Writer Neil Gaiman returns to Doctor Who this week with “Nightmare in Silver,” featuring one of the Doctor’s famous opponents, the Cybermen.
“Nightmare in Silver” begins with the Doctor, Clara, and the two kids she takes care of, Artie and Angie, landing on a place that looks like the moon. The Doctor announces he’s brought them all to a giant amusement park called Hedgewick’s World. The park is closed, and there are soldiers there who say it was closed by an Imperial Order from the Emperor. The Doctor uses the psychic paper so the soldiers let them all go. A man named Webley (Jason Watkins) has been staying there even though the park was shut down. He takes them to see items he’s collected, like wax statues. One of his items is a Cyberman. The Doctor immediately tells them to get down.
Webley says the Cyberman is not living, but it moves and places chess. Artie bets a sandwich to play against the Cyberman. He says he will give them money if they can figure out how the Cyberman works. The Doctor finds a little door and inside is Porridge (Warwick Davis), who was controlling the empty Cyberman. Webley then shows them he has three Cybermen. The kids have some fun with an anti-gravity machine. Clara says it’s time to take the kids home, but the Doctor noticed some weird robot insects, Cybermites, he wants to investigate. Clara leaves the kids in one of Webley’s rooms so they can have a nap. The Doctor tells them “don’t wander off,” repeatedly.
Webley goes to fix the chess board and is talking to the Cyberman. It grabs his hand and Cybermites come out of its body. They attack him and the Cyberman speaks, saying he’s being upgraded. Meanwhile, Angie is annoyed with their adventure and leaves Webley’s home, though Artie protests. Clara and Porridge talk about the war with the Cybermen. He tells her an entire galaxy was destroyed in the war so they could defeat the Cybermen. The Doctor notices Angie is outside.
The soldiers are discussing a storm coming and that some parts are missing when Angie shows up and says she’s bored. Artie is still at Webley’s place, scared of all the creepy wax statues in the room. He turns on the lights and a Cyberman grabs him from behind. Clara and the Doctor show up in the soldiers headquarters to get Angie. Angie’s upset and annoyed with Clara, but before they can argue, a Cyberman shows up.
The soldiers try to fight, as does the Doctor, but the Cyberman somehow gets through them and kidnaps Angie. The Doctor puts Clara in charge of the soldiers and says he’s going to get Angie, Artie, and look for the Cybermites. Artie is already being upgraded, as is Webley, which scares Angie. Clara decides to set up base at the Natty Longshoe’s Comical Castle because it has a drawbridge and a moat. When Clara, Porridge, and the soldiers arrive at the castle, she’s questioned about going after the Cybermen, but says she trusts the Doctor’s judgement.
The Doctor finds a Cybermite, talks to it, and stuns it so he can find the frequency to the Cyberman headquarters. He finds Angie and Artie there, being upgraded. Webley is there, half upgraded. He calls the Doctor a savior because he brought children back to the planet. Webley explains this planet is basically a Cyberman repair shop. When people would disappear from the amusement park, they were being used for repairing Cyberman. He goes on to say they used children for Cyber-Planners, because their brains have more potential than adults. He says they don’t need the kids anymore, because they have the Doctor. The Doctor says he’s not human, so they can’t upgrade him, but Webley says that’s no longer true as they have upgraded.
The Doctor is overtaken by the Cybermites, and is fighting against the Cyberman technology in his own mind. The Cyber-Planner is very excited about the information he’s receiving about the Timelords, but the Doctor tells him he can regenerate if he tries to take that information. The Doctor and the Cyber-Planner decide to play chess for the Doctor’s memories and mind. The Doctor and the Cyber-Planning play chess and the Doctor uses gold to disrupt the Cyber-Planner.
A soldier named Missy is attacked by a Cyberman while patrolling. The soldiers show Clara they have one Cyberman gun, and a bomb that can blow up the planet. The captain wants to activate the bomb, but is shot by a Cyberman before she can denote the bomb. Clara orders the soldiers to take down the Cyberman. A Cyberman tricks one soldier by leaving it’s head on a shelf and attacking her from behind. One of the soldiers acts as a decoy so Clara can shoot and destroy the Cyberman.
The Doctor shows up with the kids, and Webley. He tells Clara he’s in control of the Cyber-Planner in his head at the moment. She keeps the gun on him the entire exchange. He tells her the kids are basically in comas, and he thinks he can fix them later. He says the Cyber-Planner is installing a patch against the gold he’s used to subdue him. He tells them to tie him up, and let him play chess against the Cyber-Planner. He takes the gold off and the Cyber-Planner shows up and talks to Clara, she learns about his bet and that more Cybermen are coming.
Clara tells the men to put the drawbridge up so the Cybermen will fall into the moat, which they electrify. The Doctor and the Cyber-Planner continue to play chess. The Cybermen awake from their storage place and march. Clara hears the Doctor yelling for her and goes to talk. He asks her for the detonator for the bomb, but she says no, not knowing if he’s himself, or the Cyber-Planner. She tells him to prove he’s himself, but the Cyber-Planner messes up when he insinuates he likes Clara in a romantic way. The Doctor comes back when she slaps him, but the Cyber-Planner takes control of his body and destroys the detonator.
The Cyberman army shows up, and are upgrading themselves against being electrocuted in the water. The soldiers try to fight. The Cyber-Planner and the Doctor continue to play and the Doctor sacrifices his queen to save the kids. Webley tries to kill the kids, but Porridge saves them and is knocked out. Cybermen continue to storm the castle, while the Doctor announces the Timelords invented chess and he’s going to win in three moves. The Cybermen advance on Clara and two soldiers, but then they lose power.
The Cyber-Planner is using the power of the Cybermen to find out how the Doctor can possibly beat him in three moves. The Doctor then uses his three moves. He turns on his sonic screwdriver, activates and amplifies a pulser, and then slaps the pulser on the Cyberman technology on his face. Everyone shows up in the room and Clara unties the Doctor. He tries to figure out a way to set off the bomb. Angie notes that Porridge should know an override code, given that he is the Emperor. Everyone is surprised, but she says he looks like he does on the coin and the wax figure of the Emperor.
The Emperor activates the bomb and says the imperial ship will locate and save them before the bomb goes off in 80 seconds. It does, and the Doctor asks for the TARDIS to be brought aboard as well. The planet explodes. The Emperor asks Clara for her hand in marriage because he thinks she would make a good queen. The Doctor tries to interrupt give advice, but Clara tells him it’s not his business. She tells him no politely. The Doctor gives Angie a new phone and takes the kids home. Clara thanks him, tells him goodbye, and says she will see him Wednesday. The Doctor talks about Clara’s mystery to himself. A tiny Cybermite is seen floating in space at the very end.
Quote and Comments:
"I trust the Doctor." "You think he knows what he's doing?" "I'm not sure I'd go that far." (Clara and a soldier discuss the Doctor)
I liked this episode, but I still don’t find the Cybermen really frightening. I liked how Clara took charge and we got to see how much she cares about the kids. I found the kids a bit annoying though.The Doctor’s exchanges with the Cyber-Planner were interesting, and Matt Smith did a great job at portraying both characters in such short periods of time.
Don’t forget to watch next Saturday at 8 p.m. on BBC America to see “The Name of the Doctor.” A prequel to the episode can be viewed below: