I’ve never really understood the hate for Silver Nemesis, the 25th anniversary celebratory story for Doctor Who, though I suspected much of its ire was earned solely through being a 25th anniversary celebration that doesn’t seem to celebrate the programme all that much. Looking at the latest instalment of The Black Archive, the series of critical essays from Obverse Books about individual serials, you can see the hatred plain and simple, not least by Doctor Who Magazine itself — but certainly not in evidence in Archive writer, James Cooray Smith.
You’ll know Smith from writing a few previous tomes in the Black Archive, most notably The Massacre, one of the range’s earliest triumphs. Smith has become a perennial favourite, given his devotion to and fascination with the intricacies of Doctor Who. His love of Silver Nemesis might come as a surprise to some, but this impressive book goes to show that there’s a lot more going on in this three-part Seventh Doctor tale than many would give it credit for. It’s a tale of gods, chess, and, of course, silver.
Nonetheless, this Archive is unlike many I’ve read, due to its in-depth details of behind-the-scenes happenings, including a widened scope that takes into account the filming of surrounding stories, especially The Greatest Show in the Galaxy. Lots of Archive books examine what’s gone on behind the cameras, but this one actually looks at differences in scripts and final results. There are whole sections dedicated to what was lost or been edited between drafts, so much so that one of the appendixes is a list of known script drafts, ranging from just three for Part Three to six for Part One. The other appendix is a complete scene breakdown for Part One, detailing the differences between the draft script and transmitted episode.
Yes, this is an intense Archive that digs particularly deep into the making of Silver Nemesis; fortunately, it’s also fascinating and engaging. The danger with any book all about minutiae is that it becomes stuffy and hard to connect to, but Cooray Smith also focuses in on the individuals, giving writer, Kevin Clarke, and director, Chris Clough, all due respect and praising the thought and ingenuity both put into the production, making The Black Archive #75 all the more personable and interesting.
However, one prevailing feeling coming off the back of this Black Archive is sadness for producer, John Nathan-Turner. A few years ago, in my 100 Objects of Doctor Who book, I included a chapter about Nathan-Turner, acknowledging that fans gave him a hard time but that he gave so much to the franchise. But I hadn’t fully realised the extent to which the late producer went through hardships. Cooray Smith’s book not only looks at Silver Nemesis and surrounding serials, but also at Doctor Who‘s not-quite-cancellation, meaning quite a lot of attention on the tensions leading to the end of its first TV run. This naturally shows how Nathan-Turner kept the show running through some very difficult days — days when there was a witch-hunt going on, targeting John and blaming him for all that was going wrong for Doctor Who, those fans apparently not realising that he was the only one keeping it from being taken off air completely.
It’s an incredible read, one which made me rewatch Silver Nemesis in a new light. Because the script is excellent. The direction too. The whole production, actually.
This tome might be about Silver Nemesis, celebrating Doctor Who‘s silver anniversary, but it’s the gold standard for Black Archive books. The Cybermen would hate it.
The Black Archive #75: Silver Nemesis is available now from Obverse Books.
