I have to admit, that after watching this episode and then preparing to rate it on the Whoscale, I was at a loss. This episode was on fantastically brilliant that it's almost impossible to give this episode any kind of negative rating.
"Blink" was the second attempt at a "Doctor-lite" episode for the revived series, but this time it was penned by mastermind Steven Moffat. This proved to me beyond any shadow of a doubt that even when faced with the toughest script to write of the season - the Doctor-lite script - Moffat still delivers a fantastic story that terrifies and keeps us on the edge of our seats from start to finish. Or behind the sofa, whichever works for you.
Moffat continues to tinker with time in this story, this time introducing us to a ruthless group of villains known as the Weeping Angels, who turn to stone when being observed, but are quick as lightening when not. If a Weeping Angel comes into contact with you when it's not in stone form, it immediately sends you into the past, living off the potential energy left by your disappearance. Think that sounds interesting? I haven't even scratched the surface on how in-depth this episode gets.
A forewarning: If you have trouble wrapping your head around the idea of paradoxes, then you might want to steer clear of this one, because Moffat wrote a paradox for the books with "Blink."
The episode generally revolves around Sally Sparrow, a young girl who broke into an old abandoned house to take photographs, only to discover a message on the wall written for her, signed by The Doctor and dated 1969. Sparrow continues to run into bits here and there from the Doctor in various places. She returns to her friend's house after leaving Wester Drumlins (the abandoned house), and discovers several tvs set up in the living room, all with images of The Doctor on them.
Sparrow's friend - Kathy Nightingale - has a brother called Larry, who has been tracking the "easter eggs" on 17 different unrelated DVDs. All of the easter eggs are the same recording from the Doctor, but in the messages, it appears that we are hearing "half a conversation," as Larry puts it. Only The Doctor's responses and comments are heard.
Sparrow visits the local police station and meets a young policeman called Billy Shipton. Shipton takes her to a parking garage and explains that all of the vehicles in that garage have driven up to Wester Drumlins, and the occupants of the vehicles have never been seen again. Some of them were left with the engines running. Sparrow notices that a police box is among the impounds (The TARDIS), and Shipton explains that the doors are locked. Moments after Sparrow leaves, Shipton is attacked by a Weeping Angel, and is thrown into 1969, where he meets The Doctor and Martha. Sparrow, after remembering that she found a Gale lock key at Wester Drumlins, returns to the impound only to discover that the TARDIS is now gone - stolen by the Weeping Angels.
The Doctor instructs Shipton to give Sparrow a message in 2007. Shipton then lives out his life as a publisher from 1969 up to 2007. It is revealed that Shipton was responsible for the easter eggs on the 17 DVDs, and that those particular 17 DVDs are the ones that Sparrow owns, indicating that the easter egg message was intended for her.
Sparrow and Larry meet at Wester Drumlins with a laptop and the easter egg message, at which point Larry shorthands the other part of the conversation - that of Sparrow. Thus, this allows the Doctor in 1969 to know what she will be asking and saying in 2007. Confused yet? It gets better. Sparrow and Nightingale manage to lure the Angels into the cellar, where the TARDIS is being kept. They step inside and insert the DVD into the console. The Weeping Angels have gathered around the TARDIS, and as it dematerializes - leaving Sparrow and Nightingale behind - the Weeping Angels are tricked into observing each other, thus quantum locking them for eternity.
One year later, Sparrow is still stumped as to how the Doctor got all the information he had back in 1969. Just as Larry steps out the front the door of his DVD store, a taxi pulls up and The Doctor and Martha carrying a bow and quiver of arrows get out. Sparrow runs out and briefly explains to the Doctor the events that have already happened to her, but haven't happened to him yet. She then gives him the portfolio containing all of the infomation she collected throughout the encounter with the Weeping Angels, thus completing the paradox.
Like all Doctor-lite episodes, they do tend to deviate from the traditional formula of Doctor Who, but out of the three Doctor-lite episodes of the Tennant years ("Love And Monsters," "Blink," "Turn Left"), "Blink" seemed to contain the most screen time for the Doctor, and his disappearance from the episode was not only part of the story itself, but was logically explained. "Blink" remains one of my favorites in the history of Doctor Who, and was voted second best episode of all time in Doctor Who Magazine, beaten only by "The Caves of Androzani."
