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{{Infobox NewTV
{{title dab away}}
|story name= Blink
{{real world}}
|image= [[Image:Blink doctorwho.jpg|250px]]
{{ImageLinkTV}}
|series=[[Doctor Who]] -<br/>[[TV stories|TV Stories]]
{{Infobox Story SMW
|number= [[Series 3 (Doctor Who)|Series 3]]
|image = Blink main.jpg
|story number = 10
|series = [[Doctor Who television stories|''Doctor Who'' television stories]]
|doctor= [[Tenth Doctor]] (Cameo)
|season number = Series 3 (Doctor Who 2005)
|companions= [[Martha Jones]] (Cameo)
|series episode number = 10
|other companions= [[Sally Sparrow]], [[Larry Nightingale]]
|story number = 186
|enemy= [[Weeping Angels]]
|main character = [[Sally Sparrow]]
|setting= [[London]] [[1969]], [[2007]], [[2008]]<br>[[Hull]] [[1920]]
|featuring = Larry Nightingale
|writer= [[Steven Moffat]]
|featuring2 = Tenth Doctor  
|director= [[Hettie MacDonald]]
|featuring3 = Martha Jones
|producer= [[Phil Collinson]]
|enemy = [[Weeping Angel]]s
|broadcast date= [[9th June]] [[2007]]
|setting = [[London]], [[2000s]]{{note|While ''Blink'' itself uncontroversially sets its main setting in [[2007]] and "twenty minutes to [[Red Hatching]]" a year later in [[2008]]—as [[Kathy Nightingale]]'s letter describes taking "one breath in 2007 and the next in [[1920]]", and the [[Tenth Doctor]]'s side of his conversation with [[Sally Sparrow]] in [[1969]] happens 38 years before Sally says hers—these are contradicted by heavily conflicting dates in the ''[[Redacted (audio series)|Redacted]]'' audio series later on regarding both Kathy's disappearance and the Red Hatching. In ''[[Angels (audio story)|Angels]]'', [[Abby McPhail]] identifies 2008 as the year of Kathy's disappearance, which suggests [[2009]] as the year of the Red Hatching. In ''[[Salvation (audio story)|Salvation]]'', the [[Thirteenth Doctor]] recognises the Red Hatching as the cause of death of [[Andy Proctor]], who was last seen by his daughter [[Cleo Proctor|Cleo]] "nearly 20 years" before [[2022]] according to ''[[Recruits (audio story)|Recruits]]''.}}
|format= 1x45 minute episode
|writer = Steven Moffat
|production code= 190
|director = [[Hettie MacDonald]]
|previous story= [[The Family of Blood]]
|producer = [[Phil Collinson]]
|next story= [[Utopia (TV story)|Utopia]]
|confidential = Do You Remember the First Time? (CON episode)
|broadcast date = 9 June 2007
|network = BBC One
|format = 1x45 minute episode
|production code = 3.10
|adapted from = What I Did on My Christmas Holidays by Sally Sparrow (short story)
|scripturl = http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/scripts/doctor-who-s3-ep10-blink.pdf
|scripturl2 = https://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/documents/doctor-who-3-episode-10-blink-pink-revisions-17112006.pdf
|script    = Sally Sparrow and the Weeping Angel (script)
|prev = The Family of Blood (TV story)
|next = Utopia (TV story)
|made prev = Evolution of the Daleks (TV story)
|made next = Human Nature (TV story)
|clip = Don't Blink! - Doctor Who - Blink - Series 3 - BBC
|clip2 = The Weeping Angels attack! - Doctor Who - Blink - Series 3 - BBC
}}
}}
{{quote|Don't blink, don't even blink, blink and you're dead! They are fast, faster than you could believe. Don't turn your back, don't look away, and don't blink! Good Luck.|The Doctor}}
'''''Blink''''' was the tenth episode of [[Series 3 (Doctor Who 2005)|series 3]] of ''[[Doctor Who]]''. Based on an [[What I Did on My Christmas Holidays by Sally Sparrow (short story)|earlier short story]] by writer [[Steven Moffat]], ''Blink'' introduced the [[Weeping Angel]]s.


==Synopsis==
It was also the second "[[Doctor-lite]]" story in [[BBC Wales]] ''Doctor Who'', having come about out of a need in the [[production block|production schedule]] for [[double banking]].
In an old, abandoned house, the [[Weeping Angel]]s wait.


However, when people start disappearing, a young woman called [[Sally Sparrow|Sally]] finds cryptic messages bleeding through from 1969 – messages from a mysterious stranger called [[Tenth Doctor|the Doctor]].
Moffat had intended to write a two-parter earlier in the series but was too busy writing and executive producing {{wi|Jekyll (TV series)|Jekyll}}. Believing he had "messed everything up", Moffat offered to "throw [himself] onto the grenade of the unpopular episode", referring to the Doctor-lite concept. In a 2008 interview, he admitted that he had only just started realising that ''Blink'' was in fact "a really great episode". Because of its late submission, ''Blink'' was the quickest piece of writing Moffat had ever done, having gone straight from the second draft with no notes to the script and tone meetings before going into production ten days later. The scriptwriting process took such little time to produce that Moffat claimed that ''Blink'' was such a "tiniest sliver" of his writing career that he couldn't remember making it.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://jasonarnopp.blogspot.co.uk/2008/06/steven-moffat-on-writing.html |title=Steven Moffat On Writing |date of source=29 June 2008 |website name=INT. JASON ARNOPP'S MIND - DAY/NIGHT ([[Jason Arnopp]]'s blog) |accessdate=15 December 2013}}</ref>


But can she decipher them before the Angels claim their prize?
It has since received mass critical praise. In [[DWM 474]], ''Blink'' was rated #2 by fans, among the very best television stories in ''Doctor Who''{{'}}s then-50-year history.


==Plot==
== Synopsis ==
Young photographer Sally Sparrow breaks into an [[Wester Drumlins|old house]] (Wester Drumlins) and begins taking photos of the abandoned furniture. She takes a photograph of the letter B, which has been written on the bare wall. She pulls back the wallpaper to reveal the word BEWARE. She tears off more wallpaper, revealing a message telling her to beware of the Weeping Angels, and telling her to “duck, Sally Sparrow.” It is only when she reveals the words “duck now” that she actually does so, narrowly missing a rock that would have hit her head. She looks out the window, from where the rock was thrown, and sees the statue of an Angel with its hands covering its eyes. She peels the rest of the wallpaper off to reveal the writer of the message – “The Doctor, 1969.”
In an [[Wester Drumlins|abandoned house]], the [[Weeping Angel]]s wait. The only hope to stop them is a young woman named [[Sally Sparrow]] and her friend [[Larry Nightingale]]. The only catch: the Weeping Angels can move in the blink of an eye. To defeat the ruthless enemy — with only a half of a conversation from the [[Tenth Doctor]] as help — the one rule is this: don't turn your back, don't look away and don't blink!


Sally goes to her friend's house, that of a young woman called [[Kathy Nightingale|Katherine Nightingale]]. The TV is on playing a message of a man with glasses. The man tells the viewer not to turn away, not to look away, and not to blink – “Blink and you’re dead.” She also meets Kathy’s (naked) brother [[Larry Nightingale|Larry]].
== Plot ==
Young photographer [[Sally Sparrow]] breaks into an old house ([[Wester Drumlins]]) and takes photos of fallen chandeliers and moss growing in fireplaces. Entering a room upstairs, she sees peeling wallpaper and the letters "BE" exposed underneath. She pulls back the corner and finds the message "BEWARE OF THE WEEPING ANGELS". She tears off more wallpaper, revealing a message telling her to beware of the [[Weeping Angel]]s, and telling her to "duck, Sally Sparrow." It is only when she reveals the words "duck now" that she actually does so, narrowly avoiding a rock that would have hit her head. She looks out the window, from where the rock was thrown and sees the statue of an angel with its hands covering its eyes. She peels the rest of the wallpaper off to reveal the writer of the message — "Love from [[Tenth Doctor|the Doctor]], [[1969]]."


The next morning, Kathy and Sally return to the house. Kathy is rather excited about this "investigating", and suggests the title of "Sparrow and Nightingale" for a detective show. Sally shows Kathy the message on the wall and the Weeping Angel, but notices that it is now closer to the house than before. Someone rings the doorbell; eventually, Sally goes to answer it, and Kathy waits upstairs. Kathy notices another Weeping Angel in the room and stares at it before blinking.
Sally appears to return home, looking into her living room; there are numerous televisions; they show [[Tenth Doctor|a man with glasses]], although, on one screen, a young woman is butting into the scene. The man tells the viewer not to turn away, not to look away, and not to blink — "Blink and you're dead." Sally calls her best friend [[Kathy Nightingale]], despite the late hour; she answers, groggily, but refuses to leave her home.


Sally answers the door to a man, looking for her. He says that he was told to come to this place on this exact date and time and give Sally Sparrow a letter. When Sally asks who sent him, he replies that it was his grandmother, Katherine Nightingale. Immediately recognising the name, Sally presumes she has figured out the joke and calls for her friend, but Kathy does not answer.
It's then revealed that Sally is in ''Kathy's'' home, having been given a key. Annoyed, Kathy gets ready to greet her friend; however, upon hearing the toilet, Kathy asks if Sally has met her brother, warning her that she's about to. Sally turns to the hall to see Kathy's naked brother, [[Larry Nightingale|Larry]], who desperately hoped he was wearing pants. Kathy walks in, shouting at Larry to get to bed; she then notices Sally isn't concerned by this, asking her what's wrong.


Kathy gets up in a field, and asks a local lad where she is. He replies that she is in Hull, but she refuses to believe it until he shows her the local paper, which not only confirms her location but also shows the date to be 1920.
The next morning, Kathy and Sally return to the house; Kathy has a laugh that they are acting like detectives. Sally shows Kathy the message on the wall and the Weeping Angel but thinks it is now closer to the house than before. Someone rings the doorbell; Sally answers it, and Kathy waits in the room where the writing on the wall is - "in case of incidents". Sally answers the door to discover a [[Malcolm Wainwright|man]] who is looking for her. He says that he was told to come to this place on this exact date and time and give Sally Sparrow a letter. As Kathy spies on the conversation from in the room, she fails to notice the Weeping Angel moving whenever it isn't in sight; lowering its hands from its eyes, and creeping into the room and upon Kathy from behind.


Eventually, the man persuades Sally to take the letter, which happens to be from Kathy, who died twenty years ago. She explains that she had led a full and happy life (with the first man she met in Hull) and started a family. She includes photographs of her and her children from the past. She also writes that Larry will be working in a local DVD shop. In anger, Sally flings the letter down and heads upstairs to the room where she left Kathy, only to find three Weeping Angels in the room. One of them has a Yale key in its hand. She takes it and seeks out Larry.
When Sally asks the man who sent him, he replies that it was his grandmother, Katherine Wainwright, who specified that he explains that before marriage, she was known as Kathy Nightingale. At that moment, the door to the room Kathy is in slams shut. Sally calls to Kathy, which the man assumes is her wondering if he said the right name; he restates her full name, Katherine Costello Nightingale. Sally presumes she has figured out the joke and calls for her friend, but Kathy does not answer. When she goes back into the room where she left her, Kathy has completely vanished, and the Angel is back in its original spot and position outside.


