View source for Silver Nemesis

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{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2012}}
{{Infobox Doctor Who episode
| number             = 150<ref>From the ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]'' series overview, in issue 407 (pp26-29). ''[[The Discontinuity Guide]]'', which counts the four segments of ''[[The Trial of a Time Lord]]'' as four separate stories and also counts the unbroadcast serial ''[[Shada (Doctor Who)|Shada]]'', lists this story as number 154. [[DVD region code#1|Region 1]] DVD [[Doctor Who DVD releases|releases]] follow ''The Discontinuity Guide'' numbering system.</ref>
| serial_name        = Silver Nemesis
| show               = DW
| type               = serial
| image              = 
| caption            = 
| doctor             = [[Sylvester McCoy]] – [[Seventh Doctor]]
| companion          = [[Sophie Aldred]] – [[Ace (Doctor Who)|Ace]]
| guests             = 
* [[Anton Diffring]] – [[List of Doctor Who villains#De Flores|De Flores]]
* [[Metin Yenal]] – Karl
* [[Fiona Walker]] – [[List of Doctor Who villains#Lady Peinforte|Lady Peinforte]]
* [[Gerard Murphy (Irish actor)|Gerard Murphy]] – Richard Maynard
* [[Leslie French]] – Mathematician
* [[Martyn Read]] – Security Guard
* [[Dolores Gray]] – Mrs Remington
* [[Chris Chering]], [[Symond Lawes]] – Skinheads
* [[David Banks (actor)|David Banks]] – Cyber Leader
* [[Mark Hardy (actor)|Mark Hardy]] – Cyber Lieutenant
* [[Brian Orrell]] – Cyberman
* [[Courtney Pine]], [[Adrian Reid (musician)|Adrian Read]], [[Ernest Mothle]], [[Frank Tontoh]] – Jazz Quartet
| director           = [[Chris Clough]]
| writer             = [[Kevin Clarke (writer)|Kevin Clarke]]
| script_editor      = [[Andrew Cartmel]]
| producer           = John Nathan-Turner
| executive_producer = None
| composer           = [[Keff McCulloch]]
| production_code    = 7K
| series             = [[Doctor Who (season 25)|Season 25]]
| length             = 3 episodes, 25 minutes each
| started            = {{Start date|1988|11|23|df=y}} (UK) {{Start date|1988|11|25|df=y}} (New Zealand){{#tag:ref|Parts Two and Three of ''Silver Nemesis'' were first broadcast in New Zealand on 25 November 1988 as part of a compilation broadcast before their UK transmission.{{citation needed|date=December 2018}}}}
| ended              = {{End date|1988|12|7|df=y}} (UK) {{End date|1988|11|25|df=y}} (New Zealand)
| preceding          = ''[[The Happiness Patrol]]''
| following          = ''[[The Greatest Show in the Galaxy]]''
}}
'''''Silver Nemesis''''' is the third serial of the [[Doctor Who (season 25)|25th season]] of the British [[science fiction television]] series ''[[Doctor Who]]''. It was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on [[BBC One|BBC1]] in three weekly parts from 23 November (the 25th anniversary) to 7 December 1988.<ref>{{cite web |title=Radio Times - Silver Nemesis |url=http://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/doctor-who-guide/silver-nemesis/}}</ref> In New Zealand, all three parts were broadcast on [[TVNZ]] on 25 November.

In the serial, the [[Neo-Nazism|neo-Nazi]] De Flores ([[Anton Diffring]]), the 17th-century sorceress [[List of Doctor Who villains#Lady Peinforte|Lady Peinforte]] ([[Fiona Walker]]), and the [[Cybermen]] fight for control of the Nemesis, a statue containing a living metal which crash-landed near [[Windsor Castle]] in 1988.

The serial marks the final appearance of the Cybermen in the original run.

==Plot==

In the year 1638, the Doctor launched a statue into space, that was created by the Lady Painforte in her likeness. A statue made of a living metal, validium, that was created by [[Omega (Doctor Who)|Omega]] and [[Rassilon]] as the ultimate defence for [[Gallifrey]].  Lady Peinorte is a sorceress, who is in possession of a silver arrow from the statue, and using black magic takes her servant Richard, and travels to the year 1988 in pursuit of the statue when it returns to earth.

