Some fans have taken umbrage with the level of ‘spoilery’ announcements made about this season of Doctor Who. While others reacted with excitement when, say, it was revealed that the original Cybermen would be returning to the show, a lot of people would have preferred to find this out during the episode itself. The same goes for John Simm’s long-awaited comeback as the Master. As if to make up for spoiling his return, however, there was another layer to his re-appearance that was still able to shock some fans.
In last week’s outing, “World Enough and Time,” Bill befriends strange, quirky hospital orderly Mr. Razor, who seems to be the episode’s comic relief character. As things progress, though, he actually leads her into being – shock horror! – converted into a Cyberman and it turns out that he’s really John Simm’s Master in disguise.
Speaking on Doctor Who: The Fan Show (via DoctorWho.TV), exec producer Brian Minchin talked about how they wanted to call back to the classic series with this surprise reveal, referencing the many times the Master wore an elaborate disguise in the show’s original run.
“We kind of wanted it to be surprise, like an old-school Master surprise, and we weren’t sure how we could manage it. Neill Gorton [prosthetic effects designer from Millennium FX], again, came up with a fantastic mask and he [John Simm] did the voice.”
It turns out that fans who showed up to watch the filming of the episode were completely fooled as well.
“We kind of thought we were probably on the right lines when we actually filmed in public for a whole evening with Razor out in the streets and people were taking pictures of the Cybermen and Bill and no one recognised John Simm! We think it’s great fun and a very ‘Master’ thing to do.”
Whether Simm’s disguise as Mr. Razor was foolproof seems to be up to the individual. Some people saw right through his phoney accent and fake nose while others were completely taken in by the larger than life character. Either way, it was a fun callback to the classic series and a welcome return for John Simm’s Master.
The shocks and surprises are bound to continue this week as well, as we head into the Doctor Who season 10 finale, titled “The Doctor Falls” and airing this Saturday on BBC America.
