While waiting for “Kinda” and “Snakedance” to be released next month, I’ve decided to kill the time by watching select stories a second time. (I’m still quite new to the world of Doctor Who, you know, and have seen very few of the stories more than once.) For reasons of my own, I decided to watch “The Keeper of Traken.” “The Keeper of Traken” is one of the earliest stories I decided to watch, because it came in a boxed set featuring the regeneration from the Fourth Doctor to the Fifth. It was also, in fact, my first exposure to The Master. I liked it when I first saw it, but I like it much more now. I think I initially watched it too soon in my Doctor Who viewing to get the full level of enjoyment out of it. Companions generally have one adventure with the Doctor before they are officially (or “unofficially”) granted “companion” status. This phenomenon is even recognized by the Timelords who, when wiping Jamie and Zoe’s memories, allowed them to remember “The Highlanders” and “The Wheel in Space” respectively. Just as I consider “The Ark” Dodo’s first adventure as a companion and “The Tomb of the Cybermen” Victoria’s first adventure as a companion, so too do I now consider “The Keeper of Traken” to be Adric’s first adventure as a companion. That, plus it’s Nyssa’s initial adventure. First time through I wasn’t paying too much attention to Tremas and wasn’t expecting [SPOILER] The Master to steal his body, nor (for whatever reason) did I expect this version of The Master to last as long as he did. How does that work, anyway? Did Tremas all of a sudden grow an extra heart when the Master took his body over? If not, how did The Master reacquire his second heart? Or do Trakenites (Trakonians?) just naturally have two hearts? It’s times like this I really mourn the loss of the old board. I know I posted a “Doctor Who Reactions” thread about “The Keeper of Traken” when I first watched it a few years ago. I would really like to be able to go back and read my thoughts after seeing it for the first time. Ah, well.
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I don't think they ever exactly explained how the Master took over Tremas' body or whether the Master was physically a Time Lord or a Trakenite during that period.
Since the Time Lords resurrected the Master (a younger version of the Derek Jacoby Master, perhaps?) to fight in the Time War, I assumed they resurrected him as a Time Lord.
“Tremas,” then, is the 14th Master (the 13th “regeneration,” although I’m not sure this technically counts as such. It is the 14th Master which bedevils the Fourth through Seventh Doctors, and is presumably the one put to death after his trial on Skarro in the TV movie (which I still haven’t watched since it was recently released on DVD). Somehow (I forget the specifics) he was able to regenerate into the 15th Master, as played by Eric Roberts. Presumably it is this Master who regenerates into the 16th, Derek Jacoby, making John Simm the 17th Master. Right?
I have to wonder if the Master specifically searched all of time and space for a suitable candidate to take over whose name was an anagram for "Master".
But wasn’t The Master’s plan to take over The Doctor’s body (or at least the rest of his regeneration cycle)? Then again, how could it have been, since the Doctor was brought to Traken by The Keeper, and not The Master at all? I’m so confused.
The Baron said:
Bruce Gerhardt. Sorry, Baron.
Ah, I didn't remember Bruce's last name being given. I shall have to watch it again.
Watched 3/4 of "Logopolis" last night. The Master must have been tapping into the Doctor's thoughts somehow (or otherwise has foreknowledge of the Doctor's movements). How else would he have known which exact police box the Doctor would materialize his TARDIS around and when? The Doctor even says something along the lines of, "We're both Time Lords. In many respects we have the same brain."
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