Blink (Doctor Who)

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186 – "Blink"
Doctor Who episode
Blink (Doctor Who).jpg
Sally Sparrow, unaware she is being watched by the statue-like Weeping Angels.
Cast
Others
Production
Writer Steven Moffat
Director Hettie MacDonald
Script editor Helen Raynor
Producer Phil Collinson
Executive producer(s) Russell T Davies
Julie Gardner
Production code 3.10
Series Series 3
Length 45 minutes
Originally broadcast 9 June 2007
Chronology
← Preceded by Followed by →
"The Family of Blood" "Utopia"

"Blink" is the tenth episode of the third series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on 9 June 2007, and is the only episode in the 2007 series written by Steven Moffat; the episode is based on a previous short story written by Moffat for the 2006 Doctor Who Annual, "'What I Did on My Christmas Holidays' By Sally Sparrow".

The episode focuses on a young woman, Sally Sparrow, trying to solve the connection between 17 separate DVD titles, and statues that move when no-one is looking at them. Just as in 2006's "Love & Monsters", the Doctor and his companion have very little screen time, allowing another episode to be filmed simultaneously. It is consequently referred to as a "Doctor-lite" episode.[2]

The episode was well received by critics. For "Blink", Steven Moffat won the BAFTA Craft and BAFTA Cymru awards for Best Writer,[3][4] and the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form.[5] For her single performance in the series, Carey Mulligan won the Constellation Award for Best Female Performance in a 2007 Science Fiction Television Episode. In 2009, it was voted the second best Doctor Who story in history by readers of Doctor Who Magazine.

Contents

[edit] Plot

In 2007, Sally Sparrow enters the dilapidated house, Wester Drumlins, to look for subjects to photograph but instead finds eerie angel-like statues and messages from "the Doctor" behind the peeling wallpaper addressed to her, warning her of the "Weeping Angels". Sally returns the next day with her friend Kathy Nightingale to explore further; Kathy disappears as at the same time a young man claiming to be Kathy's grandson delivers a letter to Sally. The letter from Kathy explains, just moments ago from Sally's perspective, that Kathy suddenly found herself in the 1920s in Hull. Kathy settled down with a husband and led a peaceful life and, in the letter, requests Sally to let her closest relative, her brother Larry, know of her disappearance. Sally finds a yale key hanging from the hand of one of the statues and takes it before leaving.

Sally visits Larry at a DVD rental store and finds that he has documented a series of "easter eggs" across seventeen unrelated DVDs, each with the same man calling himself "The Doctor" having half of a conversation with the viewer. Larry gives Sally a list of the DVDs as she leaves for the police station. There, she meets Detective Inspector Billy Shipton, who explains that there have been several disappearances at the Drumlins and shows her an impound lot containing vehicles abandoned near the Drumlins, including a locked fake police box. Sally leaves, but remembers the key she found and returns to find that Billy and the phonebox have disappeared. She immediately receives a call from a much older Billy on his death bed at the hospital and visits him. Billy explains that after she left the lot, he discovered the Angels trying to retrieve the police box. Billy then suddenly found himself in 1969 and met the Doctor, who asked him to relay a message to Sally decades later; Billy subsequently married and started a video production house and was responsible for putting the easter eggs on the DVDs. Before Billy dies, he tells Sally the Doctor's message to her: to look at the list of DVDs. Sally discovers that the list is her own DVD collection and realises the easter eggs are meant for her.

Sally and Larry return to the Drumlins with a portable DVD player and watch the entirety of the easter egg. Sally discovers she can "converse" with the Doctor as, in the past, he possesses a complete version of the transcript that is currently being compiled in the present by Larry as he watches. The Doctor explains that he and Martha Jones were transported to the past by the Weeping Angels, beings that feed off the potential time energy of others. The Angels are "quantum locked", allowing them to move incredibly fast when unobserved but when they are seen, they literally turn to stone. They cover their eyes to avoid looking at each other, giving them their "weeping" appearance. He warns Sally not to look away or even blink when they are around. The Doctor tells them they are seeking his TARDIS—the fake police box—to acquire its potential power, which could have catastrophic results. When the Doctor comes to the end of the transcript, Sally realises Larry has stopped writing it due to the presence of an Angel in the room and the two quickly escape to the basement. There, they discover the Angels have brought the TARDIS and Sally and Larry take shelter inside it as the Angels surround them. Inside, a hologram of the Doctor informs them that the TARDIS has detected a control disc—the DVD they have just watched—which can activate it for one journey; upon doing so the TARDIS dematerialises, leaving the two of them behind. However, with the TARDIS gone, the Angels have been tricked into observing each other, permanently frozen as statues staring at each other.

