# The War Master (audio drama series)

The War Master, announced in June 2017, is a Big Finish Productions audio play series based on the TV show Doctor Who. It sees the return of Sir Derek Jacobi as the Master, a role he previously portrayed in the TV story "Utopia". The first volume consists of a four-CD box set; it was released in December 2017. In July 2018, a further 3 series were confirmed for release between December 2018 – December 2019.
In January 2019, Paul McGann was confirmed as an appearance within the third series, Rage of the Time Lords, as the Eighth Doctor alongside Jacobi. Seán Carlsen reprised his role as Narvin from the Gallifrey series alongside Pippa Bennett-Warner and Nicholas Briggs as Livia and the Daleks.
The series was created by Scott Handcock, who is the producer of the range as well as director and script-editor for sets released between 2017 and 2024. It was announced that he will be succeeded by Robert Valentine, after Handcock became a script editor for future series of Doctor Who on screen.

## Cast

This section includes characters who will appear or have appeared in at least one season.
* A green cell indicates the actor is a main cast member.
* A red cell indicates the actor is a recurring cast member.
* A light blue cell indicates the actor is a guest or special guest cast member.
| Actor | Character | Appearances | Appearances | Appearances | Appearances | Appearances | Appearances | Appearances | Appearances | Appearances | Appearances | Appearances |
| Actor | Character | S1 | S2 | S3 | S4 | S5 | S6 | S7 | S8 | S9 | S10 | S11 |
| Sir Derek Jacobi | The Master | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Sir Derek Jacobi | Professor Yana | Does not appear | Does not appear | Does not appear | Does not appear | Does not appear | Does not appear | Does not appear | Does not appear | Does not appear | ✓ | Does not appear |
| Mark Gatiss | Alternate-Universe Master | Does not appear | Does not appear | Does not appear | ✓ | Does not appear | Does not appear | Does not appear | Does not appear | Does not appear | Does not appear | Does not appear |
| Seán Carlsen | Narvin | Does not appear | ✓ | Does not appear | ✓ | ✓ | Does not appear | Does not appear | Does not appear | Does not appear | Does not appear | Does not appear |
| Paul McGann | The Doctor | Does not appear | Does not appear | ✓ | Does not appear | ✓ | Does not appear | Does not appear | Does not appear | Does not appear | Does not appear | Does not appear |
| David Tennant | The Doctor | Does not appear | Does not appear | Does not appear | Does not appear | Does not appear | Does not appear | ✓ | Does not appear | Does not appear | Does not appear | Does not appear |
| Jonny Green | Cole Jarnish | ✓ | Does not appear | Does not appear | Does not appear | Does not appear | Does not appear | ✓ | Does not appear | Does not appear | Does not appear | Does not appear |
| Nicholas Briggs | The Daleks | ✓ | Does not appear | Does not appear | ✓ | Does not appear | Does not appear | Does not appear | ✓ | Does not appear | ✓ | Does not appear |
| Nicholas Briggs | Sherlock Holmes | Does not appear | Does not appear | Does not appear | Does not appear | Does not appear | Does not appear | Does not appear | ✓ | Does not appear | Does not appear | Does not appear |

### Notable guests

* Silas Carson as The Ood
* Samantha Béart as Martine King
* Maeve Bluebell Wells as Cassandra King
* Pippa Haywood as Teremon
* Pippa Bennett-Warner as Livia
* Colin McFarlane as Captain Morski
* Luyanda Unati Lewis-Nyawo as The Scaramancer
* Katy Manning as Jo Jones
* Sarah Sutton as Nyssa
* Alexander Vlahos as Dorian Gray
* Richard Earl as Dr. Watson
* Gethin Anthony as The Shadow
* Murray Melvin as Bilis Manger

## Episodes
### Series 1: Only the Good (2017)

| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Featuring | Released |
| 1 | "Beneath the Viscoid" | Scott Handcock | Nicholas Briggs | Daleks | December 2017 (2017-12) |
| 2 | "The Good Master" | Scott Handcock | Janine H Jones | Cole Jarnish, Daleks | December 2017 (2017-12) |
| 3 | "The Sky Man" | Scott Handcock | James Goss | Cole Jarnish | December 2017 (2017-12) |
| 4 | "The Heavenly Paradigm" | Scott Handcock | Guy Adams | Cole Jarnish | December 2017 (2017-12) |

### Series 2: The Master of Callous (2018)

| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Featuring | Released |
| 1 | "Call for the Dead" | Scott Handcock | James Goss | Ood, Martine King, Cassandra King | December 2018 (2018-12) |
| 2 | "The Glittering Prize" | Scott Handcock | James Goss | Ood, Martine King, Cassandra King | December 2018 (2018-12) |
| 3 | "The Persistence of Dreams" | Scott Handcock | Guy Adams | Ood, Martine King, Cassandra King | December 2018 (2018-12) |
| 4 | "Sins of the Father" | Scott Handcock | Guy Adams | Ood, Narvin, Cassandra King | December 2018 (2018-12) |

### Series 3: Rage of the Time Lords (2019)

| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Featuring | Released |
| 1 | "The Survivor" | Scott Handcock | Tim Foley | Alice Pritchard | July 2019 (2019-07) |
| 2 | "The Coney Island Chameleon" | Scott Handcock | David Llewellyn | Giuseppe Sabatini | July 2019 (2019-07) |
| 3 | "The Missing Link" | Scott Handcock | Tim Foley | Eighth Doctor, Alice Pritchard | July 2019 (2019-07) |
| 4 | "Darkness and Light" | Scott Handcock | David Llewellyn | Eighth Doctor | July 2019 (2019-07) |

