"Blink"

It’s time for the Doctor-lite episode and we see the highly anticipated return of Steven Moffat to Doctor Who. At its heart, "Blink" has one of the most frightening race of monsters that Doctor Who has ever presented- the Weeping Angels, who can only move when you are not looking at them. The frightening concept at the heart of "Fear Her" that was carelessly unexplored is allowed to reach its full potential here- something that shouldn’t move that does. The idea is striking because it appeals as both a fear that children can relate to and a conceptually fascinating one for adults. The Doctor and Martha have been touched by the Angels and are stuck in 1969- but the Doctor leaves a message in the form of a film that is distributed as a DVD Easter egg- a brilliant idea. However, this is only a part of the story’s effect. The Weeping Angels do not actually cause their victims physical harm, but transport them to another time. Moffatt’s script has a lot to say about the way people observe time. Cathy lives a full life, yet she is dead to Sally the moment the letter arrives, for it is a letter from a dead woman. Billy’s death is slightly different, because he actually gets to see Sally again. ‘Look at my hands; they’re old man’s hands’. Billy too, has lived a long and productive life- yet I’m sure many old people look at themselves and think ‘I was young, yesterday’. The Angels drive home the fact that death will get us in the end, no matter what we do. Moffat’s dialogue is as witty as we have come to expect, yet the emotional moments ring true- such as Sally noting that the rain that is outside Billy’s death bed is the same rain as when they met, when he was young. It is here, of course that we have the Doctor utter the best bit of technobabble ever- time is ‘a big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey…stuff’. This is strangely reminiscent of a bit of technobabble from The Time Monster- but infinitely more effective.

Moffat’s talent for characterisation is as pronounced as ever. Sally Sparrow is wonderfully written and wonderfully played by Carey Mulligan, a typical Moffat heroine- smart, sexy and witty, but easy to relate to. She is given great support from Finlay Robertson as Larry (Laurence Nightingale? Parents can be cruel) a geeky character who does not conform to usual geeky stereotypes. Moffat makes this central relationship funny and believable. There is not one weak link in the cast. A special mention must be given to the Billys- Michael Obiora makes young Billy a supremely confident, yet still likeable young man and Louis Mahoney (making his third and best appearance in Doctor Who) makes him believable as an older version of the character, more subdued, yet still with the same spark.

Hettie MacDonald’s direction