In 1988, a Neo-Nazi group lead by a man named De Flores is on a mission to begin the Fourth Reich.  They are in possession of a bow from the statue and are monitoring its eventual descent back to Earth from an asteroid the Doctor had trapped it in. The [[Seventh Doctor]] and [[Ace (Doctor Who)|Ace]] are in England, and survive an assassination attempt by two unknown men.  The Doctor determines that Earth is in danger, when he remembers the statue is due to descend there. This asteroid has been approaching Earth at twenty-five yearly intervals ever since, leaving a succession of disasters in its wake, and has now crash-landed near [[Windsor Castle]].

At the crash site through some suspicious power outages, and evidence to support a third party, De Flores arrives with a regime of men at his side.  Lady Peinforte watches from a distance armed with gold tipped arrows dipped in poison.  When the Doctor and Ace arrive, a ship full of [[Cyberman|Cybermen]] show up and the three rival groups start to battle one another.  De Flores has only one man by the time the Cybermen are through with them, and as the Doctor seizes the bow, Peinforte fires an arrow which hits the TARDIS and remains there.  The Cyber leader takes control of the statue.

The Doctor has Ace take the TARDIS back to 1638 and retrieve a bag of gold coins after discovering a suspicious chess set with an invisible player, and return to 1988 to destroy the Cybermen ship, as Lady Peinforte using the arrow approaches where The Cybermen are in possession of the statue.  De Flores makes a deal with the Cyber leader and seizes the arrow from Peinforte.  Going back on said deal, the Cyber leader prepares to have De Flores converted to a Cyberman before the Doctor and Ace temporarily unite the statue with the bow, scattering all groups.  The "Asteroid" takes off with the statue and the arrow to a nearby hanger, awaiting to be united again.

The Doctor and Ace take the TARDIS to the hanger, where the Doctor unites the statue and gives it instructions to destroy a fleet of Cyber warships that are hiding next to the moon.  Using a sling and the gold coins, Ace takes out the Cybermen until only the Cyber leader remains.  De Flores and his last man approach the nemesis statue but are killed by the Cyber leader.  Peinforte and Richard arrive laying claim to the statue from the Doctor on threat of revealing a secret of his true identity.  The Doctor ignores this threat as the Cyber leader does not care about the secret and gives the statue to the Cybermen.  The statue wipes out the fleet, but not before Lady Peinforte attempts to seize the statue merging with it herself.  

Consequently, the Cyber leader attempts to kill the Doctor only to be killed by Richard using the gold arrow that was recently shot at the TARDIS.  The Doctor and Ace then take Richard back to 1638, the foreboding destruction of Earth averted.

==Production==
The working titles for this story included ''The Harbinger'' and ''Nemesis''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Dr Who: A Brief History of Time (Travel)|url=http://www.shannonsullivan.com/drwho/serials/7k.html}}</ref> Writer [[Kevin Clarke (writer)|Kevin Clarke]], who appears twice in the serial itself playing a tourist at Windsor, discusses the development of the plot on the DVD. He points out that he had seen very little of ''Doctor Who'' and that he met the production team without any idea of what his proposed story would be about. He made up a story on the spot in front of producer [[John Nathan-Turner]] that the Doctor is literally [[God]], though this was not realised on-screen. The Cybermen were added later at the request of Nathan-Turner, to tie in with the programme's silver anniversary.

===Locations===
Permission was refused for filming at [[Windsor Castle]] so those scenes were shot at [[Arundel Castle]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Dr Who Locations |url=http://www.doctorwholocations.net/stories/silvernemesis}}</ref> According to the DVD commentary, scenes were shot in woodland areas around Arundel Castle, notably the climax of Part Two, when the Doctor and Ace discuss the Cyber-threat while sitting near a fallen tree. The damaged and fallen trees were a result of the [[Great Storm of 1987]] that had caused widespread damage throughout southern England. Scenes at the gas works where The Doctor and Ace meet and combat the Cybermen were filmed on the site that later became the [[Millennium Dome]], now [[The O2|the O<sub>2</sub>]].

===Cast notes===
[[Fiona Walker]] had appeared in ''[[The Keys of Marinus]]'' in 1964 as Kala. [[Leslie French]], who plays the Mathematician, had turned down the role of The Doctor in 1963; thus, his casting was another nod to the series' beginnings in this Silver Anniversary story.<ref>Chris Clough on DVD commentary</ref> [[Anton Diffring]]'s performance in ''Silver Nemesis'' was his last before his death in 1989. The production team tried to get [[Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex|Prince Edward]] involved in the show,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://whatculture.com/tv/10-doctor-who-cameos-you-definitely-missed?page=3 | title=10 Doctor Who Cameos You Definitely Missed | date=19 November 2022 }}</ref> but his office politely declined in March 1988;{{citation needed|date=April 2020}} the programme instead used an [[Elizabeth II]] look-alike.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/episodeguide/silvernemesis/detail.shtml|title=BBC - Doctor Who Classic Episode Guide - Silver Nemesis - Details|website=bbc.co.uk}}</ref> [[Nicholas Courtney]] makes a cameo appearance, conversing with other visitors in the queue to tour Windsor Castle.

