History Recap / DoctorWhoS25E3SilverNemesis

* BavarianFireDrill: Subverted. The TARDIS arrives in the present day on the grounds of a castle. When the Doctor sees a little old lady coming toward them he continues confidently, telling Ace, "Act like we own the place... Always works. We own the place." Ace has to point out that the woman they're approaching really does own the place -- and the place is Windsor Castle.

-->'''Lady Peinforte''': The bear will not pursue us. Such things only happen in the theatre.

* FourthReich: The neo-Nazis hope to start one[[note]][[OddlySmallOrganisation Yes, all twenty-or-so of them.]][[/note]]. Getting the funds to do so is their motive for stealing the varidium statue.

** During the scenes at Windsor Castle, the Doctor and Ace encounter a woman who ''theoretically'' is supposed to be [[UsefulNotes/HMTheQueen the Queen]]. Unfortunately the lookalike hired by the production team doesn't look all that much like the Queen, and in fact more resembles her daughter, Princess Anne.

* FourthReich: The neo-Nazis hope to start one. Getting the funds to do so is their motive for stealing the varidium statue.

* ArtisticLicenceHistory: In Episode One, the Nazis in the present day have stolen Lady Peinforte's calculations on when and where the comet Nemesis will return to Earth; the results are displayed on a computer screen. While the date -- 23 Nov 1988 -- is correct, the grid reference -- 74ºW, 32ºN -- is not (quite apart from the fact that references are cited as ºN then ºW); this would actually place it in the Atlantic Ocean some 420 miles east of Savannah, Georgia, USA. The actual location is in or near Windsor, and would have a grid reference of approximately 51.5ºN, 0.6ºW.

Written by Kevin Clarke. This three-episode serial first aired from November 23 to December 7, 1988 - [[MilestoneCelebration starting the day of the big two-five.]] ([[ShortRunInPeru The whole serial aired November 25 in New Zealand.]])

The Doctor and Ace visit England in 1988, where three rival factions – the Cybermen, a group of Neo-Nazis and a 17th-century sorceress named Lady Peinforte – are attempting to gain control of a statue made of a living metal, validium, that was created by [[Recap/DoctorWho20thASTheFiveDoctors Rassilon]] as the ultimate defence for Gallifrey.

The statue has three components - a bow, an arrow and the figure itself - that must be brought together in order for it to be activated. They have been separated since 1638 when, in order to foil the first attempt by Peinforte to seize it, the Doctor launched the figure into orbit in a powered asteroid.

* ArtisticLicenceHistory: In Episode One, the Nazis in the present day have stolen Lady Peinforte's calculations on when and where the comet Nemesis will return to Earth; the results are displayed on a computer screen. While the date - 23 Nov 1988 - is correct, the grid reference - 74ºW, 32ºN - is not (quite apart from the fact that references are cited as ºN then ºW); this would actually place it in the Atlantic Ocean some 420 miles east of Savannah, Georgia, USA. The actual location is in or near Windsor, and would have a grid reference of approximately 51.5ºN, 0.6ºW.

* TrappedInThePast: Subverted - Richard is transported to contemporary times with Lady Pentiforte and finds himself stranded in the future and bemoaning his fate. Fortunately, the Doctor and Ace immediately arrive and playfully tell him they can help, considering they can easily give him a ride home.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Not so much in this episode, but in the ongoing series. What ''is'' Lady Peinforte's history with the Doctor, and how in the world did she learn secrets about his life on Gallifrey? Fenric is clearly involved, but decades later, we still have no details.

* ArtisticLicenseHistory: In Episode One, the Nazis in the present day have stolen Lady Peinforte's calculations on when and where the comet Nemesis will return to Earth; the results are displayed on a computer screen. While the date - 23 Nov 1988 - is correct, the grid reference - 74ºW, 32ºN - is not (quite apart from the fact that references are cited as ºN then ºW); this would actually place it in the Atlantic Ocean some 420 miles east of Savannah, Georgia, USA. The actual location is in or near Windsor, and would have a grid reference of approximately 51.5ºN, 0.6ºW.