When she gets there, she goes into the back of the [[DVD]] shop to find Larry. She also sees the man with glasses who gave her the blinking warning on a TV. Larry explains that the man features as an [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_egg_%28media%29 easter egg] found on 17 DVDs and no-one, not even the manufacturers, knows how it got there. As they are talking, the DVD keeps un-pausing itself, and the man with glasses says random phrases. In the end, Larry gives her a list of the 17 DVDs that have the Easter Egg on them. She leaves the shop, and gets an idea from Larry’s co-worker ("Why does no-one ever go to the police?") about what to do next.
Elsewhere, Kathy gets up in a field and asks a [[Ben Wainwright|local lad]] where she is. He replies that she is in [[Hull]], but she refuses to believe it until he shows her the local [[newspaper]], which not only confirms her location but also shows the year to be [[1920]].


She goes to the police station, and meets up with DI Billy Shipton. After mentioning the house, he shows her a collection of cars with something strange in common: all of them were found outside the Wester Drumlins house (some with their motors still running) and all of their owners vanished without a trace. He then shows her a fake police phone box, with a lock that will not open. Billy coerces Sally to give him her mobile number before she leaves. ("Life is short, and you are hot.")  In giving him her number, Sally makes a Freudian slip about her name ("Sally Shipton... I mean Sparrow.  Sally Sparrow!"), and she rushes out, terribly embarrassed. After she leaves, he sees the Weeping Angels in the room with him, surrounding the phone box.  He blinks.
Back at Wester Drumlins, the man has become upset; he promised to fulfil this task for his grandmother, Kathy Wainwright, who died in [[1987]]. This persuades Sally to take the letter, who reads it; this man is indeed Kathy's grandson, who swore to fulfil her last request. In anger, Sally flings down the letter and heads upstairs, only to find three more Weeping Angels. One of them has a [[TARDIS key|Yale key]] in its hand. She takes it and heads out, only to find Kathy's grandson leaving with his promise fulfilled. As Sally leaves, she fails to notice the Angels uncovering their eyes and watching her as she takes the key and leaves.


Outside, Sally finds the key she took from the Angel’s hand in her coat pocket. She heads back to the garage to try it out, but both Billy and the police box have gone, and the outside door is broken, seeming forced open with violence.
In a [[coffee shop]], Sally reads the letter fully, learning Kathy led a full and happy life, with Ben, the first person she met in Hull with a family. She includes photographs of her and her children (with her daughter named after Sally), and grandchildren. Sally reads Kathy's joke about living to an exceptionally old age and her request to tell Larry, who works at a local DVD shop, something; her parents are gone by this time, so he's really her only close family. Sally goes to Kathy's grave to pay her respects to her dead friend (having a laugh that Kathy lied to Ben, claiming to have been younger than she was), then leaves for the DVD shop. Sally fails to notice one of the Angels from Wester Drumlins spying on her in the graveyard.


Billy gets up to see the Doctor and Martha, who inform him that he is now in 1969, because of the “touch of an Angel.” After they talk, the Doctor asks Billy to give Sally Sparrow a message, and apologises for the long wait…
[[File:Don't blink.jpg|thumb|"Don't blink!"]]
When Sally gets to the DVD shop, she goes into the back to find Larry. She, unconvincingly, explains to him that Kathy has had to go away due to work and that it's nothing to worry about. She also honours her friend's request to tell her brother that she loves him. Larry smiles at that and then wonders if that's an indication that something is wrong with her or whether it is all just a joke but Sally assures him that everything is fine. She sees the man with glasses who was giving the blinking warning on the screens in the Nightingale's flat on a TV which Larry has been studying. He explains that the man is an [[Easter egg]] found on seventeen DVDs and no one, not even the manufacturers or the publishers, knows how it got there. He simply sits there and makes random remarks; it's like listening to half a conversation. Larry and his internet friends have been constantly trying to figure out the other half. As he and Sally are talking, the DVD keeps un-pausing itself, and the man with glasses continues with his random phrases, two of which fit with Sally comments; much to her shock. In the end, Larry gives her a list of the seventeen DVDs that have the Easter egg on them. She leaves the shop, having gotten an idea from a comment said by Larry's co-worker ("Why does nobody ever just go to the [[police]]?") about what to do next.


Back in the present, Sally gets a phone call. She goes to visit Billy Shipton, who is an old, dying man in a hospital bed. His message from the Doctor is to “look at the list”, the list being the DVD list Larry gave her. He mentions that he got into video production in the past, and she realises that he was the one who put the Easter Eggs on the DVDs. He also says that she will understand one day, but that he won’t; the Doctor has told him that this is their last meeting, and that he has only as long as the rain stops before he dies. She decides to stay with him until the end.
Sally goes to the police station, and mentions the house's name. While waiting, she sees two of the Angels on the church across the street. While watching them, she blinks and they have disappeared. She doesn't see that they are now above the window she is looking out of. She then meets DI [[Billy Shipton]]. He shows her a collection of cars with something strange in common: all of them were found outside the Wester Drumlins house (some with their motors still running) and all of their owners vanished without a trace. He shows her a [[The Doctor's TARDIS|fake police phone box]], with a lock that will not open. Billy charms Sally to give him her [[Mobile phone|mobile]] number before she leaves. After she leaves, Billy finds the Weeping Angels have appeared in the room with him, surrounding the phone box. While examining them closely, he blinks.


Later on, after the rain has stopped, Sally calls Larry. She says that she has realised what the DVDs on “the list” all have in common. They are all owned by her; specifically they are the ONLY DVDs she owns, which means that the Easter Egg must have been meant for her. She asks him to bring a portable DVD player to the old house.
Outside, Sally finds the key she took from the Angel's hand in her coat pocket. She heads back to the garage to try it out, but Billy and the police box have gone, and the outside door is broken. Someone has broken through it with great force.


Larry does so, and brings the DVD that has the best sound on the Easter Egg. They play it, and see the full message from the Doctor. He makes the same random comments from the video store, but now they fit into what Larry and Sally are saying. Realising this, Sally thinks he can hear them, but Larry explains that he always says it and that he has got a transcript of the Easter Egg with him. As the Doctor gives his message, everything Sally says seems to fit in, so Larry, now very excited, begins to add her words to the transcript.
[[File:Billy_doctor_1969.jpg|thumb|left|The Doctor welcomes Billy to [[1969]].]]
Billy gets up to see the Doctor and [[Martha Jones|Martha]], who tell him he is in [[1969]], because of the "touch of an Angel"; most likely the same one as he is in the same year that they are. The Doctor advises him not to go swimming for an hour as [[time travel]] without a capsule is disorientating. He remarks that the Weeping Angels are the only psychopaths that "kill you nicely"; they send their victims into the past and feed off the days they might have had. Billy does not understand any of this but Martha advises him to nod when the Doctor stops for breath. The Doctor explains to Billy how he found him by showing off his [[Timey-wimey detector]] - a modified lunch box, which detects when someone comes from a different time - "and can cook an egg from 20 paces, whether you want it to or not." Because of this, he actively avoids chickens, as it's not pretty when they blow up. The Doctor explains that normally, he would have offered Billy a ride home; however, someone's nicked his motor. After they talk, the Doctor asks Billy to give Sally Sparrow a message and apologises that it will take "a while" to get the message through.


The Doctor mentions that he has a copy of the transcript on his autocue, and that is how he knows what she is saying. He also warns about creatures from another world, the Weeping Angels. These creatures are incredibly fast, and they can send people back in time, which is how the Doctor got stuck in 1969. These Angels have a unique defence in that, if they are being looked at, they turn to stone, since “stone can’t be killed.” If any living thing looks at the Angels, they immediately turn to stone until they are no longer looked at. He calls this the 'Quantum Lock'. This, he says, explains the “Weeping”; they cannot look at each other, since it has the same effect. These Angels feed off of the days that their victims never had, and now they are looking for the TARDIS. They wish to feast on the energy of the TARDIS, and since Sally has the key, the Angels are after her now. He then says what Sally has already heard; she must keep her gaze on the Angels; she mustn’t turn away, look away, or even blink – “Blink and you’re dead.”
Back in the present, Sally gets a phone call. She goes to visit an old and dying Billy at the hospital. They have a laugh that Billy managed to marry a Sally, who has already passed away. Billy goes on to explain that he often thought of contacting her before tonight, but says it would have "torn a hole in the fabric of space and time and destroyed two thirds of the universe." She asks where he got that from and he replies there was a man he met in 1969 called the Doctor who asked him to pass on a message to her - "look at the list". She is not sure what this means and he says that it's a list of seventeen DVDs. Billy reveals that he didn't stay a policeman back in the '70s; he instead got into publishing, then videos and eventually DVDs. Sally realises that he was the one who put the Easter eggs on the DVDs. She is curious as to how the Doctor knew she had the list considering she has not had it long. Billy replies that he asked the Doctor but he couldn't tell him; only saying that she would understand one day, but that he won't. She offers to come and tell him once she has figured it out but he solemnly says that the Doctor told him that this would be their last meeting before he dies. She decides to stay with him until the end. He thanks her and says he only has until the [[rain]] stops.


The Doctor is stuck in 1969, so he is relying on Sally to send the TARDIS back to him. When she asks how, he mentions that he has run out of transcript. Indeed, Larry has stopped writing, and they both notice at the same time that neither is looking at the Weeping Angel. They look up, and are shocked to find this Angel has its clawed fingers stretched out towards them, and is baring sharp teeth. Sally tells Larry to stay in the room while she searches for a way out. As she tries all the doors in the house, Larry looks away for a split second, and the Angel moves to right in front of him. Keeping his eyes on it, he leaves the room.
After the rain has stopped, Sally calls Larry. She has realised what the DVDs on "the list" all have in common: they are all owned by her; specifically, they are the only DVDs that she owns, which means that the Easter egg is meant for her though he is more shocked by the fact she only owns seventeen DVDs. She ignores this and asks him meet her at Wester Drumlins and to bring a portable DVD player.


Sally has found the door to the cellar, which is unlocked, so she and Larry head down to see if there is a way out. When they get there, they find the TARDIS, along with the other three Weeping Angels. They head towards the door, keeping their eyes on the Angels. As they get to the TARDIS, Sally realises that the fourth Angel (the one who appeared upstairs with Larry) has appeared by the stairs and is pointing at the light. The light starts to flicker. Since Larry and Sally cannot see in the darkness, the Angels start to move towards Sally and Larry with their claws out and their teeth showing as the humans frantically try and unlock the TARDIS door. At the last minute, they break in.
Larry does so and brings two copies of the DVD. One has a slightly better picture but he opts for the one with the best sound. They play it and see the full message from the Doctor. He makes the same random comments from the video store, but now they fit perfectly into what Larry and Sally are saying. Realising this, Sally thinks he can hear them, but Larry explains that he always says it and that he has got a transcript of the Easter egg with him. As the Doctor gives his message, everything Sally says seems to fit in, so Larry, now very excited, begins to add her words to the transcript.