==Broadcast and reception==
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Part One was transmitted on the 25th anniversary of the first episode of ''Doctor Who''. Parts Two and Three were the second and third respectively of the series ever to be premiered outside of the United Kingdom (the first being "[[The Five Doctors]]"), shown on 25 November as part of a compilation broadcast of the story on [[New Zealand]]'s [[TVNZ]], after Part One had shown in the UK but before the other two were transmitted there.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Howe |first1=David J |last2=Walker |first2=Stephen James |date=1998 |title=Doctor Who – The Handbook: The Seventh Doctor |chapter=Part Two – Fiction: The Stories |location=London |publisher=Doctor Who Books |page=69 |isbn=0-426-20527-8 |author-link1=David J. Howe}}</ref>

[[Paul Cornell]], [[Martin Day (writer)|Martin Day]], and [[Keith Topping]] wrote of the serial in ''[[The Discontinuity Guide]]'' (1995), "A bit of a mess, really. Some passable scenes, but the story lacks pace and character involvement. Its plot is virtually identical to ''[[Remembrance of the Daleks]]'' only two stories previously."<ref name="discontinuity">{{cite book |title=[[The Discontinuity Guide]] |last1=Cornell |first1=Paul |author-link1=Paul Cornell |last2=Day |first2=Martin |author-link2=Martin Day (writer) |last3=Topping |first3=Keith |author-link3=Keith Topping |year=1995 |publisher=[[Virgin Books]] |location=London |isbn=0-426-20442-5 |chapter=Silver Nemesis|chapter-url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/episodeguide/silvernemesis/detail.shtml}}</ref> In 2012, Mark Braxton of ''[[Radio Times]]'' said that the story had "a certain comic-strip effervescence" despite many of the plot points not going well together or missing the mark.<ref name="Radio Times">{{cite web|first=Mark|last=Braxton|url=http://www.radiotimes.com/blog/2012-09-18/silver-nemesis|title=Doctor Who: Silver Nemesis|work=[[Radio Times]]|date=18 September 2012|access-date=31 March 2013}}</ref> [[DVD Talk]]'s Ian Jane gave ''Silver Nemesis'' three out of five stars, describing it as "phoned in" and a remake of ''Remembrance of the Daleks''. However, he felt that the story was still enjoyable due to the chemistry between McCoy and Aldred, as well as the faster pace.<ref name="DVD Talk">{{cite web|first=Ian|last=Jane|url=http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/44974/doctor-who-silver-nemesis/|title=Doctor Who: Silver Nemesis|publisher=[[DVD Talk]]|date=9 December 2010|access-date=31 March 2013}}</ref> ''[[SFX (magazine)|SFX]]'' reviewer Ian Berriman said that the story was too ambitious, and criticised the Cybermen. Despite this, he noted that the serial still had "a great concept, ... some cool moments, a couple of enjoyably awful puns and one superb character: nutjob Jacobean villainess Lady Peinforte".<ref name="SFX review">{{cite web|first=Ian|last=Berriman|url=http://www.sfx.co.uk/2010/08/06/dvd-review-doctor-who-revenge-of-the-cybermensilver-nemesis/|title=DVD Review Doctor Who: Revenge of the Cybermen/Silver Nemesis|work=[[SFX (magazine)|SFX]]|date=6 August 2010|access-date=31 March 2013}}</ref> Alasdair Wilkins of [[io9]] wrote that it is "not an unmitigated disaster, but it's definitely the worst of classic ''Doctor Who''{{'s}} creative resurgence in its final two seasons". He also felt that the story packed in too many elements and did not do much with the Cybermen.<ref>{{cite web |last=Wilkins |first=Alasdair |date=23 November 2012 |title=A Complete Guide to Every Single ''Doctor Who'' Anniversary Special Ever |url=http://io9.com/5962840/the-complete-guide-to-every-single-doctor-who-anniversary-special-ever?popular=true |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112030211/http://io9.com/5962840/the-complete-guide-to-every-single-doctor-who-anniversary-special-ever?popular=true |archive-date=12 November 2013 |access-date=31 March 2013 |publisher=[[io9]]}}</ref> Den of Geek listed the Cybermen's reaction to jazz as one of the "great things in not-so-great [''Doctor Who''] episodes".<ref>{{cite web|first=Andrew|last=Blair|url=http://www.denofgeek.us/tv/doctor-who/22289/doctor-who-great-things-in-not-so-great-episodes|title=Doctor Who: great things in not-so-great episodes|publisher=Den of Geek|date=10 August 2012|access-date=26 April 2013}}</ref>

