Doctor Who: S07PT2E07 - Nightmare in Silver.

Last week was easily the low point of Part 2, so this episode has to be better...right?

So the Doctor plans on taking those kids to a theme park planet, only being the Doctor, he takes them at a time where the entire planet has been closed by the military after being wrecked in the Cyberwars. Over the course of the trip, the kids get put in standby by the Cybermen, whatever that means, The Doctor almost gives the Cybermen the kind of information they could use to conquer the whole of time and space and Clara takes up the job of a military general in a war against killer machines. And they still try and play it at the end like they'd all just been on a wonderful family holiday!

One of the biggest disappointments with Nightmare in Silver is that the Cybermen are just cheap Terminators really, aren't they? Yes the Cybermen came first blah blah but what I mean is, is that Nightmare in Silver wants to present the Cybermen as these terrifying, unstoppable machines like the Terminator was and at first, it seems to be going in the right direction. I love the idea that the Cybermen can near instantly upgrade so they can overcome any obstacle, converting all living tissue into more soldiers until they swarm an entire planet. Yet, most of this was said, rather than shown and between the censorship of family entertainment and the general lack of a budget, the Cybermen come off more goofy than they do imposing. Making the Cybermen scary again? Hah! I don't think they've ever felt quite so cheap and restrained. And yes, I do remember the original Cyber-Controller.

It becomes more frustrating because there are moments that are genuinely really great. One sequence shows the Cybermen can move at superhuman speeds suggesting, although not showing, that the Cybermen could clear an entire room before anyone has had a chance to blink. This is awesome. Sadly this is the only time we get to see this as after this the Cybermen return to stomping about. Another great sequence was when one of the soldiers was caught out in the dark, desperately hiding from a Cyberman, when the Cyberman detaches their hand and sends that out on the attack...

What was also a major disappointment was the use of the setting. We're at a giant abandoned theme park planet and most of what we saw of it was crappy green screened backgrounds, why waste such a fantastic setting? Could you imagine how scary it could have been to have the four of them running around old creaky rides, while Cybermen silently glide around them in the shadows just waiting to convert them with a please?

One thing that certainly leaves me torn is Matt Smith in this episode. One the one hand his showdown with the Cyber-Planner in his head was wonderfully acted and I loved the way they used this as a device to draw contrasts in just how menacing the Doctor can be and how blurred the lines can sometimes be between the Doctor and the so called enemy.

On the other hand most of what the Doctor does this episode takes place in his head, so he gets largely written out of his own show. Part of what makes Smith's Doctor so charming is his wild childlike energy but you can't inject that into an episode when you spend most of it tied to a chair, honestly the Cyber-Planner ends up getting more energy and charm than the Doctor does.

The only real positive to come out of this is, because the Doctor was basically immobilised for most of the episode, is that they actually had to give Clara something to do again. The poor girl hasn't had much to do in recent weeks has she? But this episode more than made up for that, depicting her as a badass cyberman slaying general in a skirt that is just a little bit too tight.

What certainly is a positive are the children, no they were awful actors and annoying as all fuck but the episode also sidelines them near immediately and gives them absolutely fuck all to do. Why they bothered to include them at all is beyond me, but at least those little shits didn't ruin any of the better moments.

Once again though Nightmare in Silver feels like a two parter crammed into forty minutes, like pretty much every episode. There is basically no context for this story at all and very little consequence or payoff either, things just kind of happen because they haven't got the time to both explain them and provide set piece moments to entertain the children, only with it all crammed in so tightly both aspects of the production end up falling down.

My feelings about Nightmare in Silver largely mirror those of Moffat Who in general. It is an episode with brief, but utterly spectacular moments broken up by long moments of utter drivel. Do those spectacular moments save the episode? Not exactly but they do remind me why Doctor Who is always worth the price of admission, even in its weaker moments.

Pros;

• The setting was cool. 
• They sidelined the kids.
• Matt Smith. 
• Yay Clara had something to do again! 
• Some impressive sequences that show off what the Cybermen can do.

Cons;

• Why didn't you do more with such an awesome setting? 
• Why did you tell more than you showed with the Cybermen? 
• Why'd you sideline the Doctor? 
• Why were the kids even there?
• Once again, awful pacing. 

Think About It!

-Locke

What would you rate, 'Nightmare In Silver'?