# Doctor Who 7x13: Nightmare In Silver **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 12, 2013, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-7x13-nightmare-in-silver/658114 "2013-05-12T00:37:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2013, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-7x13-nightmare-in-silver/658114/41 "2013-05-13T18:53:06Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > (Also, the galaxy-spanning human empire, fighting an enemy so insidious they have a tendency to blow up entire planets to get rid of them…I wonder if this is set in the 40th millenium…) That’s _exactly_ what I thought 🙂 Mmm, Clara in a Sisters of Battle outfit… The episode was … OK, not great. You could have left the kids out of it entirely and it wouldn’t have made much difference. Loved Clara taking command, loved Warwick Davis, the final attack was naff. Gods, I hope Clara isn’t somehow related to River, that would piss me off greatly. My complete WAG - she’s the Master in human form again! C’mon, the Doctor says she’s perfect for him, and was there ever anyone more perfect for the Doctor than the Master (well, the Simms Master, anyway) ---
**Author:** ![gonzoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2013, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-7x13-nightmare-in-silver/658114/42 "2013-05-13T19:02:18Z")
Wow… so weird to see the different opinions on this one. My wife and I agreed it was the best episode in ages. Can Gaiman take over as showrunner, please? Yeah, it was kind of annoying for the kids to become standard annoying kids in danger when they had such a promising intro at the end of the last ep (figuring out Clara’s timetraveling hobby was very clever. I’d hoped for more from them.) But it was nice to have some of the companion’s home life invading the Tardis again. Made me miss Jackie and Mickey all over again. ☹ But the cybermen were great for once. The Doctor/Mr Clever parts were engaging. The look of the inside of the Doctor’s brain was blissfully novel. Warwick Davis was great. (For a while, I couldn’t believe it was him. He looks so young! Isn’t he getting up there in years by now? checks IMDB… wow… he’s only 6 years older than I. :smack: I guess he was really young was in _every_ movie of my childhood.) Clara was great. Really a return to form, I thought. I’m even happy to see River in the previews, just so we can resolve her plot once and for all and be done with her… ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2013, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-7x13-nightmare-in-silver/658114/43 "2013-05-13T19:13:15Z")
I was wondering whether the BBC had them add the kids. They were really non-essential to the plot. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2013, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-7x13-nightmare-in-silver/658114/44 "2013-05-13T19:52:04Z")
This has to be thrown out there … she is River and the Doctor’s child. Her mother could just as well have been River is another form, and the father who raised her could have been none the wiser that he was not her biological dad. Nah. Clues: She is a perfectly ordinary girl … but something happens to her (presumptively because of The Doctor) that turns her into an Impossible Girl. She is a perfect Companion for him. Suspiciously perfect. Possibly in her memory, if it seeped through from a time that now never was, and suspiciously thanks to Sexy having created the library for her to be run into (with the History of the Time War book laid out), she possess knowledge of The Doctor’s name. Sexy is not crazy about Clara. On the field of Trenzalore, at the fall of the Eleventh, the first question will be asked:“Doctor who?” and the Silence is supposed to then fall. Not said is who the question will be asked of. And I don’t think Matt’s turn is up yet so this Eleventh is not yet falling. But to Trenzalore they go. River has something to do with this. And while the teaser showed her grave we think we know she died(s) in the library (the Doctor’s past, her future). There are still loose ends from the Crack. I got nothing. I suspect much will be left unresolved. ---
**Author:** ![gonzoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2013, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-7x13-nightmare-in-silver/658114/45 "2013-05-13T21:34:01Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Sexy is not crazy about Clara. But River handled the Tardis even better than the Doctor, why would it not like her daughter? BTW, I’ll admit it. my heart skipped a little beat when I heard an “allons-y.” Man, I miss Ten. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2013, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-7x13-nightmare-in-silver/658114/46 "2013-05-13T22:26:13Z")
I don’t think she is but it was an idea that has to at least be considered. I think the answer is (answers are?) going to be unsatisfactorily timey-whimey … ---
**Author:** ![Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bc8723/32.png) [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2013, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-7x13-nightmare-in-silver/658114/47 "2013-05-13T22:30:06Z")
> [@LawMonkey](#): > > \They need to put River Song on a bus with the freakin’ Angels. God yes. They both started out as phenomenal elements, and have both become tiresome crutches robbed of their glory by overuse. > [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > I did not enjoy this episode. I particularly disliked the whole bit with the Doctor arguing with his cyber-self and playing the chess game. I hated that part too. I thought Matt Smith was terrible at it, and watching him chew the scenery was annoying. I don’t always dislike him so much, but this was bad. I did like the delivery of “No, you’re too short, you’re bossy, and your nose is all funny.” I liked elements of Gaiman’s writing (especially how he managed a simultaneous Douglas Adams and Ursula K. LeGuin reference, the aforementioned assessment of Clara, and the Porridge plotline) but it fell far short of “The Doctor’s Wife” for me. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-7x13-nightmare-in-silver/658114/48 "2013-05-14T00:04:15Z")
> [@Snooooopy](#): > > What I meant was that I wondered why it only happened once in the episode. It’s like a _Night of the Living Dead_ zombie decided to be a _28 Days Later_ zombie for a few seconds. grumblegrublenozombiesin28dayslatergrumblegrumble ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-7x13-nightmare-in-silver/658114/49 "2013-05-14T06:54:17Z")
