REWIND - Blink by Julian Barber

REWIND is a segment of this blog where either a fellow reviewer or me will review an episode of Doctor Who from before Matt Smith's era. These REWINDs will relate to the episode that is occurring in Matt's time and will discuss either a similar theme or an introduction to a specific monster from the series. For our first inaugural REWIND, Julian Barber will be reviewing the first Weeping Angel adventure, Blink starring David Tennant and Freema Agyeman. 

Blink was the tenth episode of the third series of the revived series of Doctor Who. This episode is best remembered for the introduction of new recurring enemy, the Weeping Angels and for the Doctor and Martha to hardly appear at all in what was this series Doctor-lite episode.

The Doctor and Martha were sent back in time to 1969 by the Weeping Angels and they had to communicate to a woman in the present time named Sally Sparrow to help her send the TARDIS back to them so they could escape the past.

When I first watched this episode, I was divided on it. While I praised the great plot and the acting of the cast, I didn’t think that the episode would be popular because of the limited appearance of the Doctor. The last episode that was Doctor-lite was series two’s Love and Monsters. Love and Monsters was an episode many others and I didn’t enjoy and I believed that Blink would follow suit in being a cheap and boring episode. However after watching it again, I came to praise as one of the best episodes of the revived series.

What I found interesting about Blink is that its plot was really interesting and engaging and it explored more of the Doctor’s effect on ordinary people and their lives. As a viewer, I found myself constantly having to second-guess what was going on to try and solve the mystery. The twist of the Easter Eggs on Sally’s DVDs being the medium through which the Doctor was able to communicate was something that I originally didn’t believe have a lot of importance but came into play beautifully in the climax.

The episode marked the first appearance of the Weeping Angels, which would later become recurring monsters once Steven Moffat took over as head writer and executive producer in 2010. The Weeping angels are quantum-locked so they are statues when you look at them but when you don’t, they can move and advance on you. The Angels feed off people’s energy by sending back in time and feeding on the remaining time energy from the time they would have spent in the present. Spooky.

I found that the Weeping Angels brought something new to Doctor Who. The Weeping Angels were the first villains on the show to scare me which to me made the episode more thrilling and enteraining.

I found the acting of all the cast especially Carey Mulligan (Sally Sparrow) to be outstanding, which is understandable since she has now gone on to be a famous Hollywood Actor. When I first watched this on TV, I thought I was watching

another show. Even though Mulligan only appeared in one episode, I found her performance as Sally Sparrow to be flawless and impeccable. To me, her performance was one of the best acting performances on the entire revived series of Doctor Who.

I loved the twist at the end, when the Doctor’s message regarding the Weeping Angels was directed at audience. It’s designed to spook people out and question the way they look at statues and their everyday world. I sure did. I never looked at the statue in my house for the same way for a while.

Overall I will give this episode 10 out of 10. I found the acting of the cast, the plot of the episode along with its twists and turns to be sensational.

NEXT TIME: THE VAMPIRES OF VENICE

P.S. Feel free to message me if you would like to review an episode or if you have an idea for a REWIND review that you would like to see done.