The Ultimate Doctor Who Monster or Villain: Nomination #3: The Silence

Who is the ultimate Doctor Who villain? We’ll soon be asking you to vote from one of ten contenders so we can find the answer, once and for all! We’ve already announced two of the nominees - Cybermen and Daleks - and today it’s time to announce the third…

So far the contenders have been enemies dating back to the early days of Doctor Who. But today we focus on a chilling adversary who first appeared in 2011 at the end of the prequel to The Impossible Astronaut.: The Silence! These sinister creatures returned for the episode itself and proved to have a dangerous and unique quality: anyone encountering the Silence would immediately forget both them and their actions the moment the aliens were out of sight. And so although Amy watched a Silent destroy Joy and even confronted the individual about the outrage, moments later she had no recollection of the meeting or the horror she had witnessed…

The Silence returned in Closing Time where Kovarian claimed they were River Song’s owners and it was revealed they were part of the plot to force River to assassinate the Doctor. Boo! In the following adventure, The Wedding of River Song, it was revealed that a device resembling an eye-patch could make anyone meeting a Silent actually remember them – something seized upon by the aliens’ enemies… But the Silence were one step ahead and ensured these ‘eye drives’ were rigged to cause their users pain and even death if the Silence wished to strike back… With that level of cruelty and cunning they are worthy additions to our list of ten nominees for the title of ‘ultimate Doctor Who villain’!

You can find out more about the Silence, watch their debut or see them in the chilling prequel to The Wedding of River Song. We’ve also got clips and photos from The Impossible Astronaut and Day of the Moon or if you want to encounter a Silent you can try playing The Gunpowder Plot…

Tomorrow we’ll be bringing you the fourth monster or villain to be nominated and remember to visit the site over the next few days so you can discover the complete top ten contenders… and then vote for the one you think is Doctor Who’s ultimate baddie! The winner – as voted for by you - will unveiled in the ‘Doctor Who: Monsters and Villains Weekend’ on BBC Three in November, as part of the celebrations to mark 50 years of Doctor Who!