> [@gonzoron](#): > > BTW, I’ll admit it. my heart skipped a little beat when I heard an “allons-y.” Man, I miss Ten. Anyone else notice the Ecclestone “North” accent bit? ---
**Author:** ![Stark\_Raven\_Mad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Stark\_Raven\_Mad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stark_Raven_Mad)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-7x13-nightmare-in-silver/658114/50 "2013-05-14T07:31:50Z")
Does everyone remember when Clara tipped over a flask of something in the library in _Journey to the Centre of the Tardis_? Do we know what the hell that was yet? And what effect it had? Or did I just miss it because I was drunk? ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-7x13-nightmare-in-silver/658114/51 "2013-05-14T08:07:34Z")
> [@Stark\_Raven\_Mad](#): > > Does everyone remember when Clara tipped over a flask of something in the library in _Journey to the Centre of the Tardis_? Do we know what the hell that was yet? And what effect it had? It was [the Encyclopedia Gallifreya](http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Encyclopedia_Gallifreya), and the effect it had was making Doctor Who continuity nerds jizz their pants. ---
**Author:** ![Cinnamon\_Imp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58956e/32.png) [@Cinnamon\_Imp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Imp)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-7x13-nightmare-in-silver/658114/52 "2013-05-14T09:04:18Z")
Okay, apologies, my brain’s not working today… > [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](#): > > I liked elements of Gaiman’s writing (especially how he managed a simultaneous Douglas Adams and Ursula K. LeGuin reference, the aforementioned assessment of Clara, and the Porridge plotline) but it fell far short of “The Doctor’s Wife” for me. Please remind me - what were the Adams and LeGuin references? > [@DSeid](#): > > River has something to do with this. And while the teaser showed her grave we think we know she died(s) in the library (the Doctor’s past, her future). No, everyone lived that day. The library kid-computer could presumably upload River into a new body - although then she’d be lonelier. > [@MrDibble](#): > > Anyone else notice the Ecclestone “North” accent bit? Umm, no, whereabouts please and I’ll rewatch it? ta! ---
**Author:** ![gonzoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-7x13-nightmare-in-silver/658114/53 "2013-05-14T11:12:43Z")
> [@Cinnamon\_Imp](#): > > No, everyone lived that day. The library kid-computer could presumably upload River into a new body - although then she’d be lonelier. Not lived… everyone was _saved_. I’d imagine that if the library kid could make bodies for them, she would have done so. The Doctor would have seen to it. Unlike the original people saved, and Donna, there were bodies left behind for River and her new family. So one could argue that the library kid could only disassemble, preserve, and re-make living bodies, not create new ones for people whose bodies had died. ---
**Author:** ![Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bc8723/32.png) [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-7x13-nightmare-in-silver/658114/54 "2013-05-14T11:21:34Z")
> [@Cinnamon\_Imp](#): > > Okay, apologies, my brain’s not working today… > > Please remind me - what were the Adams and LeGuin references?\ **Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-7x13-nightmare-in-silver/658114/55 "2013-05-14T12:01:22Z") I thought “ansible” was an _Ender’s Game_ reference. Shows what I know. The Cybermen reminded me a bit of the Modular Man from the Tom Strong comics - you can wipe them out but let one little bit survive (and I think we saw some “live bits” floating in space there at the end) and they will reconstruct themselves from available materials. I agree with many of the points already made: the kids were annoying, Clara actually did something, the double-Doctor act was entertaining-ish, and Warwick David was awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-7x13-nightmare-in-silver/658114/56 "2013-05-14T12:40:19Z")
“Ansible” does appear in Ender’s game (and the rest of that series) but it was Le Guin who originated that term a few decades prior with her Ekumen/Hainish novels. She has been pretty liberal about allowing other authors to use the term for faster-than-light communication devices. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-7x13-nightmare-in-silver/658114/57 "2013-05-14T12:57:29Z")
> [@Cinnamon\_Imp](#): > > Umm, no, whereabouts please and I’ll rewatch it? ta! Beginning of [this clip](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soaUpQFweMk), before the Tennant “Allons-y” and the _Girl in the Fireplace_ callback. Also, anyone think the title is a callback to Gaiman’s Cthulhu/Holmes pastiche “A Study in Emerald” (itself a callback to “A Study in Scarlet”) ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-7x13-nightmare-in-silver/658114/58 "2013-05-15T15:30:30Z")
God I miss Tennant & RTD. I wanted to like this one but the kids had _no purpose at all_ except to be annoying. I don’t know if it was because BBC-America showed it with commercials, but it felt very disjointed and seemed like I kept missing scenes. I don’t freaking care one bit about the mystery behind Clara! Why can’t the companion just be a companion? Why does Moffet have to always make the show about finding out some big secret about the companion? Why was she suddenly this great commander who spoke all her lines like she had trained half her life in the military? I hate the Cybermen. And oh great, next week is the return of the Sontaran & Lizard woman investigation team. :rolleyes: It feels like Moffet is trying so hard to \*force \*the audience into liking something. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-7x13-nightmare-in-silver/658114/59 "2013-05-15T15:33:12Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Why was she suddenly this great commander who spoke all her lines like she had trained half her life in the military? She’s a nanny. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-7x13-nightmare-in-silver/658114/60 "2013-05-15T16:20:35Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > And oh great, next week is the return of the Sontaran & Lizard woman investigation team. :rolleyes: It feels like Moffet is trying so hard to \*force \*the audience into liking something. I agree about disliking them. I mean, they are OK, but we don’t need them to recur. Captain Jack, they are definitely not. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-7x13-nightmare-in-silver/658114.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-7x13-nightmare-in-silver/658114.md?page=4)