Silver Nemesis [TV/1988.11.23 ~ 12.7]

★★☆☆☆

  ...and it was all going so well. Okay, look. Listen. I understand that everybody and their grandma consider Silver Nemesis a pretty darn bad serial, but I was enjoying it up to the second episode! The jazz, the continuation of Sylvester McCoy's use of physical comedy and the show's willingness to accomodate for it, the tiny bits and pieces of mythos it provided, the pure fun factor... they were all there and I was lapping it up. One thing you should know about me is that no matter how "badly written" or "inept" something is... as long as it makes me smile and entertains me sufficiently, I'm gonna like it. That was the case with Silver Nemesis here... until when it was not.

  Thing is, even for a very silly and aloof serial (which it pretty much is, while also trying to be this monumental question mark to the entire programme), the proceedings are pretty naff. I can enjoy comedic set pieces about two time travellers from the 17th century walking around 1988 as much as the next person, but three episodes of this get tiring pretty quick. The Cybermen here can only be described as quite embarrassing, and David Banks had a point when he said gold had become too much of a thing in Doctor Who (it being the Cybermen's weakness), and that Kevin Clarke didn't understand the creatures. This is also a serial with pretty unconvincing acting, and I must sadly point the finger towards Fiona Walker as Lady Peinforte; I just wish she would've gone full panto if that's what she wanted. Sophie Aldred's final scene, for some reason, also caught my eye as particularly unconvincing. 

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ  

  It's a shame, really — Silver Nemesis was shaping itself up to be quite an entertaining serial. The leads were exceptional as always, Keff McCulloch's music was actually pleasant to listen to for once, and some of the action set-pieces (particularly Ace and the Cybermen's chase sequence inside the factory) were shot really well. It's obvious the McCoy era was finding its own two feet with a distinct style around this time, and that they felt brave enough to kick the gears with the Cartmel Masterplan. Again, though, shame that the entire story becomes very dull and headache-inducing through Episode Three... and that's coming from one of the only people in the world who actually liked the silly nonsense that came before! I can't imagine this having gone down well with fans as the 25th anniversary story.