29x10 - Blink [SPOILERS]

ixoy

Well by the quarries-of-Skaro that was damn good! This "Doctor-lite" episode shows that the concept doesn't have to produce weak entries like last year's "Love & Monsters" but can instead be used to tell creative stories backed up by good characters.

Once more Moffat introduces an excellent use of the time travel concept. Generally, the show tends to tell stories in a pure linear fashion - the only time travel aspect being the point at which it starts. But here, and his earlier excellent piece "The Girl in the Fireplace", Moffat shows that we can use that 'T' in TARDIS in interesting ways to tell a cracking story.

We had a good mystery this week. Sure, if you've seen a few time travel stories you could guess elements of it, but it was well executed. The main protaganist - Sally Sparrow - was sympathetic, thanks to some spot-on acting. She'd make a good companion. The clues she began to unravel were smartly played out and as to the enemies... perhaps the scariest the show has ever produced? No "chap with the wings - five rounds rapid" could stop these guys (and if you get the suitability of that reference, I salute you too )

Moffat and Parkin have pretty much consistently produced the best episodes of the season for the last three years. The only downside is that I honestly can't believe its possible for next week to best these recent stories.

Top marks. Again.

Also Starring LeVar Burton

That was by far the best Who episode since it's return in 2005, IMO. Absolutely loved it.

nothing

Thought this was an excellant episode, even with the lack of Doctor. Have to agree, those "statues" were damn creepy monsters. It was a very well done episode.

BuffyBot

Not too shabby at all. Much much much better than Love and Monsters.

I have to say the scene with the angels surrounding the Tardis was actually quite scary. Very well done episode all round.

Stark

Well that was surprisingly good. Much much better than last season's "Love and Monsters". 3 good episodes in a row, Russell T. Davies might have to make an executive intervention.

Only 3 episodes left now in this season, and they're all RTD episodes At least we get Captain Jack back. From the trailer, it looks like he's still running around doing his Captain Scarlet thing though, which is getting pretty old at this stage.

Mr E

Yeah, I was completely hooked by this episode..... best of the 3 series so far. They've come a long way from farting aliens.

monkeyfudge

Did you know that Russell T. Davies started out his career writing for ChuckleVision? It really does show sometimes.

But this really was an outstanding episode though... possibly a little overly sentimental in parts... the whole relationship with the cop seemed a bit forced, but the strong performances pulled I off I guess.

secret_squirrel

echo the rest of the posts here. Best 3 episodes in a row ever.

At first I thought omg not another love and monsters... but it couldn't have been any more different.

Who'd have thought monsters that couldnt move would be so damn creepy?

Most spine chilling episode since Dalek for me but for very different reasons. Real hide behind the sofa stuff.

feylya

It seemed like a really short episode this week. Sally is a bit fit too, which is always nice

Goodshape

ixoy wrote:

But here, and his earlier excellent piece "The Girl in the Fireplace"

"The Girl in the Fireplace" was definitely one of the stand out episodes from last season, funny that these two episodes were written by the same person. At the very start of "Blink" I was actually reminded of the earlier episode when Sally walked in front of the fireplace in the old house (before tearing the wallpaper down). I honestly thought for a second that this was going to be a 'part two' of that story.

Brilliant episode anyway. I was expecting filler after the last two top-notch episodes - and based on last weeks preview - but this was great. A much more serious tone than I've come to expect from the series (as were the previous two episodes and "Girl in the Fireplace"), particularly since David Tennent came on board. He can do goofy and nice - but I just don't buy his angry or righteous, which is unfortunate because the Doctor really does need to get angry and righteous from time to time.

Probably worth pointing out that these last few highly enjoyable episodes haven't really featured too much of the normal DT Doctor. Though his contributions in this one were fairly top-notch :

"This is my, eh, 'timey-wimey detector'... It goes dig when there's stuff."

Lol

monkeyfudge

This is really the sort of episode that Torchwood should be doing on a regular basis... they're supposed to have the freedom to do more episodes like this as they don't have to pander to kids.... but I don't think it will ever happen.

popebenny16

although we don't usually do polls here I tend to notice that the better a story is the more posts we get in relation to it. The last two weeks bear this out.

This was, indeed, a real behind the sofa story and i thought the scenes of the statutes closing in on our heroes was truly scary. The best thing was that they didn't reveal the monster - which can sometimes be the biggest let down in the show.

Overall reminded me of an armchair theatre or Sapphire and Steel Episode - cleaver, scary, well acted and atmospheric.

