Dr Who: Blink Review
Written by: Michael Hickerson (SoSF Staff Journalist)
I’m going to make a bold statement here–Stephan Moffatt may be the new “Doctor Who”’s equivalent of Robert Holmes. For those of you who are new to whole “Doctor Who” experience or have only seen the new series, Holmes was one of the most consistent writers of the original series, starting back in Troughton’s days and culminating with his offerings in Colin Baker’s era. Holmes scripts were (for the most part) challenging, creepy and often revolutionary (”Deadly Assassin” being the most revolutionary as it completely redefined the mythology of Gallifrey). When Holmes’ name appeared in the writing credits, you knew that you were in for a treat.
And that’s exactly what is happening every time writer Stephen Moffatt’s name appears as the writer. Two years ago he won a Hugo for his brilliant “Empty Child/The Doctor Dances” story. Last year, he gave us the brilliant “The Girl in the Fireplace.” And now, in series three we get yet another brilliant episode with “Blink.” (Wow, I’m using the word brilliant a lot here but really it’s the only way to describe the stories).
Moffatt is three for three on stories for the new series.
I have to admit I knew very little about “Blink” when I sat down to watch it. I knew it was this season’s Doctor-light episode and that it was by Moffatt. Beyond that, I had nary a clue.
I found out later that the story is an adaptation of a short-story Moffatt wrote for a “Doctor Who” annual. The BBC has posted the story on their web-site and just like last week, it’s fascinating to see the original source material and inspiration for this episode. It also continues a trend for the new show of having great episodes adapted from previously published works.
I’m hesitant to say too much about the overall plot of “Blink.” Honestly, it’s one of those stories that the less you know about the twists and tricks going in, the better it’s going to be. I will admit, I’m not a huge fan of when time-travel stories create their own future and cover all their bases (think scenes from “Bill and Ted”) but I have to admit the way the time-travel element and time being non-linear for the sake of the storyline really worked well here. And the good part is that Moffatt covered all his bases without it feeling forced–again, back to “Bill and Ted” where the “We need to go back and do this so we can escape now” comes to mind of a poorly done example.
The strength of this story is the characters. And it’s not just the Doctor. The leading lady this week is Sally Sparrow, remarkably played by Carey Mulligan. Mulligan’s Sally comes to life on screen and is easily companion material. I’d love to see more of Sally’s character and not just because Mulligan is easy on the eyes. Mulligan makes Sally’s frustration, wonder and terror at what is happening to her completely authentic. One of the great things about “Doctor Who” is that (for the most part) the actors play the situations seriously, instead of camping it up or overacting as would be an obvious temptation. It’s because of Mulligan’s performance that we’re drawn into the story and that we have a vested interest in how things play out. Watching Sally lose her best friend and then a potential date is nicely done, as is the disbelief she feels at first as to what’s happening. It’s interesting to watch Sally slowly becoming convinced that what’s happening to her is real and not just something her imagination has conjured up.
As for the threat, it’s absolutely brilliant. One of the strengths of Robert Holmes’ stories was that he took ordinary, every day things and made them terrifying. Things that were safe suddenly took on a devilish context within his scripts and that’s exactly what Moffatt does here. The alien threat and how they move and attack propels the story along and gives it a dramatic intensity. A lot of this I chalk up to the strength of Moffatt’s storyline, but a big part of this has to go to the direction of the show. The way certain scenes are filmed, editing and staged adds a great deal to the overall tension. Again, I’m being deliberately vague because I don’t want to ruin this for those of you who haven’t seen it yet. And whatever you do, don’t let anyone tell you the nuances of this superlative episode. It will probably take away half of the fun.
And with that, “Doctor Who” is officially kicked up to the next level. Three weeks, three absolutely fantastic episodes. If the rest of the season only gets better, we are in for quite a roller-coaster ride. I’ve got my fingers crossed…
Next up: The end of the universe, Derek Jacobi guest stars…..oh yeah, and Captain Jack Harkness is back.
What a great episode! I am a little de-sensitized to scary movies so I don’t notice when things are getting a little bit scary so I use my wife as a “scariness” guide. Only a few minutes in when the “monster” was following the main Sally’s friend, my wife looked round to me and said with a worried look on her face: “this is too scary for me”. I replied by saying “Excellent! This is going to be good then!”
As far as I’m concerned, this episode is tied with Cornell’s “Human Nature” two-parter for the position of “Best Doctor Who episode of the revival EVAR!” Seriously, it’s that good.
Not to mention that it’s a damn sight scarier than most of the horror films that I’ve seen.
Yep it was creepy. Proper creepy. Wonderful editing on the threat in this ep.
Like the scarecrows in Human Nature, their ability to make creepy use of ordinary things made me think admiringly in that last scene that I’ll never look at a [...] again without thinking of Doctor Who. I also like their nerdy use of [...]s to propel the plot. Second best episode of the current series, behind Human Nature.
“Life’s short, and you’re hot” — My new motto.
