Neil Gaiman returns to the world of Who for the resurrection of the Cybermen- can he succeed? Our take on the Spring run's penultimate adventure...
Make no make, expectations can lead to bittersweet results.
In the case of Doctor Who, there were
few episodes in Season Seven with such expectations bestowed upon them as Nightmare In Silver, Neil Gaiman’s second
standalone tale after 2011’s hit The
Doctor’s Wife. You’ll no doubt have noticed a significant level of
negativity surrounding this Cyber-adventure, yet for this reviewer there was
still a lot more to like than there was to criticize, in a thrilling romp which
successfully brings the Cybermen back to their rightful Cyber-throne. (And yes,
we did wonder if we could get the term ‘Cyber’ into that paragraph any more
times than we already had!)
As obvious as it may seem, Doctor Who’s Spring 50th Anniversary run was undoubtedly
defined by its performances from the main and supporting cast alike. Indeed, in
Nightmare we have a stunning
dual-Doctor performance from Matt Smith, an assured portrayal of Clara that
seems to allude towards what the companion will get up to post-2013 without an
‘impossible’ mystery to solve. Better yet, Warwick Davis and Trollied’s Jason Watkins both gave
thoroughly compelling turns as their whimsical misfit characters who fitted
well into Gaiman’s usual band of ‘patchwork’ recruits.
Another key element of success this time around was the area
where indeed success was warranted: the Cybermen. Far from the hulking steel
megamoths that have plagued the show ever since 2006’s Season Two and turned
these classic foes to farce, we got a stunning new depiction of these deadly
adversaries that truly reinstalled a sense of power and invulnerability to
their race. Considering that the only way the Doctor and the Emperor could put
a stop to the re-rise of these Mondasian foes was to destroy an entire planet,
it leaves the question as to how on Earth the Time Lord can hope to best his
arch-foes should they ever return to Earth, which is a grossly exciting
contemplation if ever there was one.
There were one or two loose elements where the quality dropped
below Gaiman’s awe-inspiring Season Six adventure The Doctor’s Wife, though. First up, whereas for the majority the
supporting cast of each episode has helped massively in their success, only
Davis and Watkins shine here, with Clara’s two foster-children bordering on a Fear Her level of irritance, Tamsin
Outwaithe’s renegade commander little more than a stunted plot device and the
remainder of the Punishment Platoon offering little in the way of memorable
performances. Also, it would have been nice to see the Cybermen get a chance to
properly state their intent of universal upgrading and domination, as well as
an ending that had a more heavy influence on the events to come in The Name Of The Doctor. While for the
most part the ‘fourteen standalone blockbusters’ approach has worked superbly
in terms of variety and compelling viewing, equally in some instances such as
here and The Power Of Three it did
seem to rob certain storylines of a degree of substance that perhaps one or two
two-part episodes could have catered for better.
Do we let the weight of expectation override Neil Gaiman’s
second Who outing, then? Nope-
instead, we appreciate Nightmare In
Silver as a strong penultimate instalment in the Spring 50th
Anniversary run. It’s not quite the
silver gem that The Doctor’s Wife was,
lacking in terms of a well-rounded supporting cast and also seeming to struggle
to redefine one or two sets in Cardiff that have been reused on a couple of
instances here and in the show’s various spin-offs. All the same, in terms of
reintroducing the Cybermen within the space of 45 minutes and reigniting our
passion for those heartless foes of the Time Lord fifty years on, Neil Gaiman
has still done a great job with Doctor
Who: Nightmare In Silver, proving that expectations aren’t everything when
it comes to a ‘sequel’ adventure.
4.5/5
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