Sadly, RTD is back next week so - until

the very last scene of the very last ep of the season

I foresee a lot of running around and not that really appropriate sexual references for what it supposed to be a 5pm audience at heart. Will Jack and the Doc and Martha all end up in the Barbarella Room in the Tardy-s?

As for the end of all things this year I am somehow reminded of Jean Luc Picard remarking when the Romulans say to him "we are back" "I think things have got a lot more complicated"

Stark

popebenny16 wrote:

Will Jack and the Doc and Martha all end up in the Barbarella Room in the Tardy-s?

"Jack, you broke the orgasmotron, you filthy boy".

Okay, it's going to be an RTD episode so I predict:

Apocalypse or Anticlocalypse. Get it in there somehow.
Daleks!
Jack hitting on everyone.
Same sex kiss!
Jack sacrificing himself Captain Scarlet style again to fix some problem like a blown fuse (judging from the trailer).
Jack falling in love with a Slitheen and RTD commenting in Confidential afterwards: "I loved how in this episode that we saw how even someone hot and sexy like Jack could fall in love with a fat annoying flatulent tv producer, I mean alien".
Rose!
The kitchen sink!
Biggest boldest episode ever!

And so on and so on, completely making up for the subtlety of the last 3 episodes.

monkeyfudge

This was posted up on B3TA

link deleated. It was more than "possibly NSFW"

Possibly NSFW.

aidan_walsh

Moffat needs to be coaxed by any means possible to write more episodes. So far he has been responsible for my two favourites - this and The Girl In The Fireplace. Its such a shame that for such a strong writer, we only get one story out of him a season.

As has been said the teaser for this episode didn't look very promising, so what a surprise it was to see the terrifying, clever treat we got. The Weeping Angels ("the only psychopaths in the universe to kill you nicely") were such a wonderful premise, but what I really, really liked was the revelation that not even our favourite Time Lord, for all the good and bad that he has done and undone, is outside the control of what all the "timey wimey"-ness has in store for him.

Somehow, I think that Moffat has a better grip on what and who he would like the Doctor to be, and how the stories should go, than many of the other writers.

Stark

Ah, I see Moffat was also behind "The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances", possibly the best episodes of the first season.

Yes, definitely get this man on board doing more episodes. He'd do far better in charge than RTD.

monkeyfudge

It's like back when the X-files was big... I'd always look forward to the one episode a year written by Darin Morgan.


And bah popebenny16! There's nothing wrong with a bit of statue spooge...

Stark

Bah, I looked at it in work. It was grand.

Karl Hungus

Absolutely stunning episode! Not much for me to say that hasn't been said already, but definetly one of the best episodes of the series. Genuinely ****ing scary!

Sleepy

One of my favourite episodes of the series so far and funnily enough, The Girl in the Fireplace was the first episode of Doctor Who I ever watched, never watched the original series so didn't know better to be exited when it was brought back!

Rev Hellfire

Damn you Ixoy, damn you to hell.

I'd pretty much managed to write off the current series and most of the last as kiddy rubbish. But since you sang the praises of this episode and mentioned that its the same writer as girl in the fireplace I decided to *ahem* experience a quantum irregularity in the fourth dimension and see the episode for myself. Bloody hell twas most excellent.

The next one looks interesting (I'll know shortly if it was) but this kind of shows what doctor who could/can be, which in a way is why the series annoys me so much.

popebenny16

monkeyfudge wrote:

It's like back when the X-files was big... I'd always look forward to the one episode a year written by Darin Morgan.


And bah popebenny16! There's nothing wrong with a bit of statue spooge...

I really deleted it because it comes nowhere near the standard required for any NSFW with me. Shurely a bit of photoshop of Tom Baker giving Mary Poppens or Cytheria what for isn't beyond ye?

This must be us bitching and moaning about the slightest thing.............

http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055110361&page=3

If he's small we can take him in an alley somewhere....


Oh yes, all this reminds me. My eldest son (7) has produced this charming addition to "The Wheels on the bus" and it alarmed his teacher on the school trip to Tramore (on a bus, funny enough)

"The Dalek on the bus goes exterminate, exterminate, exterminate.
The Dalek on the bus goes exterminate
All day long...."

He should team up with Aidan for a sequel to the Eagle has Landed.....

Stark

popebenny16 wrote:

This must be us bitching and moaning about the slightest thing.............

We don't bitch and moan. Well not unless you hold us accountable for Torchwood discussion