New Doctor Who audio drama Redacted has packed a lot of action into its first three episodes – including some crucial hints that might reveal the return of a notable monster.
Already, our heroes Cleo, Shawna and Abby (Charlie Craggs, Lois Chimimba and Holly Quin-Ankrah) have been swept up into a strange conspiracy as everyone who ever met the mysterious “Doctor” disappears or loses their memory, with just their little podcast team left to try and save Jodie Whittaker’s Time Lord (and, probably, the world).
And now things are getting more serious, with deadly sci-fi types stalking Cleo and her fellow podcasters struggling to keep their minds on the job at hand. Altogether, it looks like fans are in for quite a ride over the next seven episodes, before the trio uncover whatever sinister group is behind these nefarious activities.
Unless, of course, it’s already been revealed who’s behind it. So far, Redacted has been a series full of returning Doctor Who characters with the likes of Rani Chandra (Anjli Mohindra) and Whittaker’s Doctor already appearing, and others (including Ryan and Graham, Martha, Yaz and her family) name-checked during the action.
Up ahead we have even more cameos planned for fan-favourite characters like Kate Stewart and Madame Vastra, and more generally it’s fair to say that this is very much a series about Doctor Who’s past as much as it is about its present. With all that in mind, doesn’t it make sense that whoever’s behind these disappearances and mass memory loss would be a familiar baddie as well?
And if we accept that, there’s only one real candidate for who we could be looking for – The Silence/The Silents, the horrible dome-headed grey men who played a significant role in the Steven Moffat/Matt Smith era of Doctor Who.
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Just think about it. This is a story all about people forgetting things they’ve seen with their own eyes – that’s the Silents’ whole MO! While it always just applied to people forgetting them, they also used this ability to implant subconscious ideas within the human population – perhaps they could combine these traits to make people forget the Doctor, and those who knew him/her.
Plus, in a series all about conspiracy theories it feels apt to bring in this particular species. They’re based on the little Grey Men and the Men in Black, two defining conspiracy theories from the 20th Century, and actually have been pulling the strings behind-the-scenes for generations. You couldn’t find a more perfect Doctor Who villain for this theme.
Of course, it’s possible that this is just a coincidence and that series creator Juno Dawson is exploring a different corner of Who lore. Notably, much more of the podcast has reflected the earlier Russell T Davies era of Doctor Who, and the inclusion of a Steven Moffat-era villain might not fit this format.
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But Dawson also recently told RadioTimes.com that she discussed the series with Moffat when including his character Madame Vastra (originally Neve McIntosh, but played here by Doon Mackichan) – so who knows what other characters they might have talked about?
Altogether, it feels there’s a decent chance the Silence will return. They’ve not been on the show in a while, they directly tie into Doctor Who: Redacted’s storyline and themes and (frankly) it’d be interesting to see what they’ve been up to since 2013.
If we’re right, you saw it here first. If we’re wrong… well, we can always redact this too.
Doctor Who: Redacted releases new episodes on BBC Sounds on Sundays. For more, check out our dedicated Sci-Fi page or our full TV Guide.
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