Written by Kevin Clarke. This serial first aired November 23-December 7, 1988 - [[MilestoneCelebration starting the day of the big two-five.]] ([[ShortRunInPeru The whole serial aired November 25 in New Zealand.]])

* DoingInTheWizard: Taken on its own, this story appears to claim that Lady Peinforte's powers are literal magic, making it the only story in the Original Series to allow such a thing rather than [[MagicByAnyOtherName handwaving it somehow]] ("[[Recap/DoctorWhoS26E1Battlefield Battlefield]]" doesn't really count, because the Arthurian characters are visitors from another universe with different physical laws). However, a throwaway line in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS26E3TheCurseOfFenric The Curse of Fenric]]" establishes that, in fact, Lady Peinforte got her powers from Fenric. [[AuthorsSavingThrow So there.]]

** WordOfGod states that the writer intended the Doctor to be...a Gallifreyan God, of sorts. Or the reincarnation of one, essentially.

Written by Kevin Clarke. This serial first aired November 23, 1988 - [[MilestoneCelebration the day of the big two-five.]]

* WeaksauceWeakness: The Cybermen's vulnerability to gold -- originally a difficult-to-exploit weakness where gold dust, if gotten ''into their workings'', could take them out, and ''not instantly'' -- is taken to utterly absurd levels in this story. While they at least regain the resistance to bullets that they somehow lost in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS22E1AttackOfTheCybermen Attack of the Cybermen]]," you can now cause them to instantly die screaming by ''throwing a gold coin at their chest''. Evidently the writer never stopped to think how absurd it was that the Cybermen could withstand high-velocity impacts without any trouble, but be instantly killed by a low-force impact with any gold or gold-plated object. This came about because, at the time, the only knowledge the writers had of this vulnerability was a throwaway remark about gold from Creator/JohnNathanTurner. The common joke at the time was that the next time they showed up, they would explode if someone just shouted the word "gold" at them.
** Well, these Cybermen ''were'' plated in [[BlingOfWar chrome silver]] this time around. It's possible that something about their attempts to upgrade their casings made them even more vulnerable to gold. Somehow...

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Not so much in this episode, but in the ongoing series. What ''is'' Lady Peinforte's history with the Doctor, and how in the world did she learn secrets about his life on Gallifrey? Decades later, we still have no idea.

* HeroesGoneFishing: Or rather, "Gone Listening To Some Outdoor Live Jazz And Reading The Sunday Newspapers".

* AllThereInTheManual: Later expanded universe sources, ''Doctor Who: Cybermen'' and its audio adaptation ''The [=ArcHive=] Tapes'', have InUniverse historians name the Cybermen who appear here as [=CyberIsomorphs=], explaining the some minor cosmetic differences between them and the earlier [=CyberNeomorphs=] (80s' Cybermen) as well as explaining their presence in the 20th century by linking back to their use of TimeTravel in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS22E1AttackOfTheCybermen Attack of the Cybermen]]".

* UnusuallyInterestingSight: Lady Peinforte uses sorcery to travel through time from her front room in 1638 to her front room in 1988, which is now a quaint tea rooms. None of the customers seem at all perturbed by the pair of screaming figures who arrived in their midst in a halo of green flame.

* FourthReich: The neo-Nazis hope to start one. Getting the funds to do so is their motive for stea;ing the varidium statue.

* CriticalResearchFailure: In Episode One, the Nazis in the present day have stolen Lady Peinforte's calculations on when and where the comet Nemesis will return to Earth; the results are displayed on a computer screen. While the date - 23 Nov 1988 - is correct, the grid reference - 74ºW, 32ºN - is not (quite apart from the fact that references are cited as ºN then ºW); this would actually place it in the Atlantic Ocean some 420 miles east of Savannah, Georgia, USA. The actual location is in or near Windsor, and would have a grid reference of approximately 51.5ºN, 0.6ºW.

"Silver Nemesis" was promoted as the show's 25th anniversary special; the first part airing on the anniversary itself. Because of the broadcast rearrangement to facilitate this, it [[OutOfOrder aired before]] [[Recap/DoctorWhoS25E4TheGreatestShowintheGalaxy "The Greatest Show In The Galaxy"]], but clearly follows it in chronological order. Also, unlikely as it may seem, this is the first ''Doctor Who'' story to feature [[ThoseWackyNazis actual Nazis]], rather than Nazi analogues.

