N.B. there might (or might not) be spoilers in this article!
Although I like a lot of music that is jazz-influenced — funk, acid jazz, and I’ve always been partial to a slice of groovy 60’s and 70’s soundtrack music — I long ago reached the age where it’s OK for me to say ‘you know what, I don’t really like jazz all that much’.
So, you can imagine my amusement when the Cyberman reaction to the jazz being played to jam the signal is ‘It is meaningless.’
How confused would he have been if it were free jazz! Would he have turned to the camera, pointed a cricket-gloved finger at the audience and intoned “Nice!” or would his head have exploded with the seeming illogic of it all? If the latter, perhaps jazz could be used as an alternative to gold when faced with dire Cyber peril?
Dwelling on whether the Cybermen appreciate the smack of leather on willow over the tones of Courtney Pine does little to belie the fact that, after two excellent stories in Remembrance of the Daleks and The Happiness Patrol, Silver Nemesis is somewhat of a letdown.
“What’s really going on, Doctor?”
Ace, Silver Nemesis: Part Three
True, in addition to the aforementioned Cybermen and some straight-blown jazz, it does contain Nazis (albeit ineffectual ones), a mysterious Caroline era lady with whom we are previously unacquainted (although the Doctor knows her well) and a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo from Nicholas Courtney chatting with other Windsor Castle day-trippers. Despite this and some intrigue with a chess board in Lady Peinforte’s study, Silver Nemesis never really comes together.
As has been mentioned by other commentators, it’s also pretty much a retread of the season’s earlier Dalek story, and as in that story it’s an uncommonly warm and sunny-looking English November. (Perhaps global warming kicked in sooner in the Doctor Who universe?)
There’s the odd moment or two that show real promise — the confrontation between Peinforte and the Doctor, for one — what must she know of his past and the Time of Chaos! — but overall, it’s hard to be anything but disappointed.
This was also the first time I’d seen the broadcast version of the serial (having watched the extended VHS release a few times). I can’t say I missed much that had been left out, with one notable exception. I always thought that the discovery of a painting of Ace, something that has not happened yet for her but which the Doctor knew about, was a nice touch.
Unfortunately, whilst the parts that add a bit more mystery to the Doctor’s character are definitely worth your while, Silver Nemesis is otherwise every bit as forgettable a 25th anniversary tale as I remembered it being.
