| 195a – "Silence in the Library" | |||
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| Doctor Who episode | |||
| Cast | |||
Others
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| Production | |||
| Directed by | Euros Lyn | ||
| Written by | Steven Moffat | ||
| Script editor | Helen Raynor | ||
| Produced by | Phil Collinson | ||
| Executive producer(s) | Russell T Davies Julie Gardner | ||
| Music by | Murray Gold | ||
| Production code | 4.9 | ||
| Series | Series 4 | ||
| Running time | 1st of 2-part story, 45 minutes | ||
| First broadcast | 31 May 2008[1] | ||
| Chronology | |||
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"Silence in the Library" is the eighth episode of the fourth series of the revived British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 31 May 2008. It is the first of a two-part story; the second part, "Forest of the Dead", aired on 7 June. The two episodes make up the second two-parter Steven Moffat contributed to the series after "The Empty Child" and "The Doctor Dances" from the first series. It is also the final story that Moffat wrote before replacing Russell T Davies as head writer and showrunner starting from the fifth series in 2010.
In the episode, the archaeologist River Song (Alex Kingston) summons the alien time traveller the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant) to a planet-sized library in the 51st century, where thousands of visitors disappeared without a trace a hundred years earlier when the library was shut off. The episode marks the first appearance of Alex Kingston as River Song, a role she would reprise in the next three series.
”Silence in the Library” was watched by 6.27 million viewers and received highly positive reviews. It was also nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation (Short Form).