Cyber-Reality: Master of Worlds

"A whole population queueing for slavery."

Writer: Matt Fitton

Format: Audio

Released: May 2018

Series: UNIT 6.04

Featuring: Kate, Osgood

Synopsis

The Cybermen are close to victory. A world under Cyber control. A new paradigm to expand the Cyber-race.

Fresh from the Time War, the Master arrives at the hour of Earth's greatest need. But he really doesn't care...

Verdict

Master of Worlds was a great story to conclude the sixth series of UNIT and the Cyber-Reality anthology! This boxset had a lot going for it with the premise of UNIT encountering both the Cybermen and the War Master, and it's fair to say that it didn't disappoint! This was such a strong series and I'm glad we concluded in strong fashion here. After an incredible set up in Code Silver, the arrival of the War Master was revealed and it didn't take Kate long to realise which Time Lord had come to help during their moment of need. The very idea of having the Master alongside the modern UNIT team was wonderful and the parallels to what we saw for much of the Third Doctor era really were delightful. We had the Master toying with Sam and Josh in a way that resembled his actions towards Yates and Benton. It was nicely done. The idea of him taking over Osgood's position as Scientific Advisor given her virtual conversion to a Cyberman was excellent and just hearing him say the words was so much fun. I'd have liked some exploration as to the reasons why the Master was in a parallel universe as it seems he still has a Time War to fight, but I do have a suspicion this may get picked up in the War Master's own series so I look forward to (hopefully) hearing that in the future. The Master mentioning that the Doctor was nowhere to be found was a nice comment as well and established the timeline for the rogue Time Lord. The subtle foreshadowing for the Master (or rather Missy) and her involvement with UNIT was good, and I also loved that we had the first use of Cyber-Master here, much before The Timeless Children. The Master discussing Kate's father, the Brigadier of course, with her was lovely and despite his history he seemed to talk of him with something akin to admiration. Having the Master actually aid UNIT in their bid to defeat the Cybermen was interesting and I liked how that highlighted just how desperate they had become. The Cybermen were en route to upgrading the multiverse so UNIT were taking any help they could get. His efforts in bringing Shindi and Sam back to normality were good and his feigning control over the Cybermen was brilliant. I thought Derek Jacobi got to be a bit more fun in the darkest Master incarnation which was nice to hear. The Cybermen, despite their superiority, took a slight back seat in this adventure with the Master present and he always seemed confident in being able to defeat them. Osgood maintaining that she was more useful and important in organic form was good and I liked how she continued to challenge the Controller. The apparent swap between her and the Master was fun and I just loved her reaction to knowing she had met the Master. Could there be a more pivotal villain to the organisation? His use of using every multiverse, including those where the Cybermen were defeated and pulverised, against them was good and a logical way to end proceedings and avert a crisis on such a big scale. Overall, a fine adventure to finish!

Rating: 8/10