The Silurians are another one of those enemies that are in a bit of a tricky place. They have only appeared in a single story in the past four years other than a recurring character in the form of Victorian detective Madame Vastra, and a number of background cameos when a lot of characters are needed to fill out a scene on the cheap. The Silurians introduced in The Hungry Earth were too heavy a narrative and design change, despite being explicitly referred to as a separate tribe to those seen in Classic Who. Although they had the Silurian backstory of hibernating to avoid a disaster that never happened, they were closer to generic lizard creatures than Silurians. The next Silurian appearance should be a new variant closer to the original since the new Silurians are just a bit too close to humans. The redesigned prosthetics allow the actors to be more expressive but its harder to buy into the possibility of such huge racially motivated tension between humans and Silurians when their only real physical difference is scaly skin and a retractable tongue. Dated costumes aside, the original Silurians genuinely did look like something that could have crawled out of the ocean. And the psychic third eye was definitely a point their favour since it enhanced their difference from humans and made for an excellent weapon and plot point. Also, as part of a revamp, a better variety of story is needed. The Hungry Earth and Cold Blood were (to all intents and purposes) a remake of Doctor Who And The Silurians. Which should be avoided at all costs when the next Silurian story comes along.
JG Moore is a writer and filmmaker from the south of England. He also works as an editor and VFX artist, and has a BA in Media Production from the University Of Winchester.
