Silent (Doctor Who)

The Silents are a race of aliens in the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who, created by then-showrunner Steven Moffat. They are a humanoid species whose design draws inspiration from Edvard Munch's 1893 expressionist painting The Scream as well as the urban legend of the "men in black." In-universe, those who turn away from a Silent after seeing them will forget they ever saw the Silent; Silents use this ability to act undetected and manipulate others using post-hypnotic suggestion. Silents are members of the religious order known as the Church of the Papal Mainframe, being genetically engineered by the Church to serve as confessional priests, with their memory erasing abilities incorporated so that confessors forget they ever confessed in the first place. Many Silents are members of the organisation known as the Silence, a splinter group of the Church dedicated to killing the show's protagonist, the Doctor. Though the phrase "Silence will fall" recurred throughout the 2010 series of Doctor Who, the Silence were not seen until the 2011 series' opener "The Impossible Astronaut", with their origins and goals not fully revealed until the 2013 special "The Time of the Doctor".

The Silents were met with a positive response from critics, being described as effective and scary antagonists, though some were concerned if the species was too terrifying for child audiences. The Silents have been analysed for their ability to convey fear, as well as in their relationship with the series' protagonist, The Doctor.