Silver Nemesis (TV story)

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Synopsis

The Doctor and Ace visit England in 1988, where three rival factions - the Cybermen, a group of Nazis and a 17th Century sorceress named Lady Peinforte - are attempting to gain control of a statue made of a living metal, validium, that was created by Rassilon as the ultimate defence for Gallifrey.

The statue has three components - a bow, an arrow and the figure itself - that must be brought together in order for it to be activated. They have been separated since 1638 when, in order to foil the first attempt by Peinforte to seize it, the Doctor launched the figure into orbit in a powered asteroid.

This asteroid has been approaching the Earth at twenty-five yearly intervals ever since, leaving a succession of disasters in its wake, and has now crash-landed near Windsor Castle.

The Doctor plays the three factions off against one other and eventually appears to concede defeat to the Cyber Leader. However, this is just part of a carefully-laid trap, and the Cybermen's fleet is totally wiped out by the statue.

Plot

to be added

Cast

Crew

References

Gallifrey

  • Peinforte calls the validium her Nemesis.

Minerals

  • Ace uses gold to fight the Cybermen, and Lady Peinforte's arrows are made of gold.

Story Notes

  • This story had working titles of; The Harbinger, Nemesis.
  • Nicholas Courtney is present in the large crown scene in the palace.
  • This story marked the 25th anniversary of Doctor Who.
  • Courtney Pine guest stars as himself in Part One.
  • The Doctor's new stereo (for Ace) was to have Zygon like speakers, but these were replaced with more conventional technological ones.
  • The gasworks site (the site of the warehouse and main battle sequence) takes place on the site which would become the site for the Millennium Dome.

Ratings

  • Part 1 - 6.1 million viewers
  • Part 2 - 5.2 million viewers
  • Part 3 - 5.2 million viewers

Myths

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Location Filming

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Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors

  • The Cybermen know of Lady Peinforte but they have never encountered her before. How they know of her is unclear.
  • Lady Peinforte's arrows are made of gold, so apart from fighting Cybermen, they're the most useless arrows ever created. (All though they may have been intended to kill with there poisoned tips rather than impact alone)

Continuity

  • Ace compares the events she encounters here with Remembrance of the Daleks, Ace also mentions that her stereo was destroyed by the Daleks (which occurred in the same story).
  • This is the last episode to feature Cybermen before Doctor Who's cancellation.
  • The Doctor plays chess against an unknown opponent, thought to be Fenric. The Doctor battles Fenric later on in The Curse of Fenric, but before this, in the story Battlefield, Morgaine speaks of how she always beat the Doctor at chess, Morgaine and Fenric both powerful beings from another dimension.
  • Battlefield also deals with Time as a major factor. Lady Peinforte's tomb does not contain her bones because she is destroyed in space when the Nemesis explodes. In 'Battlefield', the events occur because of what the Doctor will do in the future, leading to the Doctor writing himself a note and claiming that he should have given himself more warning.
  • At the end of Part Two the Doctor dematerialises the TARDIS as an arrow hits it, the same thing happens at the end of The Shakespeare Code.
  • The extended edition features a painting of Ace in early French garb, this is explained in NA: Set Piece.

DVD and Video Releases

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Target Novelisations

See also

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External Links


Television

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The Greatest Show in the Galaxy
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