 Steven Moffat , head writer of the new series , said before broadcast that this would be one of the darkest openers to a series ever done for Doctor Who . Director Toby Haynes believed that the darker episodes like " The Impossible Astronaut " and " Day of the Moon " would allow the series to get into " more dangerous territory . " The creation of the Silence was partly inspired by the figure from the Edvard Munch painting The Scream . Introducing the alien villains became a " big challenge " for the producers ; it would tie in with the loose " silence will fall " arc that carried through the fifth series . Moffat did not wish to end the arc in the previous series , as he felt it would be " more fun " to continue it . Elsewhere in the episode , Delaware was written to be deceptively antagonistic towards the protagonists , which was based on actor Mark Sheppard 's past as villains for his work in American television . Moffat was also keen on the idea of having the Doctor imprisoned with a beard in Area 51 . Smith wore a glued @-@ on beard , which was difficult to peel off . 
