“As with all major characters in Doctor Who there was some initial thought given as to how the part should be portrayed. The Master who emerged was played totally straight. There was no camp humour or any kind of attempt to create a bizarre villain of the type so favoured by comic-book creators. Doctor Who had left any comic-strip origins it might have had way behind it and in the sick hard hitting Pertwee were Delgado’s villain was of the most charming kind. In many ways he was on a direct parallel with Pertwee himself. Both were well-dressed, sophisticated, imperious and possessed of a love for the more luxurious things in life. Although the Master desired to destroy and corrupt for his own gain he was also charming and impeccably well-mannered. While Pertwee’s Doctor was often rude and arrogant to extremes, the Master remained polite and unflappable. It was perhaps this combination of megalomania and feline charm coupled with Delgado’s sinister looks that ensured the Master’s success.”

I think John Simm has similar parallels to Tennant as Delgado does to Pertwee. I guess the one major change is that Tennant is less manic in series three then he was in series two.

If you’re interested, I’ll post the relevant bits…

I loved this episode too BTW – thought it was one of the best in series 3.