Geek Dave has rounded up some potential candidates for the renegade Time Lord, and along with a disturbing beard fascination, he has an interesting theory behind some clues that Steven Moffat may be casually dropping in plain sight.
I'll be honest, I don't watch EastEnders (except for Dimensions In Time, but I guess that doesn't count?) so I know nothing about Steve John Shepherd's character Michael Moon. Apparently he recently left the series and revealed that he was about to start work on a large project, but could not reveal any details. That, quite frankly, could be anything!
But then he posted the above image of himself apparently standing on the south Wales coastline on January 19th. Near where Doctor Who was filming that week.
Could he be the Master?
Well, I like the beard, he kinda looks the part, but I'm not convinced. That beach could be anywhere and I would think it's unlikely that the Master would make an appearance so early on in the series. On January 19th they were filming the first two episodes. I would imagine that even though the Master's influence may be felt early on in the series we would be unlikely to see his face until further in to the year.
He's the current Master, but Sylvester McCoy says he won't be back. Now, how would McCoy know this? Good question, and I think it's likely he probably doesn't but he has just read or seen things like everyone else and has made up his own mind. Besides, it's always fun to mess with Doctor Who fans at conventions!
Could he be the Master?
Highly unlikely. I would think that Steven Moffat would want a new actor for the role.
Plus no beard. Well, a wife...
This was an interesting theory that I'd not considered until Chris Goodger put it forward last week. Maybe Danny Pink is the Master in disguise, and is using Clara to get to the Doctor. It would be an interesting experiment to have someone evil traveling for a period of time with the Doctor before revealing his true self. The series did it before with Turlough, although not to this extent. It's also been pointed out that Daniel Pink is an anagram for Pain Linked. Not that that makes a lot of sense!
Could he be the Master?
I would like it to be true, it's a great idea, but it might be a bit too extreme and out there for the series today. But he does have a bit of a beard so it sure would be interesting.
This seems to be the name of choice right now, and it has been for several weeks. There's certianly something about him that says 'Master', and it would make sense to have an older actor in the role to play opposite Peter Capaldi's Doctor. Of all the actors on my shortlist he would be the one I'd choose if I was in charge. I'm not, but I'm working on that!
Could he be the Master?
I'd love it to be true but he does have a pretty busy schedule, I suppose he could be just appearing in one or two episodes at the end of the season and in that case he may be able to fit the show in. But would he jump from Game Of Thrones to Doctor Who?
Plus he has a ginger beard.
The Master has always been Moriarty to the Doctor's Sherlock, which is probably why Andrew Scott's name has been mentioned as a potential Master. Plus with Moffat being in charge of both shows, he already knows the strengths of this actor.
Could he be the Master?
NO! He can't even grow a beard.
If Moffat casts Andrew Scott as the Master then I'd have to stop occasionally praising him as show-runner. It would be too much to basically copy Moriarty across from one show to another.
But he would make a good Doctor one day.
Michael Smiley was recently announced as a guest star in series 8 of Doctor Who. He will be playing a character called Colonel Blue. You may have seen him in Kill List or A Field in England. He can be quite menacing and could make for a pretty decent Master.
Could he be the Master?
I think there's a good argument to be made for Smiley as the Master, as long as he cultivates the beard a bit that is! Of all the actors on this list my money is on either him or Charles Dance.
Something that also sticks out here is that Michael Smiley's character is called Colonel Blue, Samuel Anderson is playing Danny Pink, and one of Peter Capaldi's first lines at the end of 'The Time Of The Doctor' was "I don’t like the colour".
Co-incidence? I think not! Not where Steven Moffat is involved.
What has Moffat got up his sleeve for us this year? Could we actually see more than one version of the Master throughout the year? Could several of the actors in question end up playing the Master? Now that could be quite interesting.
Time will tell.
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