A year later, Sally and Larry have opened a DVD and book store together, though Sally's insistence on keeping a folder of the events for the Doctor worries Larry. Larry longs for a romantic relationship, but Sally insists their relationship is defined as "just a shop." As Larry steps out for an errand, Sally sees the Doctor and Martha hurriedly leave a taxi in front of the shop, carrying a bow and quiver of arrows and goes to meet them. When they do not recognise her, she realises that they have yet to experience the events that sent them to the past and hands over her folder of information, warning the Doctor he may need it in his future, thus completing the ontological paradox. The Doctor and Sally say their goodbyes as Larry returns, surprised to see the man from the easter egg. Sally and Larry return to the shop hand in hand, hinting that she is now ready for a romantic relationship. The episode ends with a repeat of the Doctor's warning to Sally, this time directed at the viewer, overlaid with flashes of famous bronze and stone statues.

[edit] Production

“ You have to remember that being scared of the dark and being scared of monsters is basically a childish impulse. There's always something of the nursery about horror....Adults never quite grow out of their childhood fears. They just belong in a different part of our heads. Doctor Who isn't a childish programme, but it is childlike: it's a programme for children. And many, many adults who watch and love it watch it as that: as something like Harry Potter. ”

—Steven Moffat on writing horror fiction for Doctor Who.[6]

Part of the story of "Blink" is based on Moffat's own Ninth Doctor short story from the Doctor Who Annual 2006 called "'What I Did on My Christmas Holidays' by Sally Sparrow".[7] "What I Did" is presented as a homework essay from Sally, though only 12 years old, who encounters evidence of the Ninth Doctor's presence from the past in her aunt's house while visiting. "What I Did" includes several elements that are reused in "Blink", including messages under the wallpaper and an ontological paradox involving a conversation between Sally and the Doctor, prerecorded on a video cassette, based on a written transcript (the essay itself); however, instead of the Angels, "What I Did" features the Doctor and the TARDIS inadvertently separated twenty years in time by a fault in the time machine, and the Doctor is able to instruct Sally how to bring it back to him in the past. "Blink" is the third story of the revived series to be adapted for television by the same writer from a piece of their spin-off writing. It follows "Human Nature"/"The Family of Blood", which were adaptations by Paul Cornell of his novel Human Nature, and "Dalek", which had the basic premise as well as some scenes and dialogue adapted by Robert Shearman from his audio drama Jubilee.[8]

"Blink" is referred to as a "Doctor-Lite" episode because the Doctor and/or his companion have very little screen time.[2] This allowed two episodes to be filmed simultaneously.[1][6][9] This practice had begun with 2006's "Love & Monsters", and would continue for 2008's "Turn Left" and "Midnight".[10] Moffat stated he felt relaxed writing "Blink", feeling that there was not much pressure on him due to the "Doctor-lite" structure.[11]

Hettie MacDonald is the first female director of a Doctor Who episode since the Sixth Doctor serial The Mark of the Rani.

Location shooting for scenes set at the Police Station Garage took place at the Coal Exchange and Mount Stuart Square, Cardiff Bay.[12] Although they are never shown moving on screen, all of the Weeping Angels were played by actors wearing makeup and prosthetics.[13]

[edit] Broadcast and reception

"Blink" was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 9 June 2007. Overnight ratings showed that it was watched by 6.1 million viewers, which rose to 6.62 once time-shifted viewers were taken into account.[14] It was the lowest-rated episode of Doctor Who's third series.[15] It received an Appreciation Index of 87.[14]

"Blink" has been widely recognised as an exceptional episode of Doctor Who. Writer Steven Moffat was awarded the 2008 BAFTA Craft and BAFTA Cymru awards for Best Writer for his work on this episode.[3][4] It also won the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form,[5] and Carey Mulligan received the Constellation Award for Best Female Performance in a 2007 Science Fiction Television Episode.[16] The episode was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Script,[17] but lost to Pan's Labyrinth by Guillermo del Toro.[18] This episode also received the award for Best Story in the Doctor Who Magazine 2007 Survey.[2]

