Doctor Who: 10 Awesome Moments From Series 6's US Two-Parter

8. The Silence

While the TARDIS crew were enjoying their picnic at Lake Silencio, Amy caught sight of what appeared to be a thin man dressed in a black suit... but as soon as she looked away, she couldn't remember seeing anything at all. Thus was the Whoniverse's first introduction to the Silence, creatures with the ability to erase themselves from memory as soon as anyone who has seen them looks away from them. Even if you forget the Silence, though, you won't forget any instructions they may have given you. They have used their powers of post-hypnotic suggestion to control the human race from the very beginning. Moffat had previously written such memorably frightening monsters as the Empty Child, the Weeping Angels and the Vashta Nareda, but the Silence were in a league of their own. Their presence made for a spine-tingling paranoia that permeated The Impossible Astronaut and Day of the Moon, for the TARDIS crew never knew when they might encounter them next... or what the Silence might force them to do. All during the two episodes, the Silence were a menacing presence. From their first appearance at Lake Silencio to their infestation at Greystark Hall, they thrilled, chilled and terrified in equal measure, ensuring that they would long be remembered as one of Doctor Who's most frightening - if not exactly memorable - villains.