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Now we have all recovered from the Nightmare in Silver, it’s time to see what the critics had to say!
The Guardian has kicked off the proceedings by describing Neil Gaiman’s script as “whimsical but effective” while SFX’s review says it was “only a partial success”. Their sentiments are shared by the Telegraph, who note it had the “Marmite effect”. The episode “failed to live up to the hype” according to the Independent although they do praise Matt Smith for his “impressive” peformance throughout.
There’s more mixed reviews over at CraveOnline and Radio Times – the first ponders over “what it could have been” as the latter describe it as “an almighty Cyber flop”. That is what they have to say - have yours here. This episode was watched by 4.7 million.
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The Cybermen returned to our screens tonight (discuss their comeback here!) and the Doctor and Clara lived to tell their tale, but something much darker is on the way!
This time next week Series 7 will reach its epic conclusion in what promises to be one of the most dramatic adventures in Who history as Clara’s “impossible” identity is revealed to the Doctor whose “greatest secret” hangs in the balance. Old friends and enemies gather for a showdown in the fields of Trenzalore but will we learn The Name of the Doctor?
To prepare for this highly anticipated episode, check out its prequel below, in which the Doctor and Clara explore how little they know each other. All of that’s about to change…
The Name of the Doctor airs Saturday 18th May at 7pm on BBC One. Long week ahead!
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Hedgewick’s World of Wonders was once the galaxy’s greatest theme park but it is now the dilapidated home to a shabby showman, a chess-playing dwarf and a dysfunctional army platoon.
Stomp stomp the Cybermen have arrived, and this time they were deadlier than before!
That’s right, tonight marked the return of one of the Doctor’s most infamous enemies as Neil Gaiman stepped back up to the writing duties in order to give the fans a Nightmare in Silver. After the success of his TARDIS debut with The Doctor’s Wife, he could’ve taken a breather with his second attempt at the bat, but instead he was mounded with the big task of restoring the metal monsters to their former glory. So how did he get on?
The story started at Hedgewick’s World of Wonders which once stood tall as the greatest theme park in the galaxy. When the Doctor, Clara, Artie and Angie arrived, they found it now served as the dilapidated home to a shabby showman and an army platoon. And so the scene was set for a classic Cyberman confrontation, as the ultimate upgrade began…
Neil tried to make them “a little creepier”, but did he achieve it? Will the penultimate episode of Series 7 go down in history or should it be deleted? Rate & Discuss it below…
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On the eve of Nightmare in Silver, we are thrilled to bring you an exclusive interview with one of its guest stars, Calvin Dean!
Calvin appears as Ha-Ha in the adventure: a soldier who, he tells us, is “known for being slightly strange”. “He is a funny guy,” he added. “Not in the laughing kind of way but he likes to think he is the action man of the group, but he is not! He has some great moments though, and he should be made a General immediately!”
You can read our full interview with him below in which he gives some behind the scenes insights, episode teasers and reveals what it was like to go up against those Cybermen…
Q. Hi, Calvin. Firstly, how did your role in Nightmare in Silver come about?
A. I was cast in the normal way by going for a meeting with the casting director Andy Pryor and director Stephen Woolfenden. Luckily for me, Andy had cast me in 2 TV jobs before, so it helped that he knew my work. I was seen a couple of months earlier for ‘The Bells of Saint John’ for Man With Chips, but I didn’t get it. My chip eating wasn’t convincing enough!
Q. Were you a Doctor Who fan before you were cast?
A. I could tell a big lie and say I was the biggest Whovian ever, but if the truth be told, no. As I was a child of the 90’s there wasn’t a big Who presence apart from re-runs, but I loved the Daleks and Cybermen. When Matt started in 2010 I tuned in as I’ve known him for over 10 years from our days in the National Youth Theatre. When I got the role of Ha-Ha I watched the whole of Series 6 and now I’m hooked!
Q. Without giving too much away, what can you tell us about the episode?
A. It’s very Neil Gaiman, but that’s pretty much to be expected. Lots of wacky characters and locations. I’m playing a solider who’s in the army platoon alongside Captain Alice (Tamzin Outhwaite), Brains (Will Merrick), Beauty (Eloise Joseph) and Missy (Zahra Ahmadi). Originally there was also Brawn, but he got cut! I can’t say too much, but there are lots of guns and cool things which I broke on a daily basis. Sorry art department!
Q. What was it like to go up against the Cybermen, one of Doctor Who’s most iconic foes?
A. I was a big kid on my first day with the Cybermen. They don’t only look amazing, but they’re pretty scary. I often forgot that real people were inside, and standing in the lunch queue next to a Cyberman is pretty disconcerting. “Yes, you can go in front of me, but don’t Steal my lasagne!”.
Q. How long after you won the part did filming begin, and how long were you filming for?
A. Filming began about 2 weeks after first hearing the news. The day I found I had the part was the day of the read-through. My agent didn’t even say I had the part before asking if I could be in Cardiff by 7pm that night. One minute I was watching This Morning (as all out of work actors do) and the next I was sitting next to Matt Smith and Neil Gaiman. Bizarre day! Principal photography was really fast. We had 13 days to shoot the whole episode. We had a few extra days at the end because of weather problems. One week I went home for a weekend, came back to Cardiff on the Monday, went to set, got into costume, had a bacon butty, and then went home again because of bad weather. Not a bad days work!
