h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I don't think we've got the full story on the Silence yet. They manipulated human history up to 1969 in order to obtain a spacesuit - for the girl, presumably.

There must be a non-linear element in order for them to know about Amy in 1969, when she's born in 1990.

They capture Amy and tell her that she will 'bring the silence'.

They have a ship similar to the one in 'The Lodger', which they must have got from somewhere else, because, as the Doctor said, they don't make anything - they manipulate others through post-hypnotic suggestion to make it for them.

We've got bits of their story, but I don't think we know what their endgame is yet.


Geggs

I started out wondering why the Silence apparently did nothing about all the other attempted alien invasions that have happend throughout mankind's history... then it hit me: maybe they *did*. Maybe they were in the shadows somehow helping the Doctor defeat those aliens... but the Doctor (by which I mean all the viewers wondering the same thing as I was) just doesn't remember

Or possibly, warming to Mr D's theme, they don't mind about Alien invasions. Because it is new beings, and new tech they can manipulate from the shadows.

It could be advantageous for them to be able to say make the Judoon, do some stuff for them!

FB

I'm worried that the Doctor may have acted rashly. How much does he know about the Silence? - clearly not much. He's jumped to the conclusion that they are enemies, and assured their destruction, so it's hardly surprising when they lash out in response. I have a feeling he may regret that later.

And where did they come from anyway?


Geggs

Or maybe it's simply not as complicated as that and the answer is Moffatt isn;t going to bother trying to explain that because it;s just not important.

It is easy to over analyse such things.

I remember furiously speculating about what was going on in the Potterverse and writing and reading many blogs and essays about the topic. I read *far* too much into the sophisitication of JKR writing and Universe. The denoucement was much of it didn't get tied up, answered or made sense. They were for kids after all!

Might be that happens a bit here (though I think Moffat is a more sophisticated writer than JKR)

FB

Also what the Silanece were saying about people and stuff... It is pretty clear that they are antagonists.

FB

At least this stuff bears over analysing! Not like RTD and his "ZOMG! ANAGRAMS!" approach to mystery.

This made me giggle:
Your mother is so ugly The Silence wish THEY could forget HER!

In terms of Potterland and the like not tying up loose ends ... I watched six series of Lost to find out that they couldn't be bothered to tie it all up ...

To me that's not acceptable in a series which is based on an overall story arc. It's just lazy writing for easy thrills. I like to think Moffat is better than that.

when things are killed off, they disapear from ALL TIME, thats why the doctor cant go back to a time there where time lords

the doctor caused the silents to fall, last week, so they disapear from all time, thats why the doctor has never encountered them on earth before

and earth was un defended when the doctor stumbled across it as william hartnell and became its guardian

this is an effect and cause story, all wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff

trousers of time

the silents stopped all other aliens

the doctor wiped them out

all those invasions happened

the doctor had to stop them.

its a backward story much like river song

I don't think so. Given the mechanism by which he defeated them, the Silence weren't deleted from history. He brought their occuopation to an end, rather than preventing it from ever beginning.
I like to think the Silents were around throughout, but their influence on invasions was cleverly covered up, as they covered up everything else. In fact, there's nothing necessarily saying some of the invaders weren't controlled by The Silents as well...

As an aside, am I the only one who found that the Silence reminded me of the Gentlemen from the Buffy episode 'Hush'? Both have grotesque bald heads, wear suits and are very tall.

"
when things are killed off, they disapear from ALL TIME"

How did you figure that out? Both the Daleks and Cybermen have been killed off several times.

The deleting from history plot-line has finished now that the crack was sealed at the end of last season. New universe no crack - same things have basically happened up to point that beings were dragged through the crack - then they weren't dragged through the crack and time pretty much carried on as normal...not necessary to analyse to much there...

""How did you figure that out? Both the Daleks and Cybermen have been killed off several times.""

some have survived, the cult of skaro for example

thats why the doctor cannot travel back in time to a time before galifrey was exiled from the universe and find other time lords

cause and effect, some times we see the effect first and the cause turns out to be the plot for some future show

I certainly wouldn't have been susprised to discover that one or more Silents was played by Doug Jones.

Surely the Timelords were wiped out in a Time War - they were 'sealed off' from the rest of the universe in some timey-wimey way. Whereas the Silents were just killed; they've no more been 'deleted from history' than, say, the Roman Empire.

Gif

Yeah, the Time Lords are a special case, I think. They had to be removed from all of time, otherwise the Doctor would be involved in constant temporal battles try to stop them from using their ultimate sanction. No, for Time Lords it had to be an absolute solution.

But on the Silence, clearly the Doctor's solution was not entirely successful. If it was there wouldn't have been a Silent on top of the ridge just before the Doctor death.


Geggs

This is before my clarifying re-watch, but wasn't the Silent on the ridge before all the rest of the action takes place?



Deb