{"id":14413,"date":"2013-05-11T20:40:18","date_gmt":"2013-05-12T00:40:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/?p=14413"},"modified":"2013-05-11T20:40:18","modified_gmt":"2013-05-12T00:40:18","slug":"doctor-who-nightmare-in-silver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2013\/05\/doctor-who-nightmare-in-silver.html","title":{"rendered":"Doctor Who: Nightmare in Silver"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

We were told that, in the episode of Doctor Who<\/a>\u00a0\u201cNightmare in Silver,\u201d Neil Gaiman\u00a0aimed to make the cybermen scary again. It is arguable that he accomplished that, not only by making the cybermen a little scarier, but also making them part of something even scarier than they are. Spoilers ahead!<\/p>\n

\"\"Some speculated about whether the ending of the last episode might lead to the kids in Clara\u2019s care being included on an adventure. We did not have long to wait. The Doctor takes Clara and her charges to an amusement park \u2013 the best in the universe, supposedly. But it has been closed down and placed under quarantine, by order of the emperor. Having the backdrop where they first landed by the lunar surface was a nice echo of \u201cThe Moonbase,\u201d which was another episode that increased the fear factor of the cybermen.<\/p>\n

The \u201cfunny insects\u201d \u2013 cybermites rather than cybermats \u2013 illustrate the theme of the episode, which is of cyberbeing that can be constantly upgrading, adapting to new circumstances. If this reminds you of the Borg, keep in mind that the cybermen were warning that resistance is futile long before the Borg were.<\/p>\n

The reference to the \u201ccyberwars\u201d didn\u2019t seem to me to intersect with any period we\u2019ve encountered previously on Doctor Who, but I may just be having a lapse.<\/p>\n

The reference to the Doctor as the \u201csavior of the cybermen\u201d because he brought children who could serve as \u201ccyberplanners\u201d to allow the cybermen to improve even further, as well as the use of the Doctor\u2019s time lord mind to a similar end, was interesting but also puzzling. Wasn\u2019t this in essence a recognition that there was something superior to the form of existence of the cybermen?<\/p>\n

\"\"The cybermen are now part of a \u201ccyberiad\u201d \u2013 a collective existence rather more like the Borg than the cybermen ever seemed to be before.<\/p>\n

At any rate, The Doctor responded to the claim \u201cThe next model will be undefeatable\u201d by saying \u201cNothing\u2019s undefeatable.\u201d<\/p>\n

The reference to the Doctor not being known in the cyberiad\u2019s data banks, and his having been erasing himself from history, directly recalled events in \u201cAsylum of the Daleks.\u201d<\/a> And since the next episode is the end of the season to which that episode is the beginning, that echo presumably is important to the story arc of the season.<\/p>\n

The Doctor seems to have had a plan all along, and to have needed to be connected to the multiple cybermen on the planet in order to be able to neutralize them. But there is a clear indication at the end that the cybermen are by no means gone.<\/p>\n

The Doctor seems to be sacrificing his queen and thus the game in order to get the children free. This is regarded as reflecting his inferior emotions \u2013 but here too there was inconsistency, as the cyberplanner inside the Doctor\u2019s head seemed to be expressing emotion.<\/p>\n

Be that as it may, I loved when the Doctor said \u201cThe time lords invented chess \u2013 it\u2019s our game.\u201d And then went on to \u201cwin\u201d in a non-linear, wibbly wobbly sort of way.<\/p>\n

\"\"For those interested in the intersection of Doctor Who with religious themes, there are multiple points worth focusing on. The emperor\u2019s desire not to be emperor, recognizing that such a role is a burden and not merely a privilege, is interesting \u2013 as is the discussion of how one should respond to an offer to become queen of the universe. Seeking power isn\u2019t necessarily wise. And the whole notion of being \u201cupgraded\u201d is itself a reminder that improving in some respects can come at a cost in other areas.<\/p>\n

The idea of the Doctor as \u201csavior\u201d of course has religious connections one could explore. Most interesting, I think, is the fact that being savior for one group may well mean be the very opposite for another. Savior of the cybermen means humanity\u2019s destruction \u2013 and vice versa. The same issues have often been explored in connection with messiahs (not only Jesus): does being Israel\u2019s savior have to mean being the destroyer or subjugator of the other nations? The two Doctors arguing in the Doctor\u2019s mind helped bring the binary nature of a savior\u2019s role into focus.<\/p>\n

What did you think of \u201cNightmare in Silver\u201d? And if you haven\u2019t seen it yet, do watch the prequel to next week\u2019s episode, \u201cThe Name of the Doctor.\u201d It is called \u201cShe Said, He Said.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We were told that, in the episode of Doctor Who\u00a0\u201cNightmare in Silver,\u201d Neil Gaiman\u00a0aimed to make the cybermen scary again. It is arguable that he accomplished that, not only by making the cybermen a little scarier, but also making them part of something even scarier than they are. Spoilers ahead! Some speculated about whether the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[133],"tags":[1321,1917,2356,2357,2358,2364,2395,2765,4660,6773,7673,7884,7997,11819],"class_list":["post-14413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-doctor-who-science-fiction","tag-borg","tag-clara","tag-cybermats","tag-cybermen","tag-cybermites","tag-cyborg","tag-daleks","tag-doctor-who","tag-history","tag-lunar","tag-moon","tag-name","tag-neil-gaiman","tag-star-trek"],"yoast_head":"\nDoctor Who: Nightmare in Silver<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"We were told that, in the episode of Doctor Who\u00a0"Nightmare in Silver," Neil Gaiman\u00a0aimed to make the cybermen scary again. 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