As they look around a hologram of the Doctor says that the TARDIS has detected an authorised control disc, valid for one journey only; it is the DVD that Larry played to Sally to show her the message. He gets it out to find it glowing, but the Angels are shaking the TARDIS, looking for a way in. He puts it into the console and the TARDIS begins to dematerialise.
The Doctor mentions that he has a copy of the transcript on his autocue. That is how he knows what she is saying. He warns of creatures from another world, the "Lonely Assassins", aka the Weeping Angels. They are incredibly fast, and they can send people back in time, which is how he got stuck in 1969. These aliens have a unique defence mechanism: they are "[[Quantum-locking|quantum locked]]"; they do not exist when they are being watched. If any living thing looks at the Angels, they immediately turn to stone until they are no longer looked at. This explains the "weeping"; they cannot look at each other since it has the same effect. "Their greatest asset is their greatest curse". They are looking to get into the TARDIS, which contains a world of time energy, which the Angels could feast on forever but the damage they could do could switch off the sun. And since Sally has the key, the Angels are after her now.


Sally realises with shock that the TARDIS is disappearing and she and Larry are not going with it. She screams at the Doctor to help them, even as the TARDIS fades, leaving them standing in the middle of the circle of Angels.  
[[File:Angel_bares_fangs.jpg|thumb|An Angel bares its fangs.]]
The Doctor is stuck in 1969, so he is relying on Sally to send the TARDIS back to him. When she asks how, he states that he has run out of transcript, but he can guess why: he surmises that the Weeping Angels are closing in, forcing her to flee and so left the transcript unfinished. Indeed, Larry has stopped writing. He says what Sally has already heard; she must keep her gaze on the Angels; she mustn't turn away, look away, or even blink – the Angels can move with incredible speed when unobserved; "Blink and you're dead." Once the message has ended, Sally screams for the Doctor not to go so Larry offers to rewind it but that would be of no use. They both realise at the same time that neither is looking at the Weeping Angel anymore. They look up. The Angel is now in the room with them, baring sharp teeth in a savage snarl and outstretching clawed fingers towards them.


They realise quickly that the angels are dead. As they were each holding a side of the TARDIS when it demateriliased, the Angels were left looking at each other, and became frozen.
As a terrified Larry keeps his eyes fixed on the Angel to stop it getting any closer, Sally searches for a way out. As she tries all the doors in the house, only to find the Angels have locked them in while they were watching the Doctor's message, Larry is growing increasingly restless and fearful that the other Angels could come up behind him. Larry turns around for a split second, and the Angel moves to right in front of him. Keeping his eyes on it, he slowly backs out of the room. Sally finds an unlocked door to the [[cellar]], and calls out to Larry to give him the news. Larry willingly flees to rejoin with Sally.


A year later, Sally and Larry are running the DVD store together, but Sally cannot let all that has happened go, and she cannot move on until she discovers who gave the Doctor the transcript and everything else she recorded. When Larry goes out to get some milk, she sees the Doctor and Martha getting out of a taxi, and realises in shock that it was her that gave the Doctor all the information; the transcript, the photos she took of the wall, everything. She rushes outside and passes it on, and warns the Doctor that he will get stuck in 1969 and that that is where it all starts. The Doctor asks her name and she tells him. The Doctor is in a hurry and cannot stay, so he and Martha eventually head off, while Sally clasps Larry’s hand and goes back into the shop; Sparrow and Nightingale's antiquarian books and rare DVDs. At the very end the doctor repeats the warning he gave to Sally, though this time it is directed at the viewer and pictures of recognizable statues are shown.
Larry and Sally descend into the cellar to find a way out. They find the TARDIS, along with the other three Weeping Angels. They head towards the door, keeping their eyes on the Angels. As they get to the TARDIS, the fourth Angel has appeared by the stairs and is pointing at the light. The light starts to flicker, and Sally and Larry realise in horror that the Angel is draining the light so that the Angels will be able to attack in the darkness. With each flicker, the Angels move towards Sally and Larry with their claws out and their teeth showing, as they frantically try to unlock the TARDIS door. At the last second, they open it and flee inside and lock the Angels out just in time.


==Cast==
[[File:Weeping angels trapped.jpg|thumb|left|The angels are eternally trapped.]]
*[[Sally Sparrow]] - [[Carey Mulligan]] (Main)
As the two look around at the TARDIS interior in amazement, a hologram of the Doctor activates and says that the TARDIS has detected an authorised control disc, valid for one journey only. It is the other copy of the DVD that Larry brought, which is now glowing. But the Angels outside begin shaking the TARDIS on each side, looking for a way in. Larry puts the DVD into the console and the TARDIS begins to dematerialise. But as the TARDIS begins to fade away around them, Sally realises the TARDIS is leaving, but she and Larry are not going with it. She screams at the Doctor to help them, even as the TARDIS fades, leaving them crouching in the middle of the circle of Angels. Sally yells to keep looking at them, but Larry stands up slowly and realises that the Doctor tricked the Angels - they've been left looking straight at each other, freezing them permanently.
*[[Tenth Doctor|The Doctor]] - [[David Tennant]] (Cameo)
*[[Martha Jones]] - [[Freema Agyeman]] (Cameo)
*[[Kathy Nightingale]] - [[Lucy Gaskell]]
*[[Larry Nightingale]] - [[Finlay Robertson]]
*[[Malcolm Wainwright]] - [[Richard Cant]]
*[[Billy Shipton]] - [[Michael Obiora]]
*Old [[Billy Shipton|Billy]] - [[Louis Mahoney]]
*[[Ben Wainwright]] - [[Thomas Nelstrop]]
*[[Banto]] - [[Ian Boldsworth]]
*Desk Sergeant - [[Ray Sawyer]]


In addition, although they are never shown moving on screen, all of the Weeping Angels were in fact played by live actors.
A year later, Sally and Larry are running the DVD store together but Sally cannot let all that has happened to them go as she still doesn't know how the Doctor got all the information he possessed. Sally is shown to now have everything she recorded, including the transcript, the photos of the wall and the list of DVDs in a folder which she keeps on her at all times. Larry subtly hints that her obsession with this is preventing them from having a relationship but she insists that they merely run a shop together. He then goes out to get some [[milk]]. Sally then glances outside as a taxi pulls up and the Doctor and Martha get out. She rushes over to talk to them, only to find that the Doctor doesn't recognise her as the events of her past are still in his future. Sally suddenly realises that she is the one who gives the Doctor the information he needs to retrieve the TARDIS and save her from the Weeping Angels. Sally then hands over the folder telling him that, at some point, he's going to be stuck in 1969 and he'll need to ensure he has it on him when he is. The Doctor is in a rush, still in the middle of another adventure, but asks Sally's name and tells her its nice to meet her. Larry returns right at that moment with the milk and can only stare at the Doctor and Martha in stunned amazement. The Doctor is in a hurry and cannot stay, so he and Martha eventually head off to take care of "four things and a lizard", while Sally clasps Larry's hand and goes back into the shop, Sparrow and Nightingale's antiquarian books and rare DVDs.


==Crew==
However, the scene shifts to montage across the public statuary, punctuated with the Doctor's recorded warnings, as though to warn us that there might be other Angels lurking among the statues...
''to be added''


==References==
''"Blink and you're dead. Don't turn your back. Don't look away. And DON'T. BLINK. Good luck."''
*Sally's encounter with the [[Weeping Angel]]s and the events leading up to it is a [[temporal paradox|predestination paradox]].
*While trapped in [[1969]], the Doctor builds a [[timey-wimey detector]]. It's unknown how exactly the detector functions, other then 'it goes ding when there's stuff'. The machine can also boil an egg at thirty paces, 'whether you want it to or not'. It is destroyed in [[TDA]] [[Ghosts of India]]
*The Weeping Angels are [[Quantum-locking|quantum locked]], meaning that they cannot move when within anyone's sight.
*Larry compares Wester Drumlins to "[[Scooby Doo]]'s house".
*When Kathy suggests she and Sally partner up as "Sparrow and Nightingale", Sally jokes that its "too ITV", a playful dig at [[BBC]]'s chief rival network, which often produced television series with similarly formatted titles.


==Story Notes==
== Cast ==
*This episode is similar to series 2's [[Love & Monsters]] as it is a Doctor and companion 'light' episode.
* [[Tenth Doctor|The Doctor]] - [[David Tennant]]
*Blink is based on a story that Steven Moffat wrote for the [[Doctor Who Annual 2006]] (see External Links for a link to the story).
* [[Martha Jones]] - [[Freema Agyeman]]
*Banto's DVDs included: Breakfast in the Rain, Dance of Days, Civilization Zero, angel smile, Falling Star, One Oak Country, My Best Friend's Boyfriend, Mean Teens, Shooting the Sun. All of these were fake titles created for the episode, complete with DVD cover and poster designs.
* [[Sally Sparrow]] - [[Carey Mulligan]]
*This is the first episode to be directed by a woman after 22 years, the last was [[The Mark of the Rani]].
* [[Kathy Nightingale]] - [[Lucy Gaskell]]
*When Larry brings Sally the list of DVDs, a vintage White Star Line sticker can be seen affixed to the back of the folder; ''Titanic'', the most famous White Star vessel, would later inspire the setting for ''[[Voyage of the Damned]]''.
* [[Larry Nightingale]] - [[Finlay Robertson]]
* [[Malcolm Wainwright]] - [[Richard Cant]]
* [[Billy Shipton]] - [[Michael Obiora]]
* [[Billy Shipton|Old Billy]] - [[Louis Mahoney]]
* [[Ben Wainwright]] - [[Thomas Nelstrop]]
* [[Banto (Blink)|Banto]] - [[Ian Boldsworth]]
* [[Desk sergeant|Desk Sergeant]] - [[Ray Sawyer]]


===Ratings===
=== Uncredited Cast ===
*6.1 million - Overnight
*0.75 million viewers - [[BBC Three]] Sunday repeat
*6.62 million viewers - Final Rating


===Myths===
* [[Weeping Angel]]s - [[Agnieszka Błońska]], [[Ellen Thomas|Elen Thomas]] <ref>[http://www.e-teatr.pl/pl/artykuly/33426,druk.html E-teatr.pl]</ref><ref>[http://showmastersonline.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=35212 Collectormania Manchester]</ref>
''to be added''
* Waitress - [[Siân Warrilow|Sian Warrilow]]


===Filming Locations===
== Crew ==
*The coffee shop and the DVD shop opposite are in Charles Street, [[Newport]], [[South Wales]].
{{wales crew
 
|1stAD=Gareth Williams (assistant director)
*The "Police Station" with church opposite is in Mount Stuart Square, Butetown/[[Cardiff Bay]], [[South Wales]].
|2ndAD=Anna Evans
 
