Firstly, you will probably want to read the node
The Master in order to understand who he is... the
arch-villain of
Doctor Who.
Originally
The Master appeared as
The Monk, though since that has another node, I'll not repeat the same information. This is a history in which the actual character name
The Master is used.
The Master's first character appearance was during the third
incarnation of
The Doctor,
Jon Pertwee, in the episode
Terror of the Autons (1971). The Master --played by
Roger Delgado-- is a renegade
Timelord from
Gallifrey, Doctor Who's home planet who hopes to turn the tide of history in his favor. He is a super-genius, whose downfall is tragic
hubris. In this episode, he is attempting to use the
Autons to bring about a second invasion of the
Nestene Consciousness. He is eventually defeated.
In
The Mind of Evil, the Master is then attempting to capture a
thunderbolt missile guarded by
UNIT by way of an evil machine that kills people with their greatest fears.
In
The Claws of Axos, the Master leads the organic
Axon spaceship to Earth in order to drain it dry of energy. However, the plan goes awry and he and
Doctor Who must team up to trap them in a time loop.
Not having learned his lesson, the Master discovers the location of the most powerful weapon in the universe, the
Doomsday Weapon in
The Colony in Space. Of course, he is foiled in his attempt to get it.
In
The Daemons, the village of
Devil's End becomes trapped inside a vast
force field dome, much to the delight of the new vicar,
Reverend Magister, in reality the Master. He is trying to summon up
Azal, to gain his powers. The creature is more than capable of destroying the world, and the Doctor once again must intervene.
At some point between this episode and the next one he appears in, The Master becomes imprisoned on a remote island by Doctor Who.
In
The Sea Devils, the good Doctor goes to visit The Master at said prison and finds out the Sea Devils, distant aquatic cousins of the
Silurians, have been woken in their sea bed base. The Master is communicating with them, trying to persuade them to destroy mankind.
In
The Time Monster we are taken back to the days of
Atlantis, where the Master has created a sort of lesser-
TARDIS, the Transmission of Matter Through Interstitial
Time machine, or
TOMTIT. He then tries to ensnare the power of the Chronovore, Kronos, a creature that feeds off time. In stopping the Master and Kronos, Atlantis is of course, destroyed.
The last episode of the first Master (though technically, the second) is
Frontier in Space. This episode is a bit confusing, but Doctor who is imprisoned on
Earth, the Master rescues
Jo, the Doctor's assistant, and then later frees the Doctor while working in the employ of the
Daleks. The Master is killed, ending his 12th Regeneration.
Rather than
give up the ghost, however, he fights to remain alive, becoming a
Lich. However, we do not see this until three years later, when he is seen in
The Deadly Assassin which takes place on Gallifrey. He is now played by Anthony Ainley and eventually manages to gain new generations. By now the Doctor has also reincarnated and is played by none other than
Tom Baker, the fourth incarnation, and most peoples favorite Doctor.
Then, sadly we do not see The Master for another five years until
The Keeper of Traken. Where he once again attempts to release a terrible monster upon mankind. He then attempts something else, altering with some time controls on
Logopolis in
E-Space. However, it gets out of control, he and the Doctor must once again team up, and then attempts to kill the Doctor in a treacherous twist. In point of fact, it works. The beloved 4th incarnation dies, the Master is trapped in another Time Loop until rescued by
The Rani, played by
Kate O'Mara.
(more to come...)