29.10: Blink

Lenny

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In an old, abandoned house, the Weeping Angels wait. Only the Doctor can stop them, but he's lost in time.

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Once again, another good episode. This time, however, the Doctor plays a minor role - this episode can be thought of as this series' equivalent of last series episode with Mark Warren, the ELO music, and Peter Kay as the Absorbaloff.

I though the acting was very good, and I loved how Sally and the Doctor had their conversation across time. :p

And I think this also marks the 4th or 5th episode without the use of the Sonic Screwdriver to solve the problems.
 
I'll send you the link when it's online so you can watch the first ten minutes, if you want. Well worth watching - including the bit before the opening credits.

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Humane assassins. Brilliant! :p

I wonder if the writer was the same for the Mark Warren episode last year.
 
I agree. A very good episode. Long may this quality continue.

Also, unless I'm mistaken, I thought I spotted Derek Jacobi in the trailer for next week's story. It seems as if the Doc is starting to attract some of the UK's finest acting talent...and quite right too:)
 
Also, unless I'm mistaken, I thought I spotted Derek Jacobi in the trailer for next week's story. :)
No, you're not mistaken - it was Clavdivs himself!

They just get better, don't they - if you thought scarecrows were scary, stone angels have them beaten all ends up!:D
 
After about 20 minutes I also thought "Not another 'Love and Monsters'", which I didn't like very much. Then it all changed very suddenly for me, and I really rated this weeks episode by its end.

We talked after the Shakespeare episode about the possibility of someone meeting him who knew him from his own future, but of whom he had no knowledge yet, and here it actually happened.

I thought the statues were very creepy. When we were very young, my brother and sister and I were scared of a statue in the local park. (Obviously, not me of course, because I was older than them.) My Dad used to tell us that if we looked at it, it would get off its stand, practically the opposite of what they had to do in this episode. (And the kids today have mental problems.) Anyway, it reminded me of that, and I'm pretty sure that there are thousands of kids after this evening who will be scared witless of statues from now on. I hope RTD can live with that! And my Dad!

I also thought the stories of Kathy Nightingale and Billy Shipton were moving and poignant too. I think we also mentioned before the lack of real time-travel stories in a show supposedly about time-travel. You couldn't say that about this episode.
 
Anyway, it reminded me of that, and I'm pretty sure that there are thousands of kids after this evening who will be scared witless of statues from now on. I hope RTD can live with that! And my Dad!

Especially after the final 30 seconds where the camera flashed from statue to statue to statue.

On the subject of next weeks episode, I'm just thinking back to the finale of Torchwood and how much of an overlap we'll see. I know, from the trailer at the end of episode 6 (the one that showed clips from the final half of the series) that there is one scene that sees Derek Jacobi and Jack Barrowman stood outside the big tower thing in Cardif over the Torchwood 2 headquarters, and I can remember reading, after the end of the first Torchwood series, that none of the Torchwood actors (other than Jack) would be seen in this years Doctor Who. Just wondering whether we might see a glimpse of the inside of the Torchwood 2 HQ or anything. Should be interesting - and it looks like a very interesting episode.

One more thing about the episode - if my ears heard right, the Doctor said something about Time Lords not coming out this far, and Jacobi said something about "These are the last of the human race". Does this mean, or imply, that next week will see a new record for how far into the future the TARDIS has travelled? At the moment, it stands at the time shown in Episode 3 - Gridlock.
 
Family emergency meant I only saw the first 20 minutes "live"... lucky I now tape the ep and Confidential by default every week! What a cleverly written episode. Time travel that makes you think, the means the Doctor is out of sequence, that relies on linear progression for sending very slow messages and so on. Beautifully done. As for the cast the acting, the settings. I hadn't realised until Confidential they had actors inside the Angels, with masks on: even on set that must have been scary! Bit convenient the lad on the wall in 1920 had a newspaper with him but otherwise really well conceived episode. Loved the "why does no-one ever go to the police" bit, and the DVD easter eggs. I'm guessing the naked brother counts for this weeks RTD bingo. And just think, in American series when they run out of budget they go for a clip show: we got this, another high scoring episode. (Okay, so we ran out of leading cast availability, but you get the idea - I'm guessing they were needed for the final three).

As for the final three episodes, presumably all linked, the final two certainly being. As for Derek Jacobi, rumours abound which we can leave till next week. His presence will certainly lend weight, and it looks like they've been back to the quarry for filming (from what I saw on Confidential). Can't beat a bit of quarry!
 
I hadn't realised until Confidential they had actors inside the Angels, with masks on.
I saw one move his/her arm when they weren't meant to. I expect they hired them from the South Bank and Covent Garden in London. It seems like they live in those places. :D
I'm guessing the naked brother counts for this weeks RTD bingo.
I forgot that "Rhys/Torchwood" moment.
 
Already re-watched it: just improves with watching. Also remembered some quotes which I'll add to that thread. Not sure which was the funniest for me, but perhaps Martha: "Trust me... just nod when he stops for breath"

Also, forgot to mention in the last post, the Confidential. It was like a fans guide to the archives! Clips from everywhere and everywhen. And testing the producer and head of BBC fiction on the list of the 10 canon Doctors...

