Nylans – Inspector Spacetime
The Nylans are an artificial lifeform that originally appeared in the Third Inspector serial "Vanguard of the Void". They came back for the
The Nylans are an artificial lifeform that originally appeared in the Third Inspector serial "Vanguard of the Void". They came back for the next season's serial "Return of the Nylans", which also introduced the character of the Sergeant, and again in the the Ninth Inspector's episode "Lily".
Nylans are essentially walking suits of artificial fabric, brought to pseudo-life by the Homene Awareness, a disembodied extraterrestrial collective consciousness. Their name comes from "Nylon Apparel Nattiness", the company that was infiltrated by the Homenes and that subsequently manufactured their empty suits in their first attempt to take over Earth's fashion industry as a prelude to full-scale invasion.
The typical Nylan does not look particularly realistic, being stiff in its movements and mute, like a clothing store dummy turned into a marionette. In Series 5 of the relaunched Inspector Spacetime programme, they instead favor concealing hoodies and oversized bucket hats. The Inspector referred to them as "fashion victims".