Nemesis was the episode of Doctor Who Confidential broadcast in conjunction with The Unicorn and the Wasp. It was titled after the Agatha Christie novel of the same name.
The thrust of the episode was to explain how Unicorn was, in production terms, very much like a traditional hour of mystery television. The story required, because of the storytelling conventions it tried to honour, a large cast — all of whom had to be equally filmed so the director's shot choices didn't give away the murderer. This meant, as several participants explained, many more takes of the same scene than usual for Doctor Who. The impact of having to setup multiple times for the same scene to cover different actors was explained several times throughout the episode.
Aspects of production covered
- The visual effects setup of the final scene with the Vespiform at the lake.
- The filming of the scene in which the Doctor rids his system of cyanide.
- How cinematographer, director, gaffer and actors came together to film the narratively complex dinner scene against the backdrop of a thunderstorm.
- The problems of filming a car chase with two vintage cars that couldn't actually travel more than about twenty miles an hour and how a low loader came in handy.
Additional topics covered
- The casting of Fenella Woolgar.
- The use of David Tennant's father as a background extra.
- A montage of the use of Agatha Christie book titles in the script.
- A look back at moments when other Doctors met "celebrity" historical figures, featuring the first, fourth, sixth, seventh, ninth and younger Tenth Doctors.
People interviewed
Crew
to be added
Elements retained in Cut Down
to be added
Home video releases
The "Cut Down" version of the episode is available on the Complete Fourth Series DVD box set.