### Series 4: Anti-Genesis (2019)

| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Featuring | Released |
| 1 | "From the Flames" | Scott Handcock | Nicholas Briggs | Narvin, Livia | December 2019 (2019-12) |
| 2 | "The Master's Dalek Plan" | Scott Handcock | Alan Barnes | Narvin, Livia, Daleks | December 2019 (2019-12) |
| 3 | "Shockwave" | Scott Handcock | Alan Barnes | Narvin, Livia, Daleks, The Master (Unbound) | December 2019 (2019-12) |
| 4 | "He Who Wins" | Scott Handcock | Nicholas Briggs | Narvin, Livia, Daleks, The Master (Unbound) | December 2019 (2019-12) |

### Series 5: Hearts of Darkness (2020)

| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Featuring | Released |
| 1 | "The Edge of Redemption" | Scott Handcock | David Llewellyn | Narvin | October 2020 (2020-10) |
| 2 | "The Scaramancer" | Scott Handcock | Lisa McMullin | – | October 2020 (2020-10) |
| 3 | "The Castle of Kurnos 5" | Scott Handcock | David Llewellyn | Eighth Doctor | October 2020 (2020-10) |
| 4 | "The Cognition Shift" | Scott Handcock | Lisa McMullin | Eighth Doctor | October 2020 (2020-10) |

### Series 6: Killing Time (2021)

| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Featuring | Released |
| 1 | "The Sincerest Form of Flattery" | Scott Handcock | James Goss | – | August 2021 (2021-08) |
| 2 | "A Quiet Night In" | Scott Handcock | Lou Morgan | Jo Jones | August 2021 (2021-08) |
| 3 | "The Orphan" | Scott Handcock | Lou Morgan | Nyssa | August 2021 (2021-08) |
| 4 | "Unfinished Business" | Scott Handcock | James Goss | – | August 2021 (2021-08) |

### Series 7: Self-Defence (2022)

| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Featuring | Released |
| 1 | "The Forest of Penitence" | Scott Handcock | Lou Morgan | – | June 2022 (2022-06) |
| 2 | "The Players" | Scott Handcock | Una McCormack | – | June 2022 (2022-06) |
| 3 | "Boundaries" | Scott Handcock | Lizbeth Myles | Cole Jarnish | June 2022 (2022-06) |
| 4 | "The Last Line" | Scott Handcock | Lizzie Hopley | Tenth Doctor | June 2022 (2022-06) |

### Series 8: Escape from Reality (2022)

| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Featuring | Released |
| 1 | "The Wrath of Medusa" | Scott Handcock | Rochana Patel | Daleks, Medusa, Perseus, Hecate | December 2022 (2022-12) |
| 2 | "The Shadow Master" | Scott Handcock | Lizzie Hopley | The Shadow | December 2022 (2022-12) |
| 3 | "The Adventure of the Deceased Doctor" | Scott Handcock | Alfie Shaw | Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson | December 2022 (2022-12) |
| 4 | "The Master of Dorian Gray" | Scott Handcock | David Llewellyn | Dorian Gray | December 2022 (2022-12) |

### Series 9: Solitary Confinement (2023)

| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Featuring | Released |
| 2 | "The Walls of Absence" | Scott Handcock | James Goss | – | June 2023 (2023-06) |
| 3 | "The Long Despair" | Scott Handcock | Tim Foley | – | June 2023 (2023-06) |
| 4 | "The Life and Loves of Mr Alexander Bennett" | Scott Handcock | Alfie Shaw | – | June 2023 (2023-06) |
| N/A | "The Kicker" | Scott Handcock | Trevor Baxendale | – | June 2023 (2023-06) |

### Series 10: Rogue Encounters (2023)

| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Featuring | Released |
| 1 | "Runtime" | Scott Handcock | Tim Foley | Daleks | December 2023 (2023-12) |
| 2 | "Manhunt" | Scott Handcock | Rochana Patel | N/A | December 2023 (2023-12) |
| 3 | "The Sublime Porte" | Scott Handcock | James Goss | Bilis Manger | December 2023 (2023-12) |
| 4 | "Alone" | Scott Handcock | Scott Handcock | Professor Yana | December 2023 (2023-12) |

### Series 11: Future Phantoms (2024)

| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Featuring | Released |
| 1 | "His Close Companions" | Scott Handcock | Jonathan Barnes | TBA | November 2024 (2024-11) |
| 2 | "The Foxglove Cylinders" | Scott Handcock | James Goss | TBA | November 2024 (2024-11) |
| 3 | "The Sitter" | Scott Handcock | Lizzie Hopley | TBA | November 2024 (2024-11) |
| 4 | "Signal and I’ll Come to You" | Scott Handcock | Tim Foley | TBA | November 2024 (2024-11) |

### Series 12: His Greatest Trick

| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Featuring | Released |
| 1 | TBA | TBD | TBD | TBA | October 2025 (2025-10) |

### Series 13: Deeds Without Name

| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Featuring | Released |
| 1 | TBA | TBD | TBD | TBA | October 2026 (2026-10) |

## Awards and nominations

Name of the award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee(s) of the award, and the result of the nomination :
| Award ceremony | Year | Category | Work(s) | Result | Ref. |
| BBC Audio Drama Awards | 2019 | Best Actor | Derek Jacobi (Beneath the Viscoid) | Shortlisted | |
| Scribe Awards | 2019 | Best Audio | The Master of Callous | Nominated | |