A Matter of Time: The Mind of Evil

(06/02/1971)

DESCRIPTION: ‘The Mind of Evil’ was the second story of Season 8 of Doctor Who, and starred Jon Pertwee as the Third Doctor.

FACT: During a fight sequence in which water is spilled, the Master as played by Roger Delgado slips in a puddle twice.

A Matter of Time: The Mind of Evil

ORIGINAL BROADCAST: 27/02/1971

Thirty-nine years ago today, Roger Delgado’s Master appeared in his second ever adventure, starring Jon Pertwee as the Doctor. An insight into the Master's relationship with the Doctor is given, when the Mind Parasite turns on him and attacks him with images to evoke his deepest fear. The Master is confronted with images of a gigantic Doctor towering over him, and laughing sinisterly down at him.

Working titles for this story included The Pandora Box, The Pandora Machine, and Man Hours. This serial went so excessively over budget that its director, Timothy Combe, was not allowed to be considered for any subsequent Doctor Who work.

The Mind of Evil is unique amongst the Pertwee era stories, as the BBC doesn’t hold complete colour copies for any of the episodes. This story is currently being recoloured using the new chroma dot technique. Unfortunately, Episode One does not have any chroma dots, which could be a problem for the restoration of that episode.

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