Throwing my hat into the ring, I listened to both the trailer and the excerpt from the newsletter. Code ZENITH, by the way. I wasn’t impressed by the excerpt, couldn’t quite get into it which was extra disappointing because of the two ranges announced way back when, this was the one I was the most excited for.
Sacha Dhawan is - in my opinion - the best on-screen Master since the classic series. His more unhinged nature draws comparisons to John Simm’s Master but I think on the whole you get a better execution of a more manic Master with Dhawan, he’s ready to explode at any moment and it’s clear that he has some serious issues that could lead to him falling apart at any given moment too (most notably seen in him hoping compressing Ashad would result in his own demise in The Timeless Children and “Don’t let me go back to being me” from The Power of the Doctor).
This aspect of the character is something I hope to be a big part of Call Me Master, from what we have of Self-Help it’s obvious he’s in a slump, such frequent self deprecation and without the Doctor to face off against all the bravado that he usually (poorly) masks himself with is gone. He’s got nobody to put up that front for so you get a feel for where he’s at, I like that. Especially excited for the therapy session teased in the trailer for this very reason.
Unfortunately the story itself is a bit dull even working with a fun premise, as the Master finds himself accidentally taking the place of another historical figure (future history, that is) and becoming a hermit for centuries due to a scheme gone wrong. This should be ripe pickings, especially for the Master in this incarnation but it doesn’t get the mileage out of it and where the preview ends it seems the story is about to change course anyway.
The theme song is pretty bad too, someone has shared it over on Twitter. Very disappointed, Jago and Litefoot, The Diary of River Song and The War Master all had main themes I’ve really enjoyed but something about this feels so wrong in a way I don’t know how to articulate. To try, it feels a little empty (and like it lasts longer than it does…) and the very obvious midi instruments do not help.
I get why people are a bit put off by the trailer. It is a bit much, but I see what they were going for and I respect them for it. “Why has he done this, all of this pain and misery, what was it for?” followed by “Oh I don’t know, I think I was bored.” is great too, love the delivery from Dhawan there. I’ve missed him in the role so much.