Thursday, April 05, 2007

John Simm, Time Traveller - Again

I've had it spelled it to me by somebody who really understands Dr. Who that two different actors will play The Master in this series. I'm about to reveal all, so look away if you want to play at home.

Apparently, Derek Jacobi is playing a character called The Professor. He's actually The Master, and when he regenerates, he's going to be John Simm - apparently, the tabloids have already covered this bit and I'm rather late to the party. The Master is currently using the alias of Saxon on the show - and, I'm told this is because Mister Saxon is an anagram of Master No. Six - which, if Russell T Davies' maths is correct, is the amount of actors to have played the Master in canon, up to and including Jacobi's Professor, the originator of the Saxon pseudonym. There is reportedly a tradition of using anagrams whenever and wherever The Master is concerned. How 1960's Batman of them.

Some clips of Simm in the role have been screened to a select few - Johnathon Ross amongst them - and, apparently, he was absolutely fantastic.

4 comments:

Mark H Wilkinson said...

People who have played the Master in canon: Roger Delgado, Peter Pratt, Geoffrey Beevers, Anthony Ainley, Gordon Tipple, Eric Roberts. That's six (people tend to forget about Tipple). Even if we discount Tipple's brief appearance in the '96 McGann movie -- and assuming the super, soaraway Sun was right about Jacobi's character regenerating into Simm's -- then Jacobi would be the sixth Master, not Simm, so the anagram theory rather breaks down.

Brendon said...

I'm no expert, but here's hwo it looked to me:

Jacobi IS The Master when the name Saxon is initiated. Hence me saying "up to and including Jacobi's professor"

Your other point is maore salient, perhaps. That Tipple has been overlooked.

Mark H Wilkinson said...

Yes, but there's no indication anywhere that Jacobi's character will be calling himself Saxon, or initiating the pseudonym. He's calling himself 'the Professor' (the BBC confirmed this; likewise, Simm is confirmed as playing Mr Saxon). As far as I'm aware (and I've been following this stuff more obsessively than a stalker does Emily Watson), film ick is the first online resource to claim this.

I'm afraid either you or your Whovian friend is getting ahead of themself.

Brendon said...

They may well be ahead of themselves.

But Jacobi NOT calling himself Master but Professor... that discounts him from the Master tally, right?

So we're back where we started.