"Silver Nemesis" was promoted as the show's 25th anniversary special; the first part airing on the anniversary itself. Because of the broadcast rearrangement to facilitate this, it [[OutOfOrder aired before]] [[Recap/DoctorWhoS25E4TheGreatestShowintheGalaxy "The Greatest Show In The Galaxy"]], but clearly follows it in chronological order. Also, unlikely as it may seem, this is the first ''Doctor Who'' episode to feature [[ThoseWackyNazis actual Nazis]], rather than Nazi analogues.

* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: The Doctor had launched the Nemesis weapon from the Earth inside a satellite to keep it out of the hands of his enemies, only to have that satellite's orbit bring it close to the Earth every 25 years, where the weapon's energy would adversely affect Earth history. The Doctor claimed that Nemesis may have influenced the start of World War II and the assassination of President Kennedy.
* BigDamnHeroes: Subverted; at the end of episode one, a big spaceship shows up conveniently in time to distract the neo-Nazis who are preparing to execute the Doctor and Ace. Ace gladly welcomes this development ... for about a second, until she notices the grim look on the Doctor's face. Sure enough, when the spaceship opens, the Cybermen emerge.

* CriticalResearchFailure: In episode one, the Nazis in the present day have stolen Lady Peinforte's calculations on when and where the comet Nemesis will return to Earth; the results are displayed on a computer screen. While the date - 23 Nov 1988 - is correct, the grid reference - 74ºW, 32ºN - is not (quite apart from the fact that references are cited as ºN then ºW); this would actually place it in the Atlantic Ocean some 420 miles east of Savannah, Georgia, USA. The actual location is in or near Windsor, and would have a grid reference of approximately 51.5ºN, 0.6ºW.

* DoingInTheWizard: Taken on its own, this episode appears to claim that Lady Peinforte's powers are literal magic, making it the only Original Series episode to allow such a thing rather than [[MagicByAnyOtherName handwaving it somehow]] ("[[Recap/DoctorWhoS26E1Battlefield Battlefield]]" doesn't really count, because the Arthurian characters are visitors from another universe with different physical laws). However, a throwaway line in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS26E3TheCurseOfFenric The Curse of Fenric]]" establishes that, in fact, Lady Peinforte got her powers from Fenric. [[AuthorsSavingThrow So there.]]

** The deleted scenes seem to imply that the Doctor is playing chess against an unseen opponent each time he returns to Lady Peinforte's house. Later revelations in "The Curse of Fenric" would suggest that Fenric is operating behind the scenes in this story, and the chess motif later takes on great significance in that episode.

** De Flores is a reference to a character in ''Theatre/TheChangeling''.

** He also drew influence from Jacobean theatre (De Flores is named after the servant in ''Theatre/TheChangeling'').

* ArtisticLicenseMathematics: The mathematician hired by Lady Peinforte derives that the comet Nemesis will return to Earth exactly 350 years after it departed on 23 Nov 1638, on 23 Nov 1988. Except for one little problem...in 1752, Great Britain switched from the Julian Calendar to the Gregorian Calendar, necessitating the dropping of 11 days in order to sync it back up with all the other countries on the Gregorian Calendar. Not only this, but the Julian and Gregorian calendars would also fall further out of sync by two more days (the leap days for 1800 and 1900), so that by the present day the total error would be 13 days. So the date he's calculated means they would actually arrive 13 days too late, on 6 Dec 1988! Of course, there's no way that a mathematician in 1638 could possibly know that the British calendar would be changed in the year 1752, but the problem is caused by the writers not researching this properly. It would've worked just fine if they'd had the comet being launched in 1763 or later instead...

[[caption-width-right:350: It's ''Doctor Who's'' [[MilestoneCelebration silver (25th) anniversary special...]] Plumb obvious thanks to [[VisualPun the absurd number of silver and chrome coated scoundrels in this story]].]]

The one where the Doctor wears a fez. [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E13TheBigBang Before wearing a fez was considered cool.]]