Nightmare in Silver marks the return of Neil Gaiman to Doctor Who. After he wrote the popular episode "The Doctors Wife" in 2011, fans have been wanting to see a return from him. It also marks a return of the Cybermen who were last scene in 2011's "Closing Time." Personally, I don't think this episode was as good as Gaimans first outing but it was still an very good action packed episode. One of the things I disliked about the episode was the kids. I don't think any responsible person would allow kids to go travelling with the Doctor considering how much danger he gets into most of the time.
I really do like the new look cybermen. They have kept quite a bit of what was good about the previous design and then made them a bit slimmer. There is something about the head that is reminiscent of the Wheel in Space Cybermen. I have seen comments that they have ripped off the Iron Man design which I can sort of agree with but I think its more that they took some inspiration from it that ripped it off. The chest piece does look quite Iron Man. I was a bit disappointed with the voice. After hearing that Nick Briggs had recorded a version more like The Tenth Planet ones, I was hoping that he would go with that as I think there is quite a charm to that voice. Something like the voice they used in Big Finish's The Silver Turk would have been nice.
The look of the Cybermen are not the only thing that has been changed. They are more powerful this time. With lots of new abilities, the Cybermen seem more of a threat this time around. They can move at super speeds, seeming to freeze time around them. Now while I like that they can move faster than last time, I am not sure about this super speed thing they have going on. They have also ditched the Cybermats and have got the much sleeker Cybermites.
The episode sees Matt get to play a split personality of the Doctor and the Cyberplaner. Matt managed to flow between characters very seamlessly which made it very easy to follow. What I liked most during them scenes was the direction. I really liked that they showed the clean half of the face when it was the Doctor talking and the Cyberised side when it was the Cyberplaner. Now, I do think there were times that the Cyberplanner was a bit over the top and a bit cringy. I did enjoy that part of the episode but I think Matt could have toned it down a bit.
I feel Tamzin Outhwaite was rather wasted really. She didn't really seem to do much. I don't get why her character just gave in and obeyed what Clara told her to do since she was supposed to be in charge. Warwick Davis was fantastic in role of Porridge. I did like the twist of him ending up being the emperor but if he could activate the bomb and teleport them out, then why didn't he just do that at the beginning. Not sure I agreed with that aspect of the plot.
Overall I think this episode was good with some fantastic ideas but it definitely had quite a few flaws. Maybe it could have been better if it had 10-15 minutes more time to breath. As a result, I would give it a 8/10.
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