In watching this story, I've developed a strange fondness for the character Richard. He's the henchman of a 17th century noblewoman, Lady Peinforte, who is seeking an ancient Gallifreyan weapon, due to arrive on Earth in 1988 (don't ask questions, just roll with it). Now, while Lady Peinforte is fairly standard as a Doctor Who villain (so far all it feels like she's done is shout at things and fire golden arrows at Cybermen), Richard is something altogether more interesting.
Because Richard is from the 17th century, and he's suddenly been placed in 1988 Windsor, he appears to be undergoing some sort of mental breakdown. His mind is blown by absolutely every little thing that occurs through the story such as the fact that he whimpers at the sight of his own gravestone, while Lady Peinforte just wanders through to find her own tomb, such that she can find the Gallifreyan weapon. He also expresses some genuine distress at the thought of travelling through time, and he starts to openly pray forgiveness to God as the Cybermen and Nazis wage war in front of him (again, just roll with it). Suddenly, all these things that would seem normal in an episode of Doctor Who get put into context, with a fairly accurate representation of what it would be like to suddenly appear in a Doctor Who episode, and how thoroughly distressing that would be. It's another thing that will be looked at later on in the series, but for now, we've still got work to do as Silver Nemesis comes to a conclusion.
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