==Commercial releases==

===In print===
{{Infobox book
| name              = Silver Nemesis
| image             = Doctor Who Silver Nemesis.jpg
| caption           = 
| author            = [[Kevin Clarke (writer)|Kevin Clarke]]
| cover_artist      = [[Alister Pearson]]
| series            = ''[[Doctor Who]]'' book:<br />[[List of Doctor Who novelisations|Target novelisations]]
| release_number    = 143
| release_date      = 16 November 1989
| publisher         = [[Target Books]]
| isbn              = 0-426-20340-2
| exclude_cover     = yes
}}

A novelisation of this serial, by [[Kevin Clarke (writer)|Kevin Clarke]], was published by [[Target Books]] in November 1989.

===Home media===
On 3 May 1993, an extended version of this three-part serial was released on [[VHS]]. Apart from featuring footage not shown in the original broadcast, the video included an hour-long documentary made by [[New Jersey Network]] during the production of the adventure and featuring interviews with cast and crew. This documentary was not included on the 2010 DVD release due to rights issues. The broadcast version of this serial only was released on DVD as part of a box set with ''[[Revenge of the Cybermen]]'' on 9 August 2010.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B003QP2TPA |title=Doctor Who: Revenge of the Cybermen / Silver Nemesis DVD 1975: Amazon.co.uk: Tom Baker, Elisabeth Sladen, Ian Marter, Sylvester McCoy, Sophie Aldred, Jeremy Wilkin, Ronald Leigh-Hunt, William Marlowe, Alec Wallis, David Collings: Film & TV |publisher=Amazon.co.uk |access-date=2013-10-09}}</ref> The documentary eventually got cleared for release as part of the special features for Silver Nemesis on the season 25 Blu-ray Collection in 2024.<ref> {{Cite web |title=The Collection: Season 25 – The Millennium Effect |url=https://millenniumeffect.co.uk/index.php/the-collection-season-25/ |access-date=2025-01-14 |language=en-US}}</ref> Alongside other stories in the season, this included extended special editions for each episode with new special effects and some additional footage of cybermats (missing from the original production). A condensed 'ommibus' edition, in the style of televised repeats of earlier serials, was also included.

====Extended VHS release (1993)====
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! Episode No. !! Release date !! Length 
|-
|1|| 5 April 1993 || 29:07
|-
|2|| 5 April 1993 || 25:49
|-
|3|| 5 April 1993 || 29:13
|}
====Special Edition Blu-ray release (2024)====
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! Episode No. !! Release date !! Length
|-
|1|| 28 October 2024 || 28:27
|-
|2|| 28 October 2024 || 26:17
|-
|3|| 28 October 2024 || 28:56
|-
|Omnibus|| 28 October 2024 || 53:43
|}

==References==
{{reflist|refs=
<ref name="AllRatings">{{cite web|title=Ratings Guide |url=http://guide.doctorwhonews.net/info.php?detail=ratings&type=date |website=Doctor Who News |access-date=28 May 2017}}</ref>
}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote|Seventh Doctor}}
*{{BBCCDW|id=silvernemesis|title=Silver Nemesis}}
*{{TardisIndexFile|Silver Nemesis}}
* {{IMDb title|0562877}}

===Target novelisation===
*{{ISFDB title|id=10719|title=Silver Nemesis}}
*[https://archive.today/20121223054740/http://www.personal.leeds.ac.uk/~ecl6nb/OnTarget/1989/silver/89silver.htm On Target — ''Silver Nemesis'']

{{Doctor Who episodes|C25}}
{{Seventh Doctor stories|selected=Television}}
{{Cyberman stories|selected=Television}}

[[Category:Seventh Doctor serials]]
[[Category:Doctor Who pseudohistorical serials]]
[[Category:Doctor Who serials novelised by Kevin Clarke (writer)]]
[[Category:Cybermen television stories]]
[[Category:Fiction set in 1638]]
[[Category:Fiction set in 1988]]
[[Category:1988 British television episodes]]
[[Category:Doctor Who anniversary specials]]
[[Category:Anniversary television episodes]]
[[Category:Television episodes set in the 1980s]]
[[Category:Television episodes set in London]]
[[Category:Television episodes set in England]]
[[Category:Television episodes set in the 17th century]]