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The scene where the skinheads ask if
Peinforte and Richard are social workers is so inexplicable that one has
to assume that it was intended that different people speak the lines to
different recipients in different circumstances and possibly in a
different series.
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The writer claims (with some pride) that the
Cybermen were included because it was the silver anniversary and they
are silver. I suppose if it had been the wool anniversary (7 years) they
would've hired Giles Brandreth.
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When Richard says his mistress has "a little
Greek" am I the only one to imagine Stavros hiding beneath her skirts?
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Why do we live in a world where you can buy
a talking Slitheen doll but not a singing Lady Peinforte? "All that
is... and all that was..."
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JNT hated the sonic screwdriver and K9
because they were too good at resolving any problem which came along. He
was however quite happy to allow devices such as the modified tape deck
which just appeared at the start of the story, solved everything and
were never used again.
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Once the Cybermen were invincible giants
whose only weakness was the blasting of non-corrosive gold dust into
their breathing unit. Now they have become buffoons who would fall over
if someone played "Gold" by Spandau Ballet.
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There is the inexplicable scene between De
Flores and the Cyberleader where they talk about the Cyber-weakness to
arrows made of gold. Everyone’s favourite Nazi claims that humans aren’t
susceptible to that weakness. Ok, we don’t fall over if someone tosses a
coin at us (unless you’re a footballer) but we still kinda die if shot
with an arrow.
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When the Doctor activates the validium he
and Ace keep flapping on about chess moves. Is this an attempt to sound
clever or just a way of distracting us from the fact that the Cybermen
literally stand there and quietly panic?
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Speaking of Cybermen, who polished them?
While waiting around in space until they detected the Nemesis did they
get bored and decide to buff each other up or did they pick up an
infomercial and think "That could be useful"?
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They rather skim over how Lady Peinforte
travelled through time. Yes, the arrow helped her but the Doctor just
mumbles something about "black magic" and carries on with whatever he
was doing. Pertwee would’ve been appalled.
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You can’t help but love the scenes in the
rich American lady’s car. She and Richard are having a confused but
amiable conversation and suddenly Lady Peinforte blurts out "All things
will be mine". She gets a "aye aye – the drunk’s woken up" look before
Mrs Remington carries on talking.
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I don’t get jazz. I never have. I think it
was only included to make Keff McCulloch sound good.
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De Flores has a very smug sidekick. I was
glad when he got killed and not because he was a Nazi. He could’ve been
the owner of a really nice cake shop and I would still have been pleased
when he was eradicated. Smug faced fool.
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Why is the Doctor surprised when he
discovers that the Cyber-fleet has been hiding? He knew they were there
and knew he couldn’t see them. It seems rather obvious if you think
about it in that amount of detail.
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And how does he trick them into revealing
themselves just by twiddling the bass, treble and balance knobs?
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And isn’t the Cyber-fleet just the least
threatening looking battle fleet ever? Boxy looking space ships with
lots of flashing lights. It is actually less intimidating than the
cotton-reel space fleet seen at the end of season 2 of Blake’s 7.
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It is weird how the 17th century
mathematician and the 20th century computer (both of which
work out the path of the Nemesis) look equally antiquated to modern
eyes. That blocky, flashing text? Eugh. Give me a quill and a death
sentence any day.
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The Doctor must be having a real off day if
he thinks that an audience with the Queen would help the situation.
Because obviously she’d believe him and do what he said. But of course
we’ve all seen the documentary on the video and know that the whole
Windsor Castle thing was just an excuse for the hilarious wellies gag.
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Fiona Walker chews the scenery (painful
considering it was all location work) as few have ever chewed it before.
Her final moments – screaming and jumping into the asteroid – earn her a
place in the Crowden wing of the Doctor Who hall of fame.
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The dénouement in the hanger is somewhat
strange in that the Doctor tells the Cybermen what he’s going to do and
they still fall for it. The jets of fire incinerating the two guards is
cool though.
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The secret passage in Lady Peinforte’s tomb
appears to be cunningly disguised as a door.
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It has the worst video cover ever. The
story’s reputation is unfair - I rather like it – but the cover is a
foil-pas of the worst kind. It’s also green (which isn't silver).
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Thanks to that American documentary I always
think of him as "Jer-RARD" Murphy rather than simply "Gerard" Murphy.
Equally I always imagine the late Gary Downie as a camp and
gaily-bespectacled chap with a wellie fetish.
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Some of the location work was apparently
done on the site of what would become the millennium dome. A folly upon
a folly. A poetic tribute to two men whose misplaced enthusiasm made
laughing stocks of two important anniversaries.
