NuWho Rewatch: Nightmare in Silver
Feb. 25th, 2016 07:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
purplecatSometimes it's interesting to re-read my previous reviews, if only to see how one story can come across differently on different viewings. I had remembered Nightmare in Silver as a weak episode in a weak half-season and I wasn't really pre-disposed to revise my opinion on a second viewing. However, looking back I seem to have, not exactly liked it, but felt it was OK first time around.
The two things that stood out in my memory were the story's wierd Monachism and the over-powerful Cybermen. Looking back I seem to have liked these elements - or at least I felt the problem with the whole "return of the rightful King" vibe was more of a problem with the acting/direction than a script-level issue. I'm now divided about that. I think you can certainly read Nightmare in Silver as a critique of monarchial systems and a criticism of Porridge's abdication of responsibility but I'm not sure those elements are clear enough to work against the return-of-the-rightful-king trope which is dominating the narrative. Certainly, if Gaiman intended the story as a critique of the trope, then the acting and direction is working against that.
It's sufficiently well-known that series paint themselves into corners if they make their recurring monsters ever more powerful at each appearance, so it surprises me that so many fall into this trap. Doctor Who gains a little wiggle-room with the time travel element but even so, I feel the Cybermen are rapidly approaching the point where they will need a reboot to make them into a manageable enemy. The fact they just about get away with it here doesn't alter the fact that the instantaneously ever improving Cybermen are both vastly over-powered and a little silly.
Beyond that, I feel pretty meh, about the rest of Nightmare in Silver. The Doctor's turn as the cyber-controller is nicely done (and I liked it better this time than last), but it looks more like a self-indulgent opportunity for the lead actor to show off, than something that is really driving the story. It's a good story for Clara. *shrug*
Ultimately Nightmare in Silver feels like a bit of a mess with nothing that's really good enough to make up for that. I think it remains the weakest story in a fairly weak half-season.
The two things that stood out in my memory were the story's wierd Monachism and the over-powerful Cybermen. Looking back I seem to have liked these elements - or at least I felt the problem with the whole "return of the rightful King" vibe was more of a problem with the acting/direction than a script-level issue. I'm now divided about that. I think you can certainly read Nightmare in Silver as a critique of monarchial systems and a criticism of Porridge's abdication of responsibility but I'm not sure those elements are clear enough to work against the return-of-the-rightful-king trope which is dominating the narrative. Certainly, if Gaiman intended the story as a critique of the trope, then the acting and direction is working against that.
It's sufficiently well-known that series paint themselves into corners if they make their recurring monsters ever more powerful at each appearance, so it surprises me that so many fall into this trap. Doctor Who gains a little wiggle-room with the time travel element but even so, I feel the Cybermen are rapidly approaching the point where they will need a reboot to make them into a manageable enemy. The fact they just about get away with it here doesn't alter the fact that the instantaneously ever improving Cybermen are both vastly over-powered and a little silly.
Beyond that, I feel pretty meh, about the rest of Nightmare in Silver. The Doctor's turn as the cyber-controller is nicely done (and I liked it better this time than last), but it looks more like a self-indulgent opportunity for the lead actor to show off, than something that is really driving the story. It's a good story for Clara. *shrug*
Ultimately Nightmare in Silver feels like a bit of a mess with nothing that's really good enough to make up for that. I think it remains the weakest story in a fairly weak half-season.