Sil is a fictional alien from the television series '' Doctor Who'', first appeared in the 1985 serial ''

Vengeance on Varos ''Vengeance on Varos'' is the second serial of the 22nd season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in two weekly parts on 19 and 26 January 1985. The serial is set on the planet Varos, whe ...

''. Sil was portrayed by Nabil Shaban.

Overview

Sil was the representative of the Galatron Mining Corporation present on the planet Varos to extract concessions from the current Governor. Unbeknownst to the Varosians, the mineral Zeiton-7 which was abundant on their planet was not as they thought nearly valueless, but in fact rare, particularly to

time travel Time travel is the concept of movement between certain points in time, analogous to movement between different points in space by an object or a person, typically with the use of a hypothetical device known as a time machine. Time travel is a ...

lers. The Varosians lived barely above the poverty line due to the exploitation of companies like the Galatron Mining Corporation and others. Sil was a particularly vile creature by any standard, more so since a fault in his translation device made his voice sibilant, with a ululating laugh. Devoid of morality and dedicated to getting the cheapest price he could for Zeiton ore by any means, he also enjoyed the various tortures which passed for entertainment on Varos, taking particular delight in making the

Sixth Doctor The Sixth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Colin Baker. Although his televisual time on the series was comparatively brief and turbulent, Ba ...

's companion Peri suffer a

transformation Transformation may refer to: Science and mathematics In biology and medicine * Metamorphosis, the biological process of changing physical form after birth or hatching * Malignant transformation, the process of cells becoming cancerous * Tran ...

into an avian creature. The Doctor interfered with Sil's plan and informed the Varosians of the true value of their natural resources, forcing Sil to concede to offer the true value of the Zeiton-7. The Sixth Doctor and Peri encountered Sil once again on the planet Thoros Beta, where he was that time involved in arms dealing. At the end of the segment of evidence presented by the

Valeyard The Valeyard () is a fictional character from the long-running British science fiction television series, '' Doctor Who''. He is described by the Master as an amalgamation of the Doctor's darker sides from between his twelfth and final incar ...

in the Doctor's

trial In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal ...

, it appeared that Sil was killed by a rampaging King Yrcanos. It later transpired that the evidence of the Matrix had been tampered with, so it is not clear whether Sil in fact survived.

Other appearances

Sil also features in the Philip Martin's novelisation of the never-made serial '' Mission to Magnus'', in which he was in league with the

Ice Warrior The Ice Warriors are a fictional Extraterrestrials in fiction, extraterrestrial race of List of reptilian humanoids, reptilian humanoids in the long-running British science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' ...

s. Big Finish Productions released a new audio version of ''Mission to Magnus'' in December 2009, with Nabil Shaban reprising his role as Sil. Sil made another appearance in the Big Finish Audio story ''Antidote to Oblivion'' in 2014 alongside the Sixth Doctor and Flip. A script was pitched for the never-produced Season 27 where he would return along with the

Auton The Autons are an artificial life form from the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and adversaries of the Doctor. They were originally created by scriptwriter Robert Holmes for Jon Pertwee's first serial as the Doctor, ' ...

s and

UNIT Unit may refer to: Arts and entertainment * UNIT, a fictional military organization in the science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' * Unit of action, a discrete piece of action (or beat) in a theatrical presentation Music * ''Unit'' (a ...

. In early 2019,

Reeltime Pictures Reeltime Pictures Ltd is a British film, television and video production company and a distributor of the films of other companies, founded in 1984 by Keith Barnfather. As well as producing corporate and business television, it has made a number ...

announced Nabil Shaban would reprise his role as Sil in a new film, entitled '' Sil and the Devil Seeds of Arodor''. Also starring

Sophie Aldred Sophie Aldred (born 20 August 1962) is an English actress and television presenter. She has worked extensively in children's television as a presenter and voice artist. She played the Seventh Doctor's companion, Ace, in the television series ''D ...

, the production was released as DVD, Download, Stream and

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...

List of appearances

Television

*''

'' — January 19–26, 1985 *''

The Trial of a Time Lord The twenty-third season of British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', known collectively as ''The Trial of a Time Lord'', aired in weekly episodes from 6 September to 6 December 1986. It contained four adventures: ''The Mysterious ...

'': ''

Mindwarp ''Mindwarp'' is the second serial of the larger narrative known as ''The Trial of a Time Lord'' which encompasses the whole of the 23rd season of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who''. It was first broadcast in four wee ...

'' — October 4–25, 1986

Audio

*'' Mission to Magnus'' (2009) *''

Antidote to Oblivion ''Antidote to Oblivion'' is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Plot The Doctor and his companion Flip land in London in the year 2382, where the population ...

'' (2014) *'' The Widow’s Assassin'' (2014)

Web/Home Entertainment

*'' Sil and the Devil Seeds of Arodor — ''November, 2019''

References

External links

{{Doctor Who villains Television characters introduced in 1985 Sil Doctor Who aliens Male characters in television