Doctor Who: 10 Unpopular Opinions About Everybody's Favourite Episodes

7. Neil Gaiman's Cybermen Are A Total Flop - Nightmare In Silver

Here's another unpopular opinion about a highly rated episode - the second script from Neil Gaiman is an enormous let-down. With any big-name writer, there's going to be an expectation that the final product is going to be stupendous. But, at best, Series Seven's Nightmare In Silver is merely adequate in places. There are several reasons why this episode is such a mixed bag - some issues originate from the script and others derive from how that script is brought to life. To begin with, the worst crime committed in executing Gaiman's ideas has to lie in realising the supernaturally fast Cybermen. On paper, the conceit that the notoriously slow and stompy Cybermen should be able to zip around at high speed is a reasonable way of making them more dangerous. In earlier stories, anyone rambling along faster than a snail could outpace the cyborgs. However, in most of the scenes where this new ability is seen, the awful special effects remove any hope that the Cyber-super-speed will look convincing, completely gutting the hoped-for sense of threat. The story is also hobbled with a bad guy so hammy that he makes a considerable number of viewers want to turn off the telly and go and do something more interesting outside. The villain is, of course, the Cyber Planner that dubs himself Mr Clever. Given how he acts, "Mr Shouty" would have made for a more accurate name. In fact, that character is so flawed, he made the list of the 10 Worst Doctor Who Villains Of All Time.