Q. What were your highlights of working with Matt Smith, Jenna-Louise Coleman and the episode’s guest cast?
A. We had a blast. Working with Matt again after so many years was a big treat. He’s such a lovely guy and really welcoming. You never feel like the outsider on Doctor Who as a guest (unlike other jobs). Jenna-Louise is a great asset to Doctor Who and she kicks some ass in Nightmare In Silver! Us army platoon lot got on really well (and still do). We had a good laugh, even when it was 6am and all you wanted was your bed. Warwick Davis. That’s all I can say. WARWICK DAVIS!
Q. This isn’t your first experience of the Doctor Who universe as you’ve also been transformed into a Slitheen for The Sarah Jane Adventures…
A. My Sarah Jane Adventures experience was pretty quick. I think I only had one day on set and another day in the studio recording the voice. I was very lucky to work with the brilliant Elisabeth Sladen. It’s very sad that Liz is no longer with us as she was a great stalwart of Doctor Who. I also met K-9 which was so cool!
Q. What advice would you give to any aspiring actors out there?
A. Don’t do it! No, if you really want to do it and want to work hard then go for it. Too many people think that it brings fame and fortune, but it doesn’t. You have to work so hard and being famous isn’t a career in my mind. I love what I do, and if that spark ever goes I would give it up. Nothing worse than a grumpy actor. I’ve met a few!
Q. Finally, do you have any upcoming projects you’d like to tell us about?
A. No. Any offers? Please? I’m currently trying to get myself to America. I’ve got representation in LA, so hopefully that will work out. Maybe Ha-Ha in his own spin off with Brains as my sidekick? I wouldn’t say no to that.
Big thanks to Calvin for his time! Nightmare in Silver airs tomorrow at 7pm on BBC One.
Warning! This article and its comments may contain spoilers...
Neil Gaiman has revealed he wanted the Cybermen to be “a little creepier” than they have been in recent years.
The writer of Saturday’s episode Nightmare in Silver has told SFX that he set out to make the metal monsters “faster and slicker and better”. “I felt the last few times we’ve seen them they’ve been incredibly easy to defeat,” he explained. “They’ve made so much noise moving around that you could just run away. So if you heard something going hissy-hissy-clunk-clunk, you could always go somewhere else.”
In a separate interview with Big Issue he’s revealed that he hopes they are now “more disturbing”. He said: “When I was a kid it was the Cybermen and the Daleks – they were the two things you were scared of. But now the Cybermen are a bit of a joke. So I’ve taken the face back to the 60s. We are now back in that weird, unsmiling smiley face…”
The Cybermen will be stomping back onto our TV screen on Saturday but before their grand return we want to hear your treasured memories of those motley metal monsters!
From the minds of Gerry Davis and Dr Kit Pedler in 1966 the Doctor first encountered the cyborgs in The Tenth Planet.
Since that moment they’ve been a constant figure in his life, establishing themselves as one of his most feared and, let’s be honest, more persistent of adversaries.
In Nightmare in Silver they’ll be “deadlier” than ever, so just before we take refuge behind our respective sofas, there is just enough time to let us know which of their past confrontations with the Doctor particularly stick out in your mind. Have your say below…
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A prequel to the Series 7 finale will be online straight after the penultimate episode this Saturday (11th May)!
Titled She Said, He Said, the intriguing scene is one of the longest prequels to date and it has been written by Steven Moffat. It’ll explore just how little the Doctor and Clara know about each other ahead of the “epic and huge” climax in The Name of the Doctor on Saturday 18th May.
The prequel will also be available on the BBC Red Button.
So that’s She Said, He Said straight after Nightmare in Silver at 7:45pm on Saturday!
Warning! This article and its comments may contain spoilers...
As Doctor Who builds towards its 50th birthday (199 days to go!) tensions will soon start hotting up for the Doctor as Matt Smith says “the finale is just the start” of the drama ahead.
The latest series will reach its “epic and huge” conclusion in The Name of the Doctor when the Doctor’s “greatest secret” will (apparently) be revealed. After that we’ll face a six month wait to prepare for the “momentous” landmark adventure which will mark the return of David Tennant and Billie Piper as the Tenth Doctor and Rose Tyler.
So it’s going to be a long summer but Matt has suggested the finale will give us plenty to think about… “This is going to be he biggest year in the history of the show,” he teased. “The final shows a pivotal moment in the Doctor’s life so it’s a complete game changer.”
Series 7’s penultimate episode Nightmare in Silver airs Saturday at 7pm on BBC One.
Warning! This article and its comments may contain spoilers...
This weekend Series 7 will continue with the return of one of the Doctor’s most iconic and persistent foes. It’s those metal monsters we just love to hate, the Cybermen!
And if their comeback wasn’t exciting enough, the episode in question is written by Neil Gaiman whose first contribution to the series was 2011’s acclaimed, and Hugo Award winning no less, The Doctor’s Wife – what’s he got in store for the Cybermen then? Well we’ve been told they’ll be “deadlier” than ever this time round…
“What Neil’s done is write the Doctor in conflict with the Cybermen in a new way,” said exec producer Caro Skinner back in March teasing: “So it’s a huge episode for Matt.” Its next time trail – below – definitely vouches for that! It all kicks off when the Doctor and Co journey to Hedgewick’s World of Wonders. It’s definitely going to be a roller coaster…
Nightmare in Silver airs on Saturday 11th May on BBC One at the later time of 7pm…
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