Synopsis: The Doctor, now in his ninth incarnation, is traveling in the TARDIS with his new companion Emma. The Master is following in his own TARDIS, loudly proclaiming his intent to annihilate him. Unfortunately, the Master left his microphone on and the Doctor can hear everything he is saying.

This is fortuitous though, as the Doctor needs to speak to the Master anyway. He requests that the Master meet him on the planet Tersurus, and the Master agrees. The Doctor and Emma then land on Tersurus, with the Doctor explaining that it was once populated by the most peaceful aliens in the universe. They communicated through a precise system of modulated farting.

The Master arrives and pins them against a wall with an energy blast. He explains that he first traveled 100 years back in time and bribed the architect of the castle they currently find themselves in, and will now subject the Doctor and Emma to the ‘spikes of doom’. The wall flips around and subjects them to what is on the other side.

It flips around again, revealing the two sitting on a couch. Turns out the Doctor had anticipated this, so he had gone slightly further back in time and bribed the architect to ignore the Master and instead build the 'sofa of reasonable comfort’. The Master laughs and informs the Doctor that he anticipated this as well, and went back even further in time to have the architect build a giant block that now falls on the Doctor. A door on the side opens, revealing the Doctor also anticipated this and went back even further in time.

Emma prompts the two to stop this nonsense and has the Doctor say what he wanted to say in the first place. The Doctor tells the Master that he has now saved every planet in the universe at least 27 times and has decided to retire. He is going to settle down somewhere in the universe and marry Emma. The Master, disgusted by this, announces his intention to go EVEN FURTHER back in time to have the architect construct a trap door under where the Doctor is standing right now.

He pulls the lever, only for the trap door to open under him instead, dropping him down into the sewers below. The Doctor went back even further and…You get the idea. The doors open nearby, revealing a much older Master. It took him 312 years to climb out of the sewer and get back to his TARDIS, so he could confront them once more. What’s worse, he managed to make an alliance with the Daleks along the way. A moment later, the place is swarming with Daleks.

They move in to exterminate, but the Master demands that he be the one to deliver the killing blow. He charges at the Doctor, who simply moves out of the way and lets the Master fall down into the sewers once more. It takes him another 312 years to climb back out again. The Doctor and Emma flee, and the Daleks give chase. In doing so, they accidentally knock the Master into the hole again. Once again, he spends another 312 years climbing out.

Unfortunately, the two are captured and tied up on the Dalek ship. The Master has been returned to a young body, thanks to the attachment of some 'Dalek bumps’. The Doctor and Emma both notice that they resemble breasts. The Doctor wants to know why the Daleks are working for the Master, and he explains that he has gifted them with the knowledge to construct a Zectronic energy beam. This will let them take over the universe in a matter of minutes.

However, the Doctor overhears that the Daleks will kill the Master once his usefulness has ended. He decides to use the skill of farting, which he and the Master both had to master in order to bribe the architect, to warn him. The Master receives the message, but the Daleks pick up on this and start firing wildly. They end up striking the Doctor, as well as the energy beam, which causes it to start overloading. Only the Doctor knows how to stop it.

However, he is dying. Emma cries over his body, but the Master tells her to stand back. In a flash of light, he regenerates into a very handsome young man. The Master and even the Daleks beg for him to stop the energy beam from imploding and killing them all, so he goes to help. As he fixes it, the console explodes and causes him to regenerate again. This time, he’s a portly short man who seems very shy around women. Emma is not very pleased with this new persona.

Luckily, or unluckily, another explosion causes him to regenerate yet again into an even more handsome young man. He is frustrated that he wasted three regenerations when all he had to do was unplug the thing. The crisis seems to be over, and the Daleks are even honouring their promise to let him live for saving them. However, a freak blast of Zectronic energy strikes him in the chest and kills him yet again.

The Master tells Emma that Zectronic energy is so powerful, even the Doctor won’t be able to regenerate from it. It looks as if this time, the Doctor is truly dead. The Master renounces all of evil, and the Daleks promise to honour him forever. However, in another flash of light that defies all explanation, the Doctor regenerates one more time.

This time, however, the Doctor has regenerated into a female. He, or rather she, seems quite pleased with her new body, as well as her new sonic screwdriver with 'three vibrating settings’. Emma is quite displeased, informing the Doctor that they can no longer get married. The Doctor doesn’t care, happy to live a life traveling around the cosmos with her best friend. Besides, someone else seems interested in her. The Master, no longer evil, seems quite smitten with the Doctor’s new body.

Thoughts: I have been waiting to get to this gem for a long time. It is the absolutely officially-licensed Doctor Who production created for the 'Comic Relief’ charity. Yeah, it’s an official Doctor Who spoof!

The Doctor (or at least, his first persona) is played by none other than Rowan Atkinson, perhaps most famous for portraying his character Mr. Bean. That could have been the only joke in the special, and I would have loved it nonetheless. Surprisingly, despite the jokes, he actually was a pretty good actor to play the role of the Doctor. The other actors were, I believe, British celebrities I am not familiar with. They were all fun to watch, though.

The special was very well made, and it was filled with wonderful in-jokes and references. Emma constantly asked questions about what was going on, only for the Doctor (and even the Daleks) to just respond repeatedly “I’ll explain later.” There was a throwaway line about how the Doctor was sick of seeing “endless rock quarries”.

Jonathan Pryce was like a perfect casting choice for the Master. If one squinted one’s eyes, they might even believe he was Roger Delgado or Anthony Ainley. The repeated jokes of him falling into the pit, as well as the repeated regeneration jokes, were both very funny and did not run dry at all.

It was too bad that there were no actual Doctor Who alumni, except for the voices of the Daleks. This would have been a wonderful opportunity for some fun reunions. However, this was fantastic from beginning to end and we recommend it to anyone who is a fan of Doctor Who!