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*The abandoned house is on Fields Park Road in [[Newport]], [[South Wales]]. It is currently being renovated.
|Runner=
 
|Runner2=
===Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors===
|FloorRunner=Glen Coxon
 
|FloorRunner2=Tom Evans
*How does the Weeping Angel get hold of the TARDIS key? If from the Doctor, why did they not use the key to get into the TARDIS straight away, having zapped him and Martha to 1969? After all, DI Shipton tells Sally Sparrow that the TARDIS was also found outside Wester Drumlins. ''It is possible that by the time the Angels had retrieved the key, the TARDIS had already been taken away. Given the number of vehicles that have been found at the house, this implies that the police might check there reasonably frequently. It is also possible that even though the Weeping Angels found the key, they could not find the TARDIS. One of the first angels Sally sees is holding a key upstairs in the house; we don't know how long it's been since the Doctor was transported; it might have taken the angels this long to find the key.''
|LocationManager=Gareth Skelding
 
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|LocationScout=
 
|UnitManager=Geraint Havard Jones
*How does the Doctor know exactly when Sally should duck? And who threw the rock? ''The Angel in the garden threw it, and the Doctor didn't know when Sally Sparrow should duck, he just did as the notes Sally gave him indicated. Presumably Sally indicated that she ducked right after seeing the "Duck NOW!" part of the message. (It remains odd, however, since throwing rocks is hardly the usual modus operandi of the Angels).''
|ProductionManager=Debbi Slater
 
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*When Sally pulls the last scrap of wallpaper off, the words are still slightly covered up. However, when the camera next points at them, they are completely uncovered. ''Time could have passed between these two shots, even seconds, in which Sally could remove the wallpaper, especially as this episode isn't in real time.''
|AsstProductionCoOrdinator=
 
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*They look away from the angels many times but they don't move. ''It's because WE are watching them. [[Steven Moffat]] is very fond of "interactivity" in his episodes, such as the little girl watching everything on TV in [[Silence in the Library]], a nod to the audience. Notice - when Sally is cornered by three Angels when one of them has the key, she always has her back to them but we can still see them and so they do not move. However she walks past two and blocks our view of them and so they move (just slightly) but don't move at all after that for we can now see them again, even if she can't. She walks past them again and they move again, for the same reason as the first- we can't see them as well.''
|ProductionAssistant=Debi Griffiths
 
|ProductionScriptSecretary=Kevin Myers
*At the start of the episode when the angel knew she was there, why didnt the angel get Sally while she was looking at the message? ''It could first be wondering why she was there as by now the Doctor and Martha would already have been zapped to 1969, so it might have thought that she could give them what they wanted. This further explains the whole thrown rock business, designed to incapacitate Sally so the Angel could investigate her further. Exactly why the angels didn't attack Sally when she was later alone in the house waiting for Larry to arrive with his DVD player is unclear, however.''
|ProductionRunner=
 
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*Sally and Kathy have clearly been close friends for some time - close enough for Sally to have a key to Kathy's flat. Yet Sally's never met Kathy's brother, even though he lives with his sister? ''The episode never really delves deeply into the Nightingales' back story. It's possible that, for reasons unrevealed, Larry has only recently come to live with his sister; or he was just staying over - which doesn't explain why the Doctor's Easter Egg is on many screens in a room in Kathy's flat (perhaps he was borrowing some of her equipment).''
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*When Larry is trying to "hold" the angels while Sally is looking for an exit door and he knows he musn't blink, he in fact blinks. This appears to be a slip-up in the filming.
== Worldbuilding ==
* While trapped in [[1969]], the Doctor builds a [[timey-wimey detector]] that "goes ding when there's stuff".
** It is assembled from items including a [[Blackpool]] postcard.
* The Weeping Angels are [[Quantum-locking|quantum locked]], meaning that they cannot move when within anyone's sight.
* When Kathy calls her and Sally "Sparrow and Nightingale", Sally says it's "a bit [[ITV]]."
* Larry compares Wester Drumlins to "[[Scooby Doo]]'s house".
* Sally's disc triggers [[Security Protocol 712]] in the TARDIS.
* The Doctor and Martha are heading to "[[Red Hatching]]".
* Sally has a [[UK]] [[driver's licence]], which states that she was born in [[England]].
* Larry has a sticker on one of his files advertising "[[Cunard White Star]] to [[Europe]]".
* DVD's on display at [[Banto's DVD store]] include ''[[Dance of Days]]'', ''[[Falling Star]]'', ''[[Mean Teens]]'', ''[[Civilization Zero]]'' and ''[[Banana Shots]]''. Posters are shown for DVDs including ''[[Acid Burn]]'', ''[[Candy Kane]]'' and ''[[City Justice]]''.
* A [[Palm Beach Bar]] inflatable is on display in the back room of Banto's.
* Sally and Larry own a shop called [[Sparrow & Nightingale]].
* On the same street as Sparrow & Nightingale are [[Shapes Hair]], [[Josef's Hair Stylist]] and a [[Newsagent's shop]] which [[advertisement|advertises]] [[Wall's]] and the [[National Lottery]].


*How did The Doctor know Larry would be to Sally's left? ''Because of the transcripts that Larry wrote out where sent back in time so the Doctor would read them. Also, this is a piece of information Sally would have certainly provided in any event as it was a key moment in the conversation.''
== Story notes ==
* This episode, like series 2's ''[[Love & Monsters (TV story)|Love & Monsters]]'', is a [[Doctor-lite|Doctor and companion "light" episode]]. The Doctor and Martha were purposely not featured in this story so [[David Tennant]] and [[Freema Agyeman]] could concentrate on the final three episodes of season three.
* This episode won a [[Hugo Award]] in 2008.
* The plot of this episode was based upon a short story [[Steven Moffat]] wrote for the [[Doctor Who Annual 2006]] called ''[[What I Did on My Christmas Holidays by Sally Sparrow (short story)|What I Did on My Christmas Holidays by Sally Sparrow]]''. The story involves Sally Sparrow (who is a child in the story as opposed to a young woman in the episode) writing her school assignment about being contacted by the [[Ninth Doctor]] through photographs and a videotape (like the episode, there is a sequence in which Sally has a conversation with the Doctor through a television) in which he gives her instructions to allow her to return the TARDIS to him (the [[Weeping Angel]]s aren't present in the story; the Doctor being separated from the TARDIS was due to a "hic-cough"), knowing what to do thanks to an adult Sally (who is a beautiful spy who saves the Doctor's life) giving him the story which details the experience.
* The story is ultimately an [[Temporal paradox|ontological paradox]]: the Doctor has all the information, the transcript of the conversation, the contents of the message behind the wallpaper, etc, because Sally gives him that information at the end of the story — but Sally gets that information from seeing the wall the Doctor wrote, watching the DVD the Doctor made and so on. The information never really "starts" anywhere — the Doctor knows what to say in the conversation because he's reading Larry's transcript, which Larry made thirty-eight years later by watching the conversation. The information is in an endless loop.
* Despite only appearing in cameos, [[David Tennant]] and [[Freema Agyeman]] are still credited as the main stars rather than [[Carey Mulligan]] in the episode's main role of Sally Sparrow.
* Banto's DVDs were fake titles created for the episode, complete with DVD covers and poster designs.
* This is the first episode to be directed by a woman after a twenty-two-year interval. The previous one was ''[[The Mark of the Rani (TV story)|The Mark of the Rani]]''.
* When Larry brings Sally the list of DVDs, a vintage White Star Line sticker can be seen stuck to the back of the folder; ''Titanic'', the most famous White Star vessel, would later inspire the setting for ''[[Voyage of the Damned (TV story)|Voyage of the Damned]]''.
* Larry’s comment of having the Doctor’s line; “The angels have the phone box.” written on a T-shirt was written in to see if fans of the show really would make T-shirts with the line written on it.
* For reasons unknown, while the original BBC One broadcast and subsequent Region 2 DVD release of the episode includes a "One year later" on-screen graphic prior to the epilogue scene, broadcasts of the episode in North America, as well as Region 1 DVD release, omit this.
* In 2009, ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]'' conducted a reader poll to rank the first 200 ''Doctor Who'' stories in order of preference. ''Blink'' ranked 2nd, surpassed only by the 1984 story ''[[The Caves of Androzani (TV story)|The Caves of Androzani]]''. A similar poll was run in 2014, with ''Blink'' again coming second overall, this time beaten by ''[[The Day of the Doctor (TV story)|The Day of the Doctor]]''. In 2023, it was revealed to have been ranked as readers' favourite [[Tenth Doctor]] story in all three of their major polls held since its airing. ([[DWM 592]]) It also has the highest rating of any ''Doctor Who'' episode on the Internet Movie Database at 9.8.
* Billy can be seen in the police station with a patch on his jacket depicting a sparrow, a possible joke on the main character's last name.
* A sequel to this story, ''[[A Ghost Story for Christmas (webcast)|A Ghost Story for Christmas]]'', was released as a webisode on Day 24 of the 2009 Adventure Calendar on the official ''Doctor Who'' website. It was narrated by [[John Barrowman]] as [[Jack Harkness]] in the style of a ghost story and depicted the abduction of [[Julia Hardwick|another woman]] by the Weeping Angels.
* The concept of the Doctor's first encounter with someone also being that person's final encounter with him would later be significantly expanded upon with the character of [[River Song]].
* The story was originally titled ''Sally Sparrow and the Weeping Angels'', but [[Russell T Davies]] didn't like the title. [[Steven Moffat]] suggested Blink as an alternative, which Davies loved, but wanted the word "Blink" in the script "like a cheesy [[1950s|50s]] trailer".<ref>[https://www.tvcream.co.uk/podcasts/tv-cream-stays-indoors/tv-cream-stays-indoors-with-steven-moffat/ TV Cream Stays Indoors With Steven Moffat]</ref>
* Rather than being inanimate props, the Angels were portrayed by real actresses covered in make up and prosthetics. But standing completely still is a great challenge even for the most accomplished of actors. It was revealed on the DVD commentary that a special digital effect was used to freeze them in place so that if they did involuntarily move, it wouldn't be noticed.
* [[Steven Moffat]] originally had a different, and much darker, ending in mind for this episode. It would have seen Sally give the Doctor the folder and then step back inside the store to find an Angel inside. Larry then steps in and notices that Sally is not there. He then looks more closely at the painting on the wall and realises the person smiling and waving in it is Sally, having been sent into the past by the Angel. After reflecting on the episode for its 10th Anniversary, Moffat stated that "It makes me wonder why an Angel never sent her back in time. All these years later, I wonder why I didn't end it like that."
* Billy Shipton comments that the police box isn't a real one as, "the phone's just a dummy, and the windows are the wrong size". This is a reference to the fact that the TARDIS props over the years have been scaled down versions of the real thing.
* One humorous [[deleted scene]] would have formed part of the pre-credits teaser. After Sally discovered the message behind the wallpaper, [[Steven Moffat]] had requested the sound of cliched horror movie music. This would turn out to be Sally's mobile phone ringtone, and it was actually Kathy calling her friend from a pub.
* [[Steven Moffat]] initially wrote placeholder dialogue in the script for the scene where the Doctor tells Sally that he can hear her in the DVD shop, because he knew the lines that appeared would have to play "double duty later on" and be authentic and fresh both times.
* [[Steven Moffat]] claims that the Weeping Angels were inspired by the children's game 'Statues', which he found "frightening".
* [[Steven Moffat]] revealed that [[Carey Mulligan]] was offered the chance to stay on as a companion, but she declined.
* The scene wherein the Doctor talks to Sally via a DVD extra was created by writing a conversation, removing Sally's lines, then having [[David Tennant]] record his lines. [[Steven Moffat]] felt that this one-way filming made the performance more convincing.
* To create the rigid structure of the angels' dresses, prosthetics supervisors [[Rob Mayor]] soaked fabric in fibreglass resin, which was then painted over.
* To create the effect of the Angels rocking the TARDIS, [[Carey Mulligan]] and [[Finlay Robertson]] threw themselves around the ship's set. The camera's operator then shook the camera in the opposite direction that Mulligan and Robertson threw themselves.
* At one point, Sally would have been seen to be pregnant at the episode's conclusion, but [[Steven Moffat]] decided that it was more effective to delay Sally and Larry's romance until after her meeting with the Doctor.
* [[Steven Moffat]] had held the idea of the Weeping Angels since seeing an angel statue in a graveyard whilst on a family holiday to Ickworth, [[Suffolk]] where the hotel had been close to a condemned churchyard and cemetery.
* Originally, the producers considered having [[Michael Obiora]] play both the young and old version of Billy Shipton. However, it was decided that Obiora in makeup would look too fake, and so [[Louis Mahoney]] was cast to play the older version.
* In a [[2017]] interview for the episode's tenth anniversary, [[Finlay Robertson]] mentions that he had to change his accent to match [[Lucy Gaskell]]'s, as their characters Larry and Kathy are siblings.
* [[Michael Obiora]] and [[Louis Mahoney]] played father and son in the series ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_of_Souls Sea of Souls]''.
* The first draft of the script is very close to the finished episode with the exception of the ending. Instead of taking off by itself, the TARDIS brings Sally and Larry to 1969 where they meet the Doctor and Martha. After returning them to the present, the Doctor reveals that he learned everything from a book called ''Sally Sparrow and the Weeping Angels''. He asks Sally to sign it and she sees that the author's name is Sally Nightingale. Also, Kathy was originally named Jenny.
* A scene cut from the epilogue had Larry revealing that he regularly checks to ensure that the Weeping Angels are still petrified.
* [[David Tennant]] suffered from voice problems during this story.
* Exploding eggs are mentioned twice - once by the Doctor about his device that has a side effect of boiling eggs and exploding hens, and also by Larry who says that having a complete transcript of the Doctor's DVD extra would "explode the egg forums".
* [[Finlay Robertson]] named Larry Nightingale as his favourite televison role on [[Twitter]] in [[2023]].
* For a time, [[Steven Moffat]] struggled to devise a way for the Weeping Angels to be defeated. The ultimate resolution was suggested by [[Mark Gatiss]], taking advantage of Moffat's intention to include several Weeping Angels in the narrative.
* The episode was originally intended to form the season's sixth production block. When it was decided to move up the recording dates, it became Block Five.
* [[Phil Collinson]] chose [[Hettie MacDonald]] to direct based on her film ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beautiful_Thing_(film) Beautiful Thing].''
* The first shot recorded for the episode was the Doctor's hologram, performed on the standing TARDIS set at Upper Boat Studios.
* Fields House in Newport required little alterations by the production team to serve as Wester Drumlins, although the building's derelict state made the experience uncomfortable at times. [[Steven Moffat]] later called the location "the creepiest house" he had ever seen.
* In adapting his short story, [[Steven Moffat]] aged Sally Sparrow up because he figured that children were more interested in watching people older than them. He changed the setting from 1985 to 1969 to make the reveal of the older Billy Shipton more shocking.
* [[Carey Mulligan]] was reportedly ecstatic to have been cast in the series. She was initially concerned with the fact that [[David Tennant]] would have little screen time, but after the episode aired was very pleased with the final result.
* Wester Drumlins was named after a previous residence that [[Steven Moffat]] lived in during the late 1990s.
* [[Steven Moffat]] originally wanted to write an episode set in [[The Library]], but his commitment to ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jekyll_(TV_series) Jekyll]'' and the realisation that the story would require two episodes led to him shelving the idea.