Haven’t been thrilled by a horror movie in years and then this little show comes along and makes me believe again. Fantastic premise, villain(s) and production. Loved every second of it. Made me remember hiding behind the couch again watching the Pertwee episodes. If I was that young again i’d never sleep again after this one!
Fantastic ep, my favorite of all three seasons of the new series so far. It was creepier than most of the horror films I’ve seen lately! And in a way that was actually genuinely unsettling and eerie, not via blatant gross-outs or OTT FX.
Adding my voice to the chorus here. This was one of the best episodes - scary and smart and engaging. I didnt realize that the same guy did Girl in the Fireplace but I remember thinking to myself that this one was “just as outstanding” as that episode.
What impressed me more was listening to the BBC podcast commentary on the episode and finding out that it was actors inside the angel suits.
That really bumps up my respect and admiration for the production team and the actors who were inside the suits. And to the team that created these costumes–they were simply brilliant.
And dingos–I am a total and obsessive credits reader as well as writer junkee….so I tend to follow who wrote what. It’s a sickness I tell you…
Loved it. (Although I don’t know the point of having a “spoiler alert” warning and then censoring your remarks in case they’re spoilers!)
Moffat’s the guy behind the excellently-written BBC series “Coupling”, btw.
I totally agree - best episode of the 3 series so far in my opinion.
Although I wasn’t creeped out or scared, I couldn’t take my eyes off the TV throughout the episode, I’m not sure I even blinked - ha ha.
I vote for more Sally Sparrow - what a great actress, and definitely easy on the eye
Maybe they can get her into Torchwood to give that a bit of a kick? I mostly enjoyed it, but it had its ups-and-downs 
wow, what an awesomely scary episode! This is now my second favourite Dr Who episode, only beaten by ‘Girl in the Fireplace’.
Have to say, those statues freaked me out more than any CGI in a tv series ever has… excellent stuff. Would be great if the writer of this episode would write a few more for the next series…and do a few for Torchwood too
Steven Moffat will be writing a two-part story for season four.
I’m extremely new to Dr. Who. Have never really watched any of the classic series. Today a co-worker of mine turned me on to ‘Blink.’ I think I’m hooked.
Excellent episode, and definitely a case of the question being the answer. It’s all a matter of perception, you know.
What is with that bit at the end, where it continued past the bit of sky above their shop sign?
Going ahead to repeating the Doctor’s vid-clip and flashing any kind of statue whatsoever at the viewer was cheap and distracting and obfuscated the issue completely.
Despite its other flaws, without that last bit Moffat had a great episode here.
That was indeed an excellent episode and genuinely scary - amazing what can be done with an enemy you never see move. Far more so than those scarecrows which did nothing for me at all.
But for the next episode, which I saw last night, can I just say O M * G ! Hold on to your seats! (OK, the episode itself was so-so, but what transpired in the last 10 minutes….)
I am brand new to Dr. Who as well. This was only my third episode. LOVED IT and am raving to all my friends about it. I am still getting goosebumps thinking about those angels. The camera work in the basement was fantastic.
Loved it, best of the new series by far. Loved the way the DVD made perfect sense in two different conversations with Sally.
I very much dislike British sci-fi. In fact, I might even go as far as to say in most cases, I hate it. And certainly, that rubbish that I saw late nights on PBS called ‘Dr. Who’ never held any appeal- I was completely and 100 percent sure that I would never, ever hold any interest- beyond contempt- for Dr. Who.
And now I’m hooked completely. Reading up on wikipedia, trying to find out everything I’ve missed, and fanatically setting aside the time every Friday night to watch the newest episode. Blink was just THAT good… heck, it may even end up changing my mind about British Sci-fi on the whole. Talk about a masterpiece…!
I’m curious though….the bit with teh rock near the beginning….who threw it and why did the doctor know about it. i feel they left something out.
The weeping angel threw the rock and got out becuase Sally wasn’t looking - and the Doctor knew because it was in the folio he gave her at the end.
Excellent episode, maybe Hollywood should realise you can do horror without having to splatter blood and guts everywhere.
O god,
I saw one episode when i was itty-bitty, didnt like it.
I saw this one on my freinds i-pod, and im hooked.
one question, why would the angel throw a rock at her, when it could just kill her?
I think the angel didn’t kill her because it needed her to find something for them.
I think the rock only served to demonstrate that the Doctor was going to be telling her the future. Assuming the angels somehow knew that she was going to be the one to find the TARDIS for them (and not her friend or anyone else they sent back in time) then they wouldn’t want to hurt her at all. That part was really just to get your attention. There are holes in the story but this is definitely my favorite epsiode. I didn’t know who wrote it before I found this site but now that I know and know about the other episodes, it is clear he has great potential. Even though he kind of over used the “if you’re not making that noise, who is?” gimmick in The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances and The Girl In The Fireplace”, they were still quite good.
It’s the episode that really got me to becoming a fan of the Doctor. I still get some chills watching it. Especially the part where Lawrence looks away for a split second >.< Geez that’s creepy. They need a horror movie with this concept, or would that be copyrighting?