They were here first. And they won’t stop reminding you of it.
Who Are They?
The Silurians are one of those rare Doctor Who monsters that you can’t quite hate, because technically, they’re not monsters at all. They’re just cranky landlords who happen to own the entire planet. Millions of years before humans evolved, the Silurians were the dominant species on Earth — clever, advanced, scaly, and with a flair for pet dinosaurs. (Beat that, Homo sapiens. Your cat does not compare.)
When they realized a giant rock was heading for Earth, they pulled a classic “hit snooze for a few million years” and went into hibernation. Only problem? That pesky asteroid missed… and mammals took over anyway. When the Silurians woke up, they discovered humans had redecorated their house, eaten all their food, and turned their basement into Starbucks. Naturally, they weren’t thrilled.
The Third Doctor first encountered them in 1970’s Doctor Who and the Silurians. (Yes, they got their own name in the title, unlike the Daleks, who just get lumped into “The” Daleks. Respect.) In true Silurian fashion, the story ended with UNIT doing what UNIT does best: blowing things up. The Doctor was appalled, the Brigadier shrugged, and the Silurians went back to being fossils.
But like all good lizards, they came back. The Sea Devils (1972) gave us their oceanic cousins, who were just as grumpy but with snazzier neck frills. Later, in Warriors of the Deep (1984), they teamed up with the Sea Devils again in an underwater Cold War adventure that ended — shocker — with everyone dead. Moral of the story: if you want peace talks with Silurians, don’t schedule them near torpedoes.
In the modern era, the Silurians got a bit of a makeover. Suddenly they had sleeker prosthetics, clearer speech, and a knack for eyeliner. They became recurring players in Matt Smith’s era, particularly Madame Vastra, a sword-wielding Silurian detective in Victorian London, who married her human maid Jenny and fought crime with her pet Sontaran. Because, sure, why not.
Across all eras, the Silurians are defined by one big theme: co-existence. The Doctor is always desperately trying to broker peace between humans and Silurians, and humans are always desperately trying to blow them up before lunch. It’s a cycle older than history, and about as effective as trying to share a flat with six housemates and only one fridge.
