The Sound of Drums is an astonishing episode. It takes the very foundation of what one would expect from a Doctor Who story with the Master and turns it up to eleven, creating one of the most memorable finale build ups in the revived series' history.
To understand why it is so good, consider first what a normal episode with the Master is like. The Doctor and companion(s) begin the adventure and realise that there are some strange goings-on. They make some allies, delve into the conspiracy and, at some point, realise that the Master is behind everything, and then events escalate to the point where the Master has taken complete control of the situation with the Doctor and companion(s) otherwise indisposed. The rest of the story consists of the Doctor taking back control of the situation, and normally ends with the Master getting away by some means of escape. The Sound of Drums plays on this notion by taking one of the more interesting aspects of the Master structure and increasing its importance.
The episode is an exercise in the Doctor losing control as the Master gains control. Every step forwards that the Doctor makes, the Master always seems to be two steps ahead of him. The best example of this is the scene towards the end of the episode where the Doctor and co. find the TARDIS. Unlike other episodes, where the TARDIS is seen as some beacon of hope to suggest that the end is nearly in sight, here it is revealed that the TARDIS has been horrifically altered to suit the Master's purposes. The Master's impact on the story, this time round, is so strong that he's even taken control of the very basis of the show itself, kidnapping the Doctor's TARDIS and using it for his own ends.
Consider also that he has also taken control of the narrative, with Simm's Master having roughly equal screen time to Tennant's Doctor, reflecting the importance of the character and showing the gravity by which he attracts the viewers. But through all of that screen time, we never find out his actual plot. Instead it's used as an exercise in tension, where he shows off his house of cards to the whole audience, ready to show everyone the beautiful and fragile nature of what he has created, and relishing in the anticipation of when the whole thing will come down.
This all leads up to the climax, where the Master reveals that he has taken control of the situation to such a great extent that it's entirely possible that he has won. Every aspect of the story is set up to leave the Doctor with virtually no escape from the Master's scheme, leaving the Master in absolute control and leading into the finale, where it's clear that the Doctor has no hope of taking control back of the situation. This makes The Sound of Drums such a fantastic episode: it takes the basic structure of a generic Master story and takes it where no other writer would dare take it - Davies has put the Master in a position where he has unequivocally won.
And, to take a brief moment away from talking about The Sound of Drums, I should perhaps mention that this is the fifth episode in a row that is pretty much perfect. It's hard to think of another stretch of episodes throughout the revival series that is as good as these five episodes, and that shows that Davies really does deserve commendation for the work that he has done for this period. Nothing could possibly go wrong after this though...
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