Blink

"Blink and you're dead. They are fast. Faster than you can believe. Don't turn your back. Don't look away. And don't blink."

Writer: Steven Moffat 

Format: TV

Broadcast: 9th June 2007

Series: 3.10

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Martha

Synopsis 

Sally Sparrow receives a cryptic message from the Doctor. It warns her of the Weeping Angels - a quantum locked species who live on potential energy of the days people could have lived. Trapped in 1969 and only able to communicate through a DVD, the Doctor must trust Sally Sparrow to bring the TARDIS back to him before the Angels take it for themselves.

Verdict 

Blink is just an absolutely incredible episode of Doctor Who and if people doubt the quality of the third revived series then they really aren't aware what makes Doctor Who. We just had Human Nature/The Family of Blood, my favourite David Tennant story and now we get this absolute masterclass immediately after! There's a reason that this episode consistently ranks near the top of story list ranks and it is testament that the story has been voted as the second best in Doctor Who history in the last two DWM polls, the only two that have occurred since its broadcast. Sally Sparrow leading the episode was terrific as she really was a gorgeous character (and I don't just mean her appearance) played tremendously well by Carey Mulligan. Her intrigue in the Wester Drumlins house was fantastic and the scene where she was ripping off the wallpaper bit by bit is one of my all time favourites. She's literally being instructed by writing on a wall from 1969. Sublime. Her relationship with Kathy was great and I loved how we got the first taste of what the Weeping Angels were about from her displacement. From London 2007 to Hull 1920 in an instant at the touch of a stone angel. That sentence alone sums up how astounding this episode was! What an enemy we had debut here. The Weeping Angels have since returned in both prose and on TV but I don't think this will ever be topped from their perspective. They were at the house, TARDIS key in hand, just waiting for somebody to lead them to the Doctor's time machine. And Sally was that person. It was almost like a giant game of real life Cluedo. She received so many clues, both intended and inadvertently, and that lead to her DI Shipton and the TARDIS. The Angels though followed and displaced Shipton and were after the time machine. They took it back to Wester Drumlins but they needed the key returned. By now, the Doctor was giving Sally detailed help from 1969. Yep, the Doctor can do that in the form of Easter eggs on DVDs. I loved how it was Shipton who put the mystery message onto the DVDs and I also loved the moment where Sally realised the list of 17 DVDs were the only ones she owned. The message was for her. Larry's reaction to everything that was going on was just fantastic and I thought he was a really excellent character. His online geekiness was superb and I'm not sure why it was intended to be frowned upon. If someone is passionate about something - let them be! Don't judge. When the conversion with the DVD - that's exactly what it was - occurred, the scene of ripping the wallpaper was trumped. The idea is just incredible and I do wonder how Steven Moffat manages to conjure up these ideas because they're just beyond brilliant. The drips of dialogue from the DVD throughout were good but the actual scene was incredible yet so simple. The idea of rewinding was hilarious though! Sally and Larry (that's more Comedy Central than ITV, right?) were under attack from the Angels now as they were after the key. But the pair managed to not blink, as instructed marvellously by the Doctor, and made it into the TARDIS. The DVD returned the TARDIS to the Doctor in 1969 and Sparrow and Nightingale were left in a circle of Angels. They were quantum locked (another amazing idea) and they'd be looking at themselves, keeping them set in stone, forever. A wonderful climax and the end scene where the paradox or endless loop was finished with the Doctor was tremendous. I can't give this episode enough praise. It really is a Moffat masterclass - one of the all time greats.

Rating: 10/10