A fantastic episode, and hands down the best we had seen from Mr. Moffat yet.
"Blink" was the second attempt at a "Doctor-lite" episode for the revived series, but this time it was penned by mastermind Steven Moffat. This proved to me beyond any shadow of a doubt that even when faced with the toughest script to write of the season - the Doctor-lite script - Moffat still delivers a fantastic story that terrifies and keeps us on the edge of our seats from start to finish. Or behind the sofa, whichever works for you.
Moffat continues to tinker with time in this story, this time introducing us to a ruthless group of villains known as the Weeping Angels, who turn to stone when being observed, but are quick as lightening when not. If a Weeping Angel comes into contact with you when it's not in stone form, it immediately sends you into the past, living off the potential energy left by your disappearance. Think that sounds interesting? I haven't even scratched the surface on how in-depth this episode gets.
A forewarning: If you have trouble wrapping your head around the idea of paradoxes, then you might want to steer clear of this one, because Moffat wrote a paradox for the books with "Blink."
The episode generally revolves around Sally Sparrow, a young girl who broke into an old abandoned house to take photographs, only to discover a message on the wall written for her, signed by The Doctor and dated 1969. Sparrow continues to run into bits here and there from the Doctor in various places. She returns to her friend's house after leaving Wester Drumlins (the abandoned house), and discovers several tvs set up in the living room, all with images of The Doctor on them.
Sparrow's friend - Kathy Nightingale - has a brother called Larry, who has been tracking the "easter eggs" on 17 different unrelated DVDs. All of the easter eggs are the same recording from the Doctor, but in the messages, it appears that we are hearing "half a conversation," as Larry puts it. Only The Doctor's responses and comments are heard.
Sparrow visits the local police station and meets a young policeman called Billy Shipton. Shipton takes her to a parking garage and explains that all of the vehicles in that garage have driven up to Wester Drumlins, and the occupants of the vehicles have never been seen again. Some of them were left with the engines running. Sparrow notices that a police box is among the impounds (The TARDIS), and Shipton explains that the doors are locked. Moments after Sparrow leaves, Shipton is attacked by a Weeping Angel, and is thrown into 1969, where he meets The Doctor and Martha. Sparrow, after remembering that she found a Gale lock key at Wester Drumlins, returns to the impound only to discover that the TARDIS is now gone - stolen by the Weeping Angels.
The Doctor instructs Shipton to give Sparrow a message in 2007. Shipton then lives out his life as a publisher from 1969 up to 2007. It is revealed that Shipton was responsible for the easter eggs on the 17 DVDs, and that those particular 17 DVDs are the ones that Sparrow owns, indicating that the easter egg message was intended for her.
Sparrow and Larry meet at Wester Drumlins with a laptop and the easter egg message, at which point Larry shorthands the other part of the conversation - that of Sparrow. Thus, this allows the Doctor in 1969 to know what she will be asking and saying in 2007. Confused yet? It gets better. Sparrow and Nightingale manage to lure the Angels into the cellar, where the TARDIS is being kept. They step inside and insert the DVD into the console. The Weeping Angels have gathered around the TARDIS, and as it dematerializes - leaving Sparrow and Nightingale behind - the Weeping Angels are tricked into observing each other, thus quantum locking them for eternity.
One year later, Sparrow is still stumped as to how the Doctor got all the information he had back in 1969. Just as Larry steps out the front the door of his DVD store, a taxi pulls up and The Doctor and Martha carrying a bow and quiver of arrows get out. Sparrow runs out and briefly explains to the Doctor the events that have already happened to her, but haven't happened to him yet. She then gives him the portfolio containing all of the infomation she collected throughout the encounter with the Weeping Angels, thus completing the paradox.
Like all Doctor-lite episodes, they do tend to deviate from the traditional formula of Doctor Who, but out of the three Doctor-lite episodes of the Tennant years ("Love And Monsters," "Blink," "Turn Left"), "Blink" seemed to contain the most screen time for the Doctor, and his disappearance from the episode was not only part of the story itself, but was logically explained. "Blink" remains one of my favorites in the history of Doctor Who, and was voted second best episode of all time in Doctor Who Magazine, beaten only by "The Caves of Androzani."
A fantastic episode, and hands down the best we had seen from Mr. Moffat yet.
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