In Dr Who, has there been mention of "the master" before?

Question

I seem to remember this from Dr Who that I watched as a kid.

Did the old Dr Who that I remember watching as a child believe he was the only timelord left or is that a recent concept.

I wish I'd paid more attention to thiese things when I was growing up.

Thanks so far.
There has been some pretty clever writing going on in these new series.
I love it - I've never been keen on the Darleks though. they do nothing for me.

Answer 1

The Master first appeared in 1971, and was a regular adversary of the Doctor for the next three years, appearing opposite Jon Pertwee (and in fact appearing in every story in Pertwee's second year). He disappeared after 1973 due to the tragic death of Roger Delgado, the actor who played him.

He was brought back once in the middle of Tom Baker's run, played by Peter Pratt, and then returned again at the end, played by Geoffrey Beevers and then Anthony Ainley, after which he became a regular villain during Peter Davison's run in the early 80s. The Master in fact appeared in the very last episode of the series to be shown, back in 1989, and then again in the failed revival attempt of 1996, in which he was played by Eric Roberts.

As for the last of the Time Lords idea, that is a new development for this series, as is the Time War that led to the destruction of Gallifrey and the Time Lords. In the old series Time Lords appeared frequently from Patrick Troughton's final episode onwards. It is worth noting that the Time Lords, and the idea that the Doctor was one, did not arrive in the series until the end of its sixth year. Prior to that the origins of the Doctor were unexplained.

Answer 2

No in the 'old' Dr Who the planet Gallifrey still existed and there were loads of timelords floating about the place! The Master was the 'black sheep' and the Dr had several run-ins with him over the years. More dedicated fans than me can probably name the episodes etc.
I remember that the Master's Tardis had a functioning chameleon circuit so could be disguised as anything. The Dr's is broken which is why his tardis is stuck as a police box.

Answer 3

Well,The Master 1st appeared on Dr.Who in 1971 played wonderfully by Roger Del Gado.He too is a renegade Timelord,however as with everything there is 2 sides,good and evil.He being the evil side.There was mention of him earlier in this present run as the Doctor not being alone.However,he is back with a vengence.

Answer 4

LOL Yes, The Master is an old adversary of the Doctor!

You are right in that the Dr cannot be the only Time Lord left because the Master is also aTime Lord.

Answer 5

yes