*Related to the above, the Doctor appears to be familiar with the early parts of Sally and Larry's discussion about the recording, even though Larry doesn't immediately start taking notes. ''Perhaps Larry and Sally later filled in the gaps; note that the end of the episode implies that Sally becomes rather obsessed with collecting information about the event. There's no indication that the Doctor has a literal word-for-word transcript (for example he doesn't respond when Sally jokes with Larry about shorthand).''
=== Ratings ===
* 6.1 million - Overnight
* 0.75 million viewers - [[BBC Three]] Sunday repeat
* 6.62 million viewers - Final Rating<ref>[http://guide.doctorwhonews.net/info.php?detail=ratings&start=100&type=date&order= Doctor Who - consolidated ratings]</ref>


*The scene showing Sally working on the record of the events can also be used to rationalize two other potential discontinuities, such as how the Doctor was able to work out the timing of his responses (presumably Sally went through the recording later and provided them), and possibly even how the Doctor knew more or less where to find Shipton at the exact time of his arrival (presumably she learned the information from Billy off-screen before his death).
=== Filming locations ===
* The coffee shop and the DVD shop opposite are in Charles Street, [[Newport]], [[South Wales]].
* The "Police Station" with church opposite is in Mount Stuart Square, Butetown/[[Cardiff Bay]], [[South Wales]].
* The abandoned house is the Fields House (or Fields Manor) on Fields Park Road in [[Newport]], [[South Wales]]. It has since been renovated.


*The episode does not indicate what becomes of the statues. Despite Larry's statement "they'll never move again", a power failure -- or the statues being separated -- would result in them reviving. It would be dangerous to leave them behind. ''If Sally included this information in the file she gave the Doctor, it's reasonable to assume that he would have made arrangements for their safe disposal afterwards (perhaps by [[UNIT]], or he could have done so himself - for all we know they might be sitting in the [[Cloister Room]]).''
=== Production errors ===
{{Discontinuity}}
* Just as Sally ducks, the rock comes into view a split second ''before'' the glass is heard smashing.
* When Sally first reads Kathy's letter, after the line "for me, it has been over sixty years", the voice over narration says "the third of the photographs is of my children". But on the actual letter, the next line starts with "I have thought long and hard..."
* In the scene where Sally finds and takes the TARDIS key, the free hand of the Angel holding the key changes position and back slightly between shots.
* In the scene where Larry is trying to hold off an Angel, the left hand of the Angel changes position multiple times between shots.
* Larry quickly checks behind him and then looks back to see the Angel's face is just inches from his. But in the next shot, it is slightly further away.
* In scenes outside Sally and Larry's shop, bystanders can be seen watching the filming from the windows above the Newsagent's shop.


*The recording of The Doctor talking to Sally was scripted word for word, but when Martha interrupts him to tell Sally that she's also stuck The Doctor looked quite surprised at the interruption. ''The interruption was part of the transcript, so Martha's interruption and the Doctor's surprised look were both part of the act.''
== Continuity ==
* A holographic Doctor appears. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Parting of the Ways (TV story)|The Parting of the Ways]]'', ''[[Doomsday (TV story)|Doomsday]]'')
* Martha once again obtains period employment in the course of her adventures with the Doctor, having previously been hired as a maid. ( [[TV]]: ''[[Human Nature (TV story)|Human Nature]]'')
* The Doctor's timey-wimey detector is later destroyed. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Ghosts of India (novel)|Ghosts of India]]'') The [[Eleventh Doctor]] later uses one to track [[Mark Whitaker]] when he is time-displaced by a Weeping Angel. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Touched by an Angel (novel)|Touched by an Angel]]'')
* In the pack Sally gives to the Doctor, photos she took of the Angels covering their faces are present. It is later revealed that whatever holds the image of an Angel is an Angel. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Time of Angels (TV story)|The Time of Angels]]'')
* The Doctor's [[Ninth Doctor|previous incarnation]] once encountered a remarkably similar situation, even encountering another girl named [[Sally Sparrow (What I Did on My Christmas Holidays by Sally Sparrow)|Sally Sparrow]] who helped him get back to his TARDIS. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[What I Did on My Christmas Holidays by Sally Sparrow (short story)|What I Did on My Christmas Holidays by Sally Sparrow]]'')
* The Doctor previously encountered the Weeping Angels in his [[Fifth Doctor|fifth]] ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Fallen Angels (audio story)|Fallen Angels]]'') and [[Eighth Doctor|eighth]] ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Side of the Angels (audio story)|The Side of the Angels]]'') incarnations.
* The Doctor says he's rubbish at weddings, especially his own. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Hexagora (audio story)|Hexagora]]'')


*Why didn't Sally and Larry simply keep one eye open thus allowing them to keep an eye on the Angels whilst at the same time giving them the opportunity to rest the closed eye and switch eyes when needed? ''One explanation could be that they did not want to run the risk of having both closed at the same time. Blinking is involuntary, winking isn't; therefore, upon switching eyes, it would take massive concentration to keep both eyes from closing. Also - they are clearly scared, and don't have the time to watch the episode hundreds of time and think of this.''
== Home video releases ==
<gallery position="center" captionalign="center" hideaddbutton="true">
File:The Complete David Tennant Years Region 1 US DVD cover.jpg|The Complete David Tennant Years DVD<br />Region 1 US cover
File:Series-3-boxset.jpg|The Complete [[Series 3 (Doctor Who 2005)|Series Three]] DVD box-set
File:Bbcdvd-s3-v3.jpg|thumb|right|Series 3 Volume 3 cover
File:Bbcdvd-series1234.jpg|thumb|''Doctor Who: The Complete Series One to Four'' DVD box-set
File:Bbcdvd-series1234567.jpg|thumb|''Doctor Who: The Complete Series One to Seven'' DVD box-set
</gallery>


*With DI Billy Shipton zapped back to 1969 and dying in 2007, wouldn't it have been possible for his older and younger versions to run into each other between 1969 and 2007?
=== DVD releases ===
While it is possible, maybe the doctor informed the older version not to go to places he had been. If they would have run into each other, it would've created a hole in the space-time continuum.
* This has been released along with ''[[Human Nature (TV story)|Human Nature]]'' and ''[[The Family of Blood (TV story)|The Family of Blood]]'' on the Series 3 Volume 3 DVD.
* It is also part of the series 3 box set. In the disc which has the episode in it (disc 4) there is an Easter egg on page 2 of scene selection of "Blink". It has the Doctor's Easter egg from the episode, unedited. To access it, you have to highlight "Blink" on the page and select it. Unlike other bonus scenes and deleted footage, the Easter egg remains "filmised" rather than being rendered on video, in keeping with it supposedly having been filmed in 1969.
* It was released as [[DWDVDF 19|issue 19]] of ''[[Doctor Who DVD Files]], ''alongside ''[[The Family of Blood (TV story)|The Family of Blood]]''.