The episode has been praised by critics. The Guardian's Stephen Brook called it a "wonderfully creepy episode that barely featured the Doctor and Martha but was scary, baffling, but ultimately made sense".[19] David Bradley of SFX awarded "Blink" five out of five stars, saying that it could feature any of the Doctors and predicted that its "timelessness" would ensure that it would "[go] down as one of the finest, scariest, cleverest Who episodes ever".[20] IGN's Travis Fickett rated the episode 9.1 out of 10, praising the way the audience felt they had known Sally Sparrow for a while and Mulligan's performance, though he noted that "all of the performances in this episode are exceptional". He concluded, "it's difficult to believe that so much was accomplished in such a short amount of time. The story of not one, but two relationships was told, several time lines intersected and a new and rather frightening enemy was vanquished without The Doctor ever coming face to face with them".[21] Ross Ruedinger of Slant Magazine believed that the episode was not just "maybe" the best Doctor Who episode, but also a great episode of the science fiction and horror genre that could allow it to stand alone. He also praised the fear concept of the Weeping Angels as well the "tenderness of the story and the characters" which were "quite intricate given how much is going on in these 45 minutes".[22]

In Doctor Who Magazine's 2009 poll to find the greatest Doctor Who story ever, "Blink" came in second place after Peter Davison's final story, The Caves of Androzani.[23] The Daily Telegraph named the episode the tenth best of the show in 2008.[24] IGN's Matt Wales named it his sixth best episode of Tennant's tenure,[25] while Sam McPherson of Zap2it listed it as the second best Tenth Doctor episode.[26] In 2011 before the second half of the sixth series, The Huffington Post labelled "Blink" as one of the five essential episodes for new viewers to watch.[27] In 2009, SFX named the climax with the Weeping Angels advancing on Sally and Larry the scariest moment in Doctor Who's history, describing it as "a terrifying combination of scary concept and perfect direction".[28]

