throughout the show’s history, and every time he shows up, the writers do something unique with the character. The Master has appeared in many different forms, but if the show really wants to make the most of this villain, it should return to the old format of no regeneration.

The Master Stayed Mostly The Same During Doctor Who’s Classic Era

He Was Only Played By Two Recurring Actors

While the Doctor’s regeneration cycle was a major plot point in classic Doctor Who, this was never the case with his old nemesis. The Master was played by Roger Delgado until the actor’s death in 1973, when he was replaced by a couple of faceless stand-ins before Anthony Ainley took over in 1981. This means there were only two recurring incarnations of The Master in the entirety of classic Doctor Who – whereas the rebooted show has already included twice as many.

Doctor Who’s Next Master Should Be Sacha Dhawan’s Version

The Actor Would Work Brilliantly Alongside Ncuti’s Doctor

While Doctor Who has introduced several characters to replace the Master in recent years, it’s inevitable that he will return at some point in the future. When this happens, the show could finally break the character’s regenerative streak and simply bring Sacha Dhawan back instead of casting a new actor. Not only would this please existing fans who’ve stuck around for the newly rebooted era, but it would also ensure that Doctor Who doesn’t overwhelm audiences with yet another version of the character. Bringing the same actor back is much closer to classic Doctor Who’s treatment of the villain.

The Master Isn’t Dead In Doctor Who, So Doesn’t Need To Regenerate

There’s No In-Universe Reason To Recast The Villain

Importantly, the Master isn’t canonically dead in Doctor Who – which means he doesn’t have to regenerate in order to come back. The majority of the times the Doctor has defeated his nemesis, the villain has been on the verge of death and forced to regenerate into a new incarnation. This wasn’t the case in The Power of the Doctor, where the Master left of his own accord shortly before Jodie Whittaker’s regeneration scene. This is the perfect excuse to avoid a recast, which has typically been the case whenever a version of the Doctor is introduced.