(734) Blink

Blink is the story that is Doctor-lite however unlike Love and Monsters which is the weakest New series story and one of the weakest stories ever, this story is memorable because it launches arguably the greatest monster to have come out of the new series. Who knew that something so simple could have such an effect. Due to the Doctor and Martha being out of the picture for most of this story, the responsibility falls to Sally Sparrow. With this being a Steven Moffat story, it should come as no surprise that most of the action in this story takes place inside an abandoned house.

The weeping angels are a superb creation. They are simple yet very effective. We never see them move or show any signs of life. The actresses dressed up as the Angels do a superb job because I never see them move, not even an inch which isn't an easy thing to do. They can't look at each other and every time you blink they move. It's fun trying to not blink. It's never explained whether just closing one eye at a time would keep them at bay. I love the idea when Sally and  Larry are trying to get into the TARDIS the Angels make the lights flicker.

Carey Mulligan is another actor that has gone onto great things. I think that she is one of those people who would have made a very good companion. She becomes quite the detective. I found the interaction between Sally and Billy Shipton to be quite good but it goes downhill and their scene where billy is older is really grim. I thought that Finlay Robertson does a good job as Larry who is effectively Sally’s sidekick. It's a sort of loveable dope type character but it's one that works in the context of this story.

The thing that the Angels do is to touch people and they go back in time. As the Doctor they make you live to death and take the energy from the life they take. The first victim of this is Kathy who ends up in the past and writes a letter to be delivered at the same time when she is hiding.  What is quite good is that there is an explanation as to what happened to her and she isn't just forgotten which was always a possibility. Shipton is the second person to disappear but he’s still alive and is able to talk to Sally about his experiences.

What is quite funny is that the Doctor hides messages as DVD Easter eggs and in 2007 that wasn't a major thing but in 2015 with stuff like Netflix and on demand, DVDs  seem a little bit old fashioned. It's like the 2007 version of VHS’s. The Doctor speaks to Sally through the DVD and this is a rather clever way. This is another rather well written story from the future show runner. This was at a time when people still like Steven Moffat and this is arguably his best story that he has written for the show.

It's good that the Doctor and Sally finally get a scene face to face towards the end of the episode. It's a great brief scene but the episode ends with the idea that all statues could be weeping angels. I will admit that I did play with the idea that this could be a real thing. It shows how well the episode worked. It is regarded as one of the best new series episode and it's not hard to see why. Yesterday I said how it was the first story since the TV movie to get in the 8’s and this is the second episode in a row to get in the 8’s. At the moment, Blink is the ninth highest rated episode ever and the fourth greatest story ever. It’s just overtaken The Family of Blood and Human Nature and is the best story of the new series.

The story benefits from superb acting and the directing is also impressive. Hettie MacDonald take the simple approach which does go overboard to try and inject some unnecessary action scenes. It's not over the top and it suits the writing of Steven Moffat. Now with that story out of the way it's time to get ready for the final story which is in effect a three parter and sees the return of Captain Jack. Oh well the quietness couldn't last for ever.