[edit] Fandom and popular culture

  • Larry describes Wester Drumlins as "Scooby-Doo's house", a reference to the dilapidated mansions that the Scooby-Doo Mystery Inc. gang would usually visit. The BBC fact file notes that 1969, the year Martha, the Doctor and Billy are sent to, is the first year Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! aired.[14] The name of the dilapidated house, Wester Drumlins, is taken from a previous residence of Steven Moffat from the late 1990s.[29] The newspaper shown to Kathy in 1920 has the headline "Hull F.C. to play Hull Kingston Rovers", a reference to the two professional Rugby League teams in Hull.[30]
  • Billy mentions that the windows of the TARDIS are the wrong size for a real police box. In 2004, when the first photographs of the new series' TARDIS prop were revealed, there was a vigorous discussion of the box's dimensions on the Outpost Gallifrey Doctor Who discussion forum, in which some fans complained that the prop's windows were too big. Writer Steven Moffat has confirmed that this line is an in-joke aimed at the Outpost Gallifrey forum.[31]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Griffiths, Nick. (June 15, 2007) Radio Times Hells Angels Issue 9; Pages 14-15.
  2. ^ a b c "2007 Awards". Doctor Who Magazine (Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent: Panini Comics) (389): 40-41. 12 December 2007. 
  3. ^ a b "BAFTA Cymru success for BBC Wales". BBC. 2008-04-28. http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2008/04_april/28/cymru.shtml. Retrieved 2008-05-13. 
  4. ^ a b "Bafta glory for Channel 4's Boy A". BBC News Online. 2008-05-12. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7395593.stm. Retrieved 2008-05-13. 
  5. ^ a b "2008 Hugo Award Results Announced". Hugo Awards website. 2008-08-09. http://www.thehugoawards.org/?p=146. Retrieved 2008-08-11. 
  6. ^ a b "Steven Moffat interview 2007". Radio Times. June 2007. Archived from the original on 13 September 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/61g7opV6C. Retrieved 2011-05-04. 
  7. ^ "What I Did on My Christmas Holidays by Sally Sparrow" (BBC Website)
  8. ^ "Doctor Who at the Cavern Club - A Great Success". The Mind Robber. The Mind Robber. 2007. http://www.themindrobber.co.uk/dr-who-at-cavern.html. Retrieved 2007-09-18. 
  9. ^ "Who Horizons". SFX: p. 46. January 2007. 
  10. ^ "Here Come The Girls". Doctor Who Confidential. episode 10. series 4. Cardiff. 2008-06-21. BBC. BBC Three. 
  11. ^ "Steven Moffat interview 2008". Radio Times. June 2008. Archived from the original on 13 September 2009. http://www.webcitation.org/61g5HQjoH. Retrieved 2012=03=25. 
  12. ^ "Walesarts, Coal Exchange and Mount Stuart Square, Cardiff Bay". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/arts/sites/doctor-who-wales/alllocations/cardiff-coal-exchange-mount-stuart-square. Retrieved 2010-05-30. 
  13. ^ "Do You Remember the First Time?". Doctor Who Confidential. episode 10. series 3. Cardiff. 2007-06-9. BBC. BBC Three. 
  14. ^ a b c Ware, Peter. "Doctor Who - Fact File - "Blink"". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/episodes/2007/facts/fact_310.shtml. Retrieved 2007-06-09. 
  15. ^ "Weekly Top 30 Programmes". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. http://www.barb.co.uk/report/weekly-top-programmes-overview?. Retrieved 2012-04-29. 
  16. ^ "2008 Constellation Awards". Constellation Awards website. 2008-07-15. http://constellations.tcon.ca/. Retrieved 2008-07-15. 
  17. ^ Rowe, Josiah (2008-01-21). ""Blink" gets Nebula nod". Outpost Gallifrey. Outpost Gallifrey. http://www.gallifreyone.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?id=EkppAplkAkQBWREwTW&tmpl=newsrss&style=feedstyle. Retrieved 2008-01-21. 
  18. ^ "2007 Nebula Award Winners". Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc.. 2008-04-26. http://www.sfwa.org/news/2008/07nebwiners.htm. Retrieved 2008-06-02. 
  19. ^ Brook, Stephen (2007=07-02). "Doctor Who: it's season finale time!". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/organgrinder/2007/jul/02/doctorwhoitsseasonfinalet. Retrieved 2012-03-25. 
  20. ^ Bradley, David (2007-06-09). "Doctor Who 3.10 "Blink"". SFX. http://www.sfx.co.uk/2007/06/09/doctor_who_3_10_blink/. Retrieved 2012-03-25. 
  21. ^ Fickett, Travis (2007-09-17). "Doctor Who "Blink" Review". IGN. http://tv.ign.com/articles/820/820427p1.html. Retrieved 2012-03-25. 
  22. ^ Ruedinger, Ross (2007-09-15). "Doctor Who, Season Three, Ep. 10: "Blink"". Slant Magazine. http://www.slantmagazine.com/house/2007/09/doctor-who-season-three-ep-10-blink/. 
  23. ^ Haines, Lester (2009-09-17). "Doctor Who fans name best episode ever". The Register. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/09/17/best_who_ever/. Retrieved 2012-02-11. 
  24. ^ "The 10 greatest episodes of Doctor Who ever". The Daily Telegraph. 2008-07-02. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/3674193/The-10-greatest-episodes-of-Doctor-Who-ever.html. Retrieved 2012-02-11. 
  25. ^ Wales, Matt (2010-01-05). "Top 10 Tennant Doctor Who Stories". http://tv.ign.com/articles/105/1058228p2.html. Retrieved 2012-02-11. 
  26. ^ McPherson, Sam (2010-01-02). "The Tenth Doctor's Top 5 Doctor Who Episodes". Zap2it. http://www.tvovermind.com/doctor-who/the-tenth-doctors-top-5-doctor-who-episodes/16473/5/. Retrieved 2012-02-11. 
  27. ^ Lawson, Catherine (2011-08-09). "Catch Up With 'Doctor Who': 5 Essential Episodes". The Huffington Post. http://www.aoltv.com/2011/08/09/doctor-who-5-essential-episodes/. Retrieved 2012-02-11. 
  28. ^ "21 Scariest Doctor Who Moments 7". SFX. 2009-02-01. http://www.sfx.co.uk/2009/02/01/21_scariest_doctor_who_moments_7/. Retrieved 2012-04-14. 
  29. ^ Moffat, Steven (2007-06-12). "Wester Drumlins" (free registration required). The Doctor Who Forum at Outpost Gallifrey. Shaun Lyon. http://www.gallifreyone.com/forum/showpost.php?p=4167147&postcount=23. 
  30. ^ "Hull Times mockup, BBC website". http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/episodes/2007/images/hulltimes.jpg. Retrieved 2007-06-10. 
  31. ^ Moffat, Steven (2007-06-12). "Re: Moffat hates fans?" (free registration required). The Doctor Who Forum at Outpost Gallifrey. Shaun Lyon. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. http://web.archive.org/web/20070930202521/http://www.gallifreyone.com/forum/showpost.php?p=4161263&postcount=177. Retrieved 2007-06-12. "I put in the Windows gag SPECIFICALLY to make this forum laugh. It was for us lot here - the rest of the world didn't notice." 
  32. ^ David Tennant as the Doctor. Doctor Who: The Complete Third Series (DVD). BBC Video. Event occurs at 31:18. "The angels have the phone box" 
  33. ^ Steven Moffat and Murray Gold on the audio commentary track. Doctor Who: The Complete Third Series (DVD). BBC Video. Event occurs at 33:25. 
  34. ^ "The Angels Have the Phone Box". ThinkGeek. http://www.thinkgeek.com/interests/exclusives/e78d/. Retrieved 2011-05-04. 

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