==Continuity==
=== Blu-ray releases ===
*A similar holographic Doctor appeared to Rose in [[The Parting of the Ways]].
* This story was released in the Series 1 Blu-Ray set in November 2013 along with the rest of the series. Despite not being filmed in HD, the Blu-Ray features an upscaled picture and fewer compression artefacts.
*A few chronology-related questions remain unanswered, such as exactly when the Doctor and Martha were sent back to 1969 (it was at least several years before Sally gives the Doctor her package). Also left unrevealed is exactly how long the Doctor and Martha spent in 1969. Also, it was originally intended to establish that a year passes between the defeat of the Angels and Sally's encounter with the Doctor (which would account for the change of ownership of the DVD store and some character beats), but this reference was removed before broadcast.
* This release was initially bundled with the first seven series of the revived ''Doctor Who''.
*Martha once again obtains period employment in the course of her adventures with the Doctor, having previously gotten hired as a maid in ''[[Human Nature (TV story)|Human Nature]]''. This time, she takes a job in a shop in 1969.
*When Sally finally gets to have her "conversation" with the Easter Egg recording, it is presented in real time. An examination of the original sequence, included as a bonus on the DVD release, reveals that the recording is presented complete, with nothing edited out. (Compare with, for example, the complete version of the Doctor's instructions to Martha in ''Human Nature'', also included on the DVD release.)
*Although there is no direct reference to this, the fact Billy talks about having gotten into video and DVD publishing strongly implies that he was the one who filmed the easter egg message. (This is supported by the fact that the camera is clearly being operated by ''someone'' as it pans when Martha appears, which it would not have done had it been a camera on a tripod set to film by itself.)


==DVD and Other Releases==
=== Digital releases ===
*This has been released along with [[Human Nature (TV story)|Human Nature ]] and [[The Family of Blood]]
* This story is available for streaming via Netflix, Hulu Plus and Amazon Prime. It can also be purchased on iTunes.
*It is also part of the series 3 box set. In the disc which has the episode in it (disc 4) there is an easter egg on page 2 of scene selection of "Blink". It has the Doctor's easter egg from the episode, unedited. To access it, you have to highlight "Blink" in the page and select it. Unlike other bonus scenes and deleted footage, the easter egg remains "filmized" rather than being rendered on video, in keeping with it supposedly having been filmed in 1969.
* In 2015, it was released by BBC Worldwide on BitTorrent and iTunes, in ''A Decade of the Doctor ''bundle to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the new series. It included introductions by Peter Capaldi, ''Earth Conquest: The World Tour'' and an episode guide.


==See Also==
== External links ==
''to be added''
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/episodes/2007/310.shtml Official BBC Website - Episode Guide: '''Blink''']
* {{whoniverse|s03_10|Blink}}


==External Links==
== Footnotes ==
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/episodes/2007/310.shtml Official BBC Website - Episode Guide: '''Blink''']
=== Notes ===
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/episodes/2007/blink_annual.shtml Official BBC Website - '''What I Did on My Christmas Holidays by Sally Sparrow''' by Steven Moffat]
{{notelist}}
=== Citations ===
{{reflist}}


{{Series 3}}
{{DWTV}}
{{Weeping Angel sources}}
{{TitleSort}}
[[it:Blink (TV)]]
[[ro:Blink]]


[[Category:Tenth Doctor episodes]]
[[Category:Doctor Who (2005) television stories]]
[[Category:Stories set in London]]
[[Category:Stories set in London]]
[[Category:Stories set in 1920]]
[[Category:Stories set in 1920]]
[[Category:Stories set in 1969]]
[[Category:Stories set in 1969]]
[[Category:Stories set in 2007]]
[[Category:Stories set in the 2000s]]
[[Category:Stories set in 2008]]
[[Category:2007 television stories]]
[[Category:2007 television stories]]
[[Category:Weeping Angel television stories]]
[[Category:Series 3 (Doctor Who) stories]]
[[Category:Companion-lite episodes]]
[[Category:Adaptations of short stories]]
[[Category:Doctor-lite stories]]
[[Category:Stories set in Yorkshire]]

Latest revision as of 18:22, 3 November 2024

RealWorld.png

Blink was the tenth episode of series 3 of Doctor Who. Based on an earlier short story by writer Steven Moffat, Blink introduced the Weeping Angels.

It was also the second "Doctor-lite" story in BBC Wales Doctor Who, having come about out of a need in the production schedule for double banking.

Moffat had intended to write a two-parter earlier in the series but was too busy writing and executive producing Jekyll. Believing he had "messed everything up", Moffat offered to "throw [himself] onto the grenade of the unpopular episode", referring to the Doctor-lite concept. In a 2008 interview, he admitted that he had only just started realising that Blink was in fact "a really great episode". Because of its late submission, Blink was the quickest piece of writing Moffat had ever done, having gone straight from the second draft with no notes to the script and tone meetings before going into production ten days later. The scriptwriting process took such little time to produce that Moffat claimed that Blink was such a "tiniest sliver" of his writing career that he couldn't remember making it.[1]

It has since received mass critical praise. In DWM 474, Blink was rated #2 by fans, among the very best television stories in Doctor Who's then-50-year history.

Synopsis[[edit] | [edit source]]

In an abandoned house, the Weeping Angels wait. The only hope to stop them is a young woman named Sally Sparrow and her friend Larry Nightingale. The only catch: the Weeping Angels can move in the blink of an eye. To defeat the ruthless enemy — with only a half of a conversation from the Tenth Doctor as help — the one rule is this: don't turn your back, don't look away and don't blink!

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

Young photographer Sally Sparrow breaks into an old house (Wester Drumlins) and takes photos of fallen chandeliers and moss growing in fireplaces. Entering a room upstairs, she sees peeling wallpaper and the letters "BE" exposed underneath. She pulls back the corner and finds the message "BEWARE OF THE WEEPING ANGELS". She tears off more wallpaper, revealing a message telling her to beware of the Weeping Angels, and telling her to "duck, Sally Sparrow." It is only when she reveals the words "duck now" that she actually does so, narrowly avoiding a rock that would have hit her head. She looks out the window, from where the rock was thrown and sees the statue of an angel with its hands covering its eyes. She peels the rest of the wallpaper off to reveal the writer of the message — "Love from the Doctor, 1969."

Sally appears to return home, looking into her living room; there are numerous televisions; they show a man with glasses, although, on one screen, a young woman is butting into the scene. The man tells the viewer not to turn away, not to look away, and not to blink — "Blink and you're dead." Sally calls her best friend Kathy Nightingale, despite the late hour; she answers, groggily, but refuses to leave her home.

It's then revealed that Sally is in Kathy's home, having been given a key. Annoyed, Kathy gets ready to greet her friend; however, upon hearing the toilet, Kathy asks if Sally has met her brother, warning her that she's about to. Sally turns to the hall to see Kathy's naked brother, Larry, who desperately hoped he was wearing pants. Kathy walks in, shouting at Larry to get to bed; she then notices Sally isn't concerned by this, asking her what's wrong.

The next morning, Kathy and Sally return to the house; Kathy has a laugh that they are acting like detectives. Sally shows Kathy the message on the wall and the Weeping Angel but thinks it is now closer to the house than before. Someone rings the doorbell; Sally answers it, and Kathy waits in the room where the writing on the wall is - "in case of incidents". Sally answers the door to discover a man who is looking for her. He says that he was told to come to this place on this exact date and time and give Sally Sparrow a letter. As Kathy spies on the conversation from in the room, she fails to notice the Weeping Angel moving whenever it isn't in sight; lowering its hands from its eyes, and creeping into the room and upon Kathy from behind.

When Sally asks the man who sent him, he replies that it was his grandmother, Katherine Wainwright, who specified that he explains that before marriage, she was known as Kathy Nightingale. At that moment, the door to the room Kathy is in slams shut. Sally calls to Kathy, which the man assumes is her wondering if he said the right name; he restates her full name, Katherine Costello Nightingale. Sally presumes she has figured out the joke and calls for her friend, but Kathy does not answer. When she goes back into the room where she left her, Kathy has completely vanished, and the Angel is back in its original spot and position outside.

Elsewhere, Kathy gets up in a field and asks a local lad where she is. He replies that she is in Hull, but she refuses to believe it until he shows her the local newspaper, which not only confirms her location but also shows the year to be 1920.

Back at Wester Drumlins, the man has become upset; he promised to fulfil this task for his grandmother, Kathy Wainwright, who died in 1987. This persuades Sally to take the letter, who reads it; this man is indeed Kathy's grandson, who swore to fulfil her last request. In anger, Sally flings down the letter and heads upstairs, only to find three more Weeping Angels. One of them has a Yale key in its hand. She takes it and heads out, only to find Kathy's grandson leaving with his promise fulfilled. As Sally leaves, she fails to notice the Angels uncovering their eyes and watching her as she takes the key and leaves.

In a coffee shop, Sally reads the letter fully, learning Kathy led a full and happy life, with Ben, the first person she met in Hull with a family. She includes photographs of her and her children (with her daughter named after Sally), and grandchildren. Sally reads Kathy's joke about living to an exceptionally old age and her request to tell Larry, who works at a local DVD shop, something; her parents are gone by this time, so he's really her only close family. Sally goes to Kathy's grave to pay her respects to her dead friend (having a laugh that Kathy lied to Ben, claiming to have been younger than she was), then leaves for the DVD shop. Sally fails to notice one of the Angels from Wester Drumlins spying on her in the graveyard.

"Don't blink!"

When Sally gets to the DVD shop, she goes into the back to find Larry. She, unconvincingly, explains to him that Kathy has had to go away due to work and that it's nothing to worry about. She also honours her friend's request to tell her brother that she loves him. Larry smiles at that and then wonders if that's an indication that something is wrong with her or whether it is all just a joke but Sally assures him that everything is fine. She sees the man with glasses who was giving the blinking warning on the screens in the Nightingale's flat on a TV which Larry has been studying. He explains that the man is an Easter egg found on seventeen DVDs and no one, not even the manufacturers or the publishers, knows how it got there. He simply sits there and makes random remarks; it's like listening to half a conversation. Larry and his internet friends have been constantly trying to figure out the other half. As he and Sally are talking, the DVD keeps un-pausing itself, and the man with glasses continues with his random phrases, two of which fit with Sally comments; much to her shock. In the end, Larry gives her a list of the seventeen DVDs that have the Easter egg on them. She leaves the shop, having gotten an idea from a comment said by Larry's co-worker ("Why does nobody ever just go to the police?") about what to do next.

Sally goes to the police station, and mentions the house's name. While waiting, she sees two of the Angels on the church across the street. While watching them, she blinks and they have disappeared. She doesn't see that they are now above the window she is looking out of. She then meets DI Billy Shipton. He shows her a collection of cars with something strange in common: all of them were found outside the Wester Drumlins house (some with their motors still running) and all of their owners vanished without a trace. He shows her a fake police phone box, with a lock that will not open. Billy charms Sally to give him her mobile number before she leaves. After she leaves, Billy finds the Weeping Angels have appeared in the room with him, surrounding the phone box. While examining them closely, he blinks.

Outside, Sally finds the key she took from the Angel's hand in her coat pocket. She heads back to the garage to try it out, but Billy and the police box have gone, and the outside door is broken. Someone has broken through it with great force.

