Doctor Who: The Two Masters

The final part of this trilogy of Master stories sees the two different incarnations of the Master meeting up with one another. Whereas the previous episodes are at least partially standalone, this is very much not, being set both immediately before and after them and filling in further background to what was happening. As a result, it's a relatively complex, timey-wimey story and, thankfully, one that very much manages to deliver the goods, enhancing the other episodes once you can put them into context. (I should also note that this would have been written before World Enough and Time, which, of course, uses a similar hook).

It's difficult to say too much of what this is about, without delivering plot spoilers, since there are a number of twists along the way. The background is that the time-space continuum is being destroyed piece by piece, with the action taking place on various space ships that happen to be involved, but really the story is about the Master himself, and the complex web of events in which he has managed to enmesh himself.

The two Masters don't meet up until relatively late in the story, but once they do, there is some marvellous interplay between them, contrasting the two very different personalities of these incarnations. (In a sense, this also contrasts the classic and new series takes on the character, since MacQueen's version more closely resembles Simms and Gomez than he does the earlier ones). In fact, the Doctor is away for large stretches, and MacQueen and Beevers do such a good job that you barely notice - despite the fact that the Master is unquestionably a villain here, and racks up a high body count along the way.