And having checked the BBC site, looks like they weren't promoting anyone's movies on the list of 17 that Sally had: seems they faked up a handful of the boxes from "the list" just for the episode: Breakfast in the Rain, Dance of Days, Civilization Zero, Angel Smile, Falling Star, One Oak County, My Best Friend's Boyfriend, Mean Teens, Shooting the Sun.

And, was it me, or did the Doctor not look especially pleased to see Captain Jack in the preview...more tolerant but not happy?
 
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And, was it me, or did the Doctor not look especially pleased to see Captain Jack in the preview...more tolerant but not happy?

Could be another overlap from Torchwood - T2 did open the Rift, after all. That might have annoyed the Doctor somewhat.

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Billy: "What's that?"
Doctor: "This is my Timey Wimey Detector!"
 
You lot are just soooo knowledgeable! And I've been watching the Doctor since its inception - yep, I'm that old! But I have to admit that even though I was scared witless as a youngster with the original doctors, the quality of the present day stories and the sets are just top notch! I think RTD said in Confidential yesterday something like people will look back and say they enjoyed both series. Does he reckon it will merely stop at two? Even if this present series comes to an end, the concept of the Doctor is just so brilliant that it will have to be brought back ad infinitum I think.
 
Also, wasn't it Torchwood that blew up the [SIZE=-1]Sycorax ship in the xmas special? Jack might be miffed at the Doctor for losing Rose as well.[/SIZE][SIZE=-1] [/SIZE]
 
It was TW that blew up the ship, but it was Torchwood 1 in London.

There are four Torchwood's - TW1 in London, TW2 in Cardiff, TW3 in Scotland and TW4 in Ireland. I think it was mentioned, by Jack in Torchwood, that TW3 has disappeared, and TW4 is run by a madman.

It'll be interesting to see what Jack makes of the Doctor's regeneration.

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Back to this episode. I don't know if it's because we live in such an age when things have to be truly horrifying to be scary, but I don't find myself scared by most things in Doctor Who. Sure, I feel my heart speed up because of the tension, but not because I'm scared.

I have to say, this episode did scare me somewhat. I jumped when the angels first moved, and the angels chasing Sally and Laurence in the house got me.
 
Considering that this was an episode filmed largely without either main actor due to time constraints on filming the series (so another unit can film stuff for another episode at the same time with principal actors whilst getting this one in the bag) I thought that it was very well done. It will certainly count towards the apparent goal of getting kids to be afraid of everyday objects - shop dummies, scarecrows, and now statues.

I thought the idea of the statues was brilliant, but can't help thinking that I've heard something similar before. I also didn't realise that they'd used people in masks and make-up for the Weeping Angels until I saw Confidential, but thinking about it, it would have saved a bit on the budget and on time (considering setup and resets take time), rather than having 20 statues in various poses, you could have 4 people with just 3 different masks each.

I liked the whole 'Back to the Future 3' ideas that were used - delivering the letter, leaving clues through time etc. It also explains, in some fashion (wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey), the concept of non-linear time in the Doctors adventures, which seems to have confused some people who write in to Teletext and the like asking questions regarding paradoxes, apparently having fried their brains trying to figure out why cause can sometimes come after effect.

It was still a strong episode considering the lack of David and Freema. A lot better than the last relatively Doctor free offering -'Love & Monsters'.

Certainly looked an interesting trailer for next week with Capt. Jack clinging to the outside of the TARDIS as it flies through time - very odd!

A bit off topic to address some confusion.
There are four Torchwood's - TW1 in London, TW2 in Cardiff, TW3 in Scotland and TW4 in Ireland. I think it was mentioned, by Jack in Torchwood, that TW3 has disappeared, and TW4 is run by a madman.

Close, TW1 was London, TW2 is Glasgow, run by, in Jack's words, "a very strange man", TW3 is Cardiff, TW4 is 'missing'.
 
Ooh, I've just started watching this episode and the statues are so weird! They remind of the hedges in The Shining (the book...they left them out in the film which was such a mistake!)...they keep moving, getting closer and closer...but you never seen them move. And those blank eyes are creepy! It's like what I said last week with The Family...you don't have to have huge and twisted monsters and aliens to scare people!
 
Same difference, Jackson. :rolleyes:

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You're right, the blank eyes were horrible!

They must be incredibly fast to move so much in a split-second blink of an eye.
 
Exactly, Lenny! And the worse thing is that you don't see them move, they just keep changing positions and getting closer and closer and reaching out...

Wow, I've seen so many horror films in my lifetime, but these statues are the creepiest things I've seen in quite a long time!
 
I don't know if it's because we live in such an age when things have to be truly horrifying to be scary, but I don't find myself scared by most things in Doctor Who.

It would be interesting to note their target audience age: it's got to be maybe 5-15 and 15-105 as extra viewers... tough to please both halves. Especially the 15-45 geeks/fans/Whovians who want canon consistency, scientific reasonability (where practical), nods to earlier episodes and all the rest. It's a long time since I was a youngling but I'd guess they're happy with a scary villain that looks halfway realistic and gets their come-uppance by the end of the show. Or have I just patronised an entire generation...?
 
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