Doctor Who: EVERY NuWho Villain And Monster Ranked Worst To Best
9. Silence
Of course, from a Doctor Who logic, we shouldn't be discussing Steven Moffat's other great villain creation when you think about it. But enough of the smart-arse comments.
The sunken-eyed, sharp suited Silence certainly know how to make an entrance... in the women's loos where Amy witnesses a Silent brutally disintegrate someone via electricity right in front of her. But exhibiting their inner God of Thunder isn't even the most devastating ability they possess: Amy instantly forgets the terrible incident and by extension the Silent the moment she looks away.
This rather handy ability allowed the religious order to manipulate human history for thousands of years. Thankfully, the Doctor effectively turns every person on Earth into a murderer in order to wipe out the Silence. They do love getting us to do their dirty work on occasions.
As well as sounding a bit like General Grievous (minus the coughing), the Silence emit a spine-chilling rattling noise that, combined with the instantaneous memory wipe, makes the Rory and River scene in the underground tunnels in The Impossible Astronaut so terrifically tense. The rattling is akin to what The Exorcist director William Friedkin did when he added the sound of bees to trigger an innate fear in most people.
In many ways, the Silence are scarier than Moffat's other great villain creation - sorry, what were we talking about, and why are we covered in tally marks?