The Doctor welcomes Billy to 1969.

Billy gets up to see the Doctor and Martha, who tell him he is in 1969, because of the "touch of an Angel"; most likely the same one as he is in the same year that they are. The Doctor advises him not to go swimming for an hour as time travel without a capsule is disorientating. He remarks that the Weeping Angels are the only psychopaths that "kill you nicely"; they send their victims into the past and feed off the days they might have had. Billy does not understand any of this but Martha advises him to nod when the Doctor stops for breath. The Doctor explains to Billy how he found him by showing off his Timey-wimey detector - a modified lunch box, which detects when someone comes from a different time - "and can cook an egg from 20 paces, whether you want it to or not." Because of this, he actively avoids chickens, as it's not pretty when they blow up. The Doctor explains that normally, he would have offered Billy a ride home; however, someone's nicked his motor. After they talk, the Doctor asks Billy to give Sally Sparrow a message and apologises that it will take "a while" to get the message through.

Back in the present, Sally gets a phone call. She goes to visit an old and dying Billy at the hospital. They have a laugh that Billy managed to marry a Sally, who has already passed away. Billy goes on to explain that he often thought of contacting her before tonight, but says it would have "torn a hole in the fabric of space and time and destroyed two thirds of the universe." She asks where he got that from and he replies there was a man he met in 1969 called the Doctor who asked him to pass on a message to her - "look at the list". She is not sure what this means and he says that it's a list of seventeen DVDs. Billy reveals that he didn't stay a policeman back in the '70s; he instead got into publishing, then videos and eventually DVDs. Sally realises that he was the one who put the Easter eggs on the DVDs. She is curious as to how the Doctor knew she had the list considering she has not had it long. Billy replies that he asked the Doctor but he couldn't tell him; only saying that she would understand one day, but that he won't. She offers to come and tell him once she has figured it out but he solemnly says that the Doctor told him that this would be their last meeting before he dies. She decides to stay with him until the end. He thanks her and says he only has until the rain stops.

After the rain has stopped, Sally calls Larry. She has realised what the DVDs on "the list" all have in common: they are all owned by her; specifically, they are the only DVDs that she owns, which means that the Easter egg is meant for her though he is more shocked by the fact she only owns seventeen DVDs. She ignores this and asks him meet her at Wester Drumlins and to bring a portable DVD player.

Larry does so and brings two copies of the DVD. One has a slightly better picture but he opts for the one with the best sound. They play it and see the full message from the Doctor. He makes the same random comments from the video store, but now they fit perfectly into what Larry and Sally are saying. Realising this, Sally thinks he can hear them, but Larry explains that he always says it and that he has got a transcript of the Easter egg with him. As the Doctor gives his message, everything Sally says seems to fit in, so Larry, now very excited, begins to add her words to the transcript.

The Doctor mentions that he has a copy of the transcript on his autocue. That is how he knows what she is saying. He warns of creatures from another world, the "Lonely Assassins", aka the Weeping Angels. They are incredibly fast, and they can send people back in time, which is how he got stuck in 1969. These aliens have a unique defence mechanism: they are "quantum locked"; they do not exist when they are being watched. If any living thing looks at the Angels, they immediately turn to stone until they are no longer looked at. This explains the "weeping"; they cannot look at each other since it has the same effect. "Their greatest asset is their greatest curse". They are looking to get into the TARDIS, which contains a world of time energy, which the Angels could feast on forever but the damage they could do could switch off the sun. And since Sally has the key, the Angels are after her now.

An Angel bares its fangs.

The Doctor is stuck in 1969, so he is relying on Sally to send the TARDIS back to him. When she asks how, he states that he has run out of transcript, but he can guess why: he surmises that the Weeping Angels are closing in, forcing her to flee and so left the transcript unfinished. Indeed, Larry has stopped writing. He says what Sally has already heard; she must keep her gaze on the Angels; she mustn't turn away, look away, or even blink – the Angels can move with incredible speed when unobserved; "Blink and you're dead." Once the message has ended, Sally screams for the Doctor not to go so Larry offers to rewind it but that would be of no use. They both realise at the same time that neither is looking at the Weeping Angel anymore. They look up. The Angel is now in the room with them, baring sharp teeth in a savage snarl and outstretching clawed fingers towards them.

As a terrified Larry keeps his eyes fixed on the Angel to stop it getting any closer, Sally searches for a way out. As she tries all the doors in the house, only to find the Angels have locked them in while they were watching the Doctor's message, Larry is growing increasingly restless and fearful that the other Angels could come up behind him. Larry turns around for a split second, and the Angel moves to right in front of him. Keeping his eyes on it, he slowly backs out of the room. Sally finds an unlocked door to the cellar, and calls out to Larry to give him the news. Larry willingly flees to rejoin with Sally.

Larry and Sally descend into the cellar to find a way out. They find the TARDIS, along with the other three Weeping Angels. They head towards the door, keeping their eyes on the Angels. As they get to the TARDIS, the fourth Angel has appeared by the stairs and is pointing at the light. The light starts to flicker, and Sally and Larry realise in horror that the Angel is draining the light so that the Angels will be able to attack in the darkness. With each flicker, the Angels move towards Sally and Larry with their claws out and their teeth showing, as they frantically try to unlock the TARDIS door. At the last second, they open it and flee inside and lock the Angels out just in time.

The angels are eternally trapped.

As the two look around at the TARDIS interior in amazement, a hologram of the Doctor activates and says that the TARDIS has detected an authorised control disc, valid for one journey only. It is the other copy of the DVD that Larry brought, which is now glowing. But the Angels outside begin shaking the TARDIS on each side, looking for a way in. Larry puts the DVD into the console and the TARDIS begins to dematerialise. But as the TARDIS begins to fade away around them, Sally realises the TARDIS is leaving, but she and Larry are not going with it. She screams at the Doctor to help them, even as the TARDIS fades, leaving them crouching in the middle of the circle of Angels. Sally yells to keep looking at them, but Larry stands up slowly and realises that the Doctor tricked the Angels - they've been left looking straight at each other, freezing them permanently.

A year later, Sally and Larry are running the DVD store together but Sally cannot let all that has happened to them go as she still doesn't know how the Doctor got all the information he possessed. Sally is shown to now have everything she recorded, including the transcript, the photos of the wall and the list of DVDs in a folder which she keeps on her at all times. Larry subtly hints that her obsession with this is preventing them from having a relationship but she insists that they merely run a shop together. He then goes out to get some milk. Sally then glances outside as a taxi pulls up and the Doctor and Martha get out. She rushes over to talk to them, only to find that the Doctor doesn't recognise her as the events of her past are still in his future. Sally suddenly realises that she is the one who gives the Doctor the information he needs to retrieve the TARDIS and save her from the Weeping Angels. Sally then hands over the folder telling him that, at some point, he's going to be stuck in 1969 and he'll need to ensure he has it on him when he is. The Doctor is in a rush, still in the middle of another adventure, but asks Sally's name and tells her its nice to meet her. Larry returns right at that moment with the milk and can only stare at the Doctor and Martha in stunned amazement. The Doctor is in a hurry and cannot stay, so he and Martha eventually head off to take care of "four things and a lizard", while Sally clasps Larry's hand and goes back into the shop, Sparrow and Nightingale's antiquarian books and rare DVDs.

However, the scene shifts to montage across the public statuary, punctuated with the Doctor's recorded warnings, as though to warn us that there might be other Angels lurking among the statues...

"Blink and you're dead. Don't turn your back. Don't look away. And DON'T. BLINK. Good luck."

Cast[[edit] | [edit source]]

Uncredited Cast[[edit] | [edit source]]

Crew[[edit] | [edit source]]

General production staff

Script department

Camera and lighting department

Art department

Costume department

Make-up and prosthetics

Movement

Casting

General post-production staff

Special and visual effects

Sound



Not every person who worked on this adventure was credited. The absence of a credit for a position doesn't necessarily mean the job wasn't required. The information above is based solely on observations of the actual end credits of the episodes as broadcast, and does not relay information from IMDB or other sources.


Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

Story notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • This episode, like series 2's Love & Monsters, is a Doctor and companion "light" episode. The Doctor and Martha were purposely not featured in this story so David Tennant and Freema Agyeman could concentrate on the final three episodes of season three.
  • This episode won a Hugo Award in 2008.
  • The plot of this episode was based upon a short story Steven Moffat wrote for the Doctor Who Annual 2006 called What I Did on My Christmas Holidays by Sally Sparrow. The story involves Sally Sparrow (who is a child in the story as opposed to a young woman in the episode) writing her school assignment about being contacted by the Ninth Doctor through photographs and a videotape (like the episode, there is a sequence in which Sally has a conversation with the Doctor through a television) in which he gives her instructions to allow her to return the TARDIS to him (the Weeping Angels aren't present in the story; the Doctor being separated from the TARDIS was due to a "hic-cough"), knowing what to do thanks to an adult Sally (who is a beautiful spy who saves the Doctor's life) giving him the story which details the experience.
  • The story is ultimately an ontological paradox: the Doctor has all the information, the transcript of the conversation, the contents of the message behind the wallpaper, etc, because Sally gives him that information at the end of the story — but Sally gets that information from seeing the wall the Doctor wrote, watching the DVD the Doctor made and so on. The information never really "starts" anywhere — the Doctor knows what to say in the conversation because he's reading Larry's transcript, which Larry made thirty-eight years later by watching the conversation. The information is in an endless loop.
  • Despite only appearing in cameos, David Tennant and Freema Agyeman are still credited as the main stars rather than Carey Mulligan in the episode's main role of Sally Sparrow.
  • Banto's DVDs were fake titles created for the episode, complete with DVD covers and poster designs.
  • This is the first episode to be directed by a woman after a twenty-two-year interval. The previous one was The Mark of the Rani.
  • When Larry brings Sally the list of DVDs, a vintage White Star Line sticker can be seen stuck to the back of the folder; Titanic, the most famous White Star vessel, would later inspire the setting for Voyage of the Damned.
  • Larry’s comment of having the Doctor’s line; “The angels have the phone box.” written on a T-shirt was written in to see if fans of the show really would make T-shirts with the line written on it.
  • For reasons unknown, while the original BBC One broadcast and subsequent Region 2 DVD release of the episode includes a "One year later" on-screen graphic prior to the epilogue scene, broadcasts of the episode in North America, as well as Region 1 DVD release, omit this.
  • In 2009, Doctor Who Magazine conducted a reader poll to rank the first 200 Doctor Who stories in order of preference. Blink ranked 2nd, surpassed only by the 1984 story The Caves of Androzani. A similar poll was run in 2014, with Blink again coming second overall, this time beaten by The Day of the Doctor. In 2023, it was revealed to have been ranked as readers' favourite Tenth Doctor story in all three of their major polls held since its airing. (DWM 592) It also has the highest rating of any Doctor Who episode on the Internet Movie Database at 9.8.
  • Billy can be seen in the police station with a patch on his jacket depicting a sparrow, a possible joke on the main character's last name.
  • A sequel to this story, A Ghost Story for Christmas, was released as a webisode on Day 24 of the 2009 Adventure Calendar on the official Doctor Who website. It was narrated by John Barrowman as Jack Harkness in the style of a ghost story and depicted the abduction of another woman by the Weeping Angels.
  • The concept of the Doctor's first encounter with someone also being that person's final encounter with him would later be significantly expanded upon with the character of River Song.
  • The story was originally titled Sally Sparrow and the Weeping Angels, but Russell T Davies didn't like the title. Steven Moffat suggested Blink as an alternative, which Davies loved, but wanted the word "Blink" in the script "like a cheesy 50s trailer".[4]
  • Rather than being inanimate props, the Angels were portrayed by real actresses covered in make up and prosthetics. But standing completely still is a great challenge even for the most accomplished of actors. It was revealed on the DVD commentary that a special digital effect was used to freeze them in place so that if they did involuntarily move, it wouldn't be noticed.
  • Steven Moffat originally had a different, and much darker, ending in mind for this episode. It would have seen Sally give the Doctor the folder and then step back inside the store to find an Angel inside. Larry then steps in and notices that Sally is not there. He then looks more closely at the painting on the wall and realises the person smiling and waving in it is Sally, having been sent into the past by the Angel. After reflecting on the episode for its 10th Anniversary, Moffat stated that "It makes me wonder why an Angel never sent her back in time. All these years later, I wonder why I didn't end it like that."
  • Billy Shipton comments that the police box isn't a real one as, "the phone's just a dummy, and the windows are the wrong size". This is a reference to the fact that the TARDIS props over the years have been scaled down versions of the real thing.
  • One humorous deleted scene would have formed part of the pre-credits teaser. After Sally discovered the message behind the wallpaper, Steven Moffat had requested the sound of cliched horror movie music. This would turn out to be Sally's mobile phone ringtone, and it was actually Kathy calling her friend from a pub.
  • Steven Moffat initially wrote placeholder dialogue in the script for the scene where the Doctor tells Sally that he can hear her in the DVD shop, because he knew the lines that appeared would have to play "double duty later on" and be authentic and fresh both times.
  • Steven Moffat claims that the Weeping Angels were inspired by the children's game 'Statues', which he found "frightening".
  • Steven Moffat revealed that Carey Mulligan was offered the chance to stay on as a companion, but she declined.
  • The scene wherein the Doctor talks to Sally via a DVD extra was created by writing a conversation, removing Sally's lines, then having David Tennant record his lines. Steven Moffat felt that this one-way filming made the performance more convincing.
  • To create the rigid structure of the angels' dresses, prosthetics supervisors Rob Mayor soaked fabric in fibreglass resin, which was then painted over.
  • To create the effect of the Angels rocking the TARDIS, Carey Mulligan and Finlay Robertson threw themselves around the ship's set. The camera's operator then shook the camera in the opposite direction that Mulligan and Robertson threw themselves.
  • At one point, Sally would have been seen to be pregnant at the episode's conclusion, but Steven Moffat decided that it was more effective to delay Sally and Larry's romance until after her meeting with the Doctor.
  • Steven Moffat had held the idea of the Weeping Angels since seeing an angel statue in a graveyard whilst on a family holiday to Ickworth, Suffolk where the hotel had been close to a condemned churchyard and cemetery.
  • Originally, the producers considered having Michael Obiora play both the young and old version of Billy Shipton. However, it was decided that Obiora in makeup would look too fake, and so Louis Mahoney was cast to play the older version.
  • In a 2017 interview for the episode's tenth anniversary, Finlay Robertson mentions that he had to change his accent to match Lucy Gaskell's, as their characters Larry and Kathy are siblings.
  • Michael Obiora and Louis Mahoney played father and son in the series Sea of Souls.
  • The first draft of the script is very close to the finished episode with the exception of the ending. Instead of taking off by itself, the TARDIS brings Sally and Larry to 1969 where they meet the Doctor and Martha. After returning them to the present, the Doctor reveals that he learned everything from a book called Sally Sparrow and the Weeping Angels. He asks Sally to sign it and she sees that the author's name is Sally Nightingale. Also, Kathy was originally named Jenny.
  • A scene cut from the epilogue had Larry revealing that he regularly checks to ensure that the Weeping Angels are still petrified.
  • David Tennant suffered from voice problems during this story.
  • Exploding eggs are mentioned twice - once by the Doctor about his device that has a side effect of boiling eggs and exploding hens, and also by Larry who says that having a complete transcript of the Doctor's DVD extra would "explode the egg forums".
  • Finlay Robertson named Larry Nightingale as his favourite televison role on Twitter in 2023.
  • For a time, Steven Moffat struggled to devise a way for the Weeping Angels to be defeated. The ultimate resolution was suggested by Mark Gatiss, taking advantage of Moffat's intention to include several Weeping Angels in the narrative.
  • The episode was originally intended to form the season's sixth production block. When it was decided to move up the recording dates, it became Block Five.
  • Phil Collinson chose Hettie MacDonald to direct based on her film Beautiful Thing.
  • The first shot recorded for the episode was the Doctor's hologram, performed on the standing TARDIS set at Upper Boat Studios.
  • Fields House in Newport required little alterations by the production team to serve as Wester Drumlins, although the building's derelict state made the experience uncomfortable at times. Steven Moffat later called the location "the creepiest house" he had ever seen.
  • In adapting his short story, Steven Moffat aged Sally Sparrow up because he figured that children were more interested in watching people older than them. He changed the setting from 1985 to 1969 to make the reveal of the older Billy Shipton more shocking.
  • Carey Mulligan was reportedly ecstatic to have been cast in the series. She was initially concerned with the fact that David Tennant would have little screen time, but after the episode aired was very pleased with the final result.
  • Wester Drumlins was named after a previous residence that Steven Moffat lived in during the late 1990s.
  • Steven Moffat originally wanted to write an episode set in The Library, but his commitment to Jekyll and the realisation that the story would require two episodes led to him shelving the idea.

Ratings[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • 6.1 million - Overnight
  • 0.75 million viewers - BBC Three Sunday repeat
  • 6.62 million viewers - Final Rating[5]

Filming locations[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The coffee shop and the DVD shop opposite are in Charles Street, Newport, South Wales.
  • The "Police Station" with church opposite is in Mount Stuart Square, Butetown/Cardiff Bay, South Wales.
  • The abandoned house is the Fields House (or Fields Manor) on Fields Park Road in Newport, South Wales. It has since been renovated.

Production errors[[edit] | [edit source]]

If you'd like to talk about narrative problems with this story — like plot holes and things that seem to contradict other stories — please go to this episode's discontinuity discussion.
  • Just as Sally ducks, the rock comes into view a split second before the glass is heard smashing.
  • When Sally first reads Kathy's letter, after the line "for me, it has been over sixty years", the voice over narration says "the third of the photographs is of my children". But on the actual letter, the next line starts with "I have thought long and hard..."
  • In the scene where Sally finds and takes the TARDIS key, the free hand of the Angel holding the key changes position and back slightly between shots.
  • In the scene where Larry is trying to hold off an Angel, the left hand of the Angel changes position multiple times between shots.
  • Larry quickly checks behind him and then looks back to see the Angel's face is just inches from his. But in the next shot, it is slightly further away.
  • In scenes outside Sally and Larry's shop, bystanders can be seen watching the filming from the windows above the Newsagent's shop.

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

Home video releases[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The Complete David Tennant Years DVD Region 1 US cover

    The Complete David Tennant Years DVD
    Region 1 US cover

  • The Complete Series Three DVD box-set

    The Complete Series Three DVD box-set

  • Series 3 Volume 3 cover

    Series 3 Volume 3 cover

  • Doctor Who: The Complete Series One to Four DVD box-set

    Doctor Who: The Complete Series One to Four DVD box-set

  • Doctor Who: The Complete Series One to Seven DVD box-set

    Doctor Who: The Complete Series One to Seven DVD box-set

DVD releases[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • This has been released along with Human Nature and The Family of Blood on the Series 3 Volume 3 DVD.
  • It is also part of the series 3 box set. In the disc which has the episode in it (disc 4) there is an Easter egg on page 2 of scene selection of "Blink". It has the Doctor's Easter egg from the episode, unedited. To access it, you have to highlight "Blink" on the page and select it. Unlike other bonus scenes and deleted footage, the Easter egg remains "filmised" rather than being rendered on video, in keeping with it supposedly having been filmed in 1969.
  • It was released as issue 19 of Doctor Who DVD Files, alongside The Family of Blood.

Blu-ray releases[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • This story was released in the Series 1 Blu-Ray set in November 2013 along with the rest of the series. Despite not being filmed in HD, the Blu-Ray features an upscaled picture and fewer compression artefacts.
  • This release was initially bundled with the first seven series of the revived Doctor Who.

Digital releases[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • This story is available for streaming via Netflix, Hulu Plus and Amazon Prime. It can also be purchased on iTunes.
  • In 2015, it was released by BBC Worldwide on BitTorrent and iTunes, in A Decade of the Doctor bundle to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the new series. It included introductions by Peter Capaldi, Earth Conquest: The World Tour and an episode guide.

External links[[edit] | [edit source]]

Footnotes[[edit] | [edit source]]

Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  1. ↑ While Blink itself uncontroversially sets its main setting in 2007 and "twenty minutes to Red Hatching" a year later in 2008—as Kathy Nightingale's letter describes taking "one breath in 2007 and the next in 1920", and the Tenth Doctor's side of his conversation with Sally Sparrow in 1969 happens 38 years before Sally says hers—these are contradicted by heavily conflicting dates in the Redacted audio series later on regarding both Kathy's disappearance and the Red Hatching. In Angels, Abby McPhail identifies 2008 as the year of Kathy's disappearance, which suggests 2009 as the year of the Red Hatching. In Salvation, the Thirteenth Doctor recognises the Red Hatching as the cause of death of Andy Proctor, who was last seen by his daughter Cleo "nearly 20 years" before 2022 according to Recruits.

Citations[[edit] | [edit source]]

  1. ↑ Steven Moffat On Writing. INT. JASON ARNOPP'S MIND - DAY/NIGHT (Jason Arnopp's blog) (29 June 2008). Retrieved on 15 December 2013.
  2. ↑ E-teatr.pl
  3. ↑ Collectormania Manchester
  4. ↑ TV Cream Stays Indoors With Steven Moffat
  5. ↑ Doctor Who - consolidated ratings
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Weeping Angel sources
For the purposes of this list, a "Weeping Angel story" is one in which one living, authentic Weeping Angel plays a part within the confines of the story, outside of flashbacks to previous stories and cliffhangers that lead into the following story. For this reason, stories such as The Lost, The Halloween Apocalypse and Once, Upon Time are not counted due to the Weeping Angels' appearance being defined by their importance to following stories, while stories such as Survivors of the Flux are absent due to the Weeping Angels' only contribution being references to past Weeping Angel stories, and stories such as The God Complex are absent due to the Weeping Angels' only contribution being as illusions. Stories like Hell Bent and Revolution of the Daleks are also not included due to the Weeping Angels' appearance being restricted to a single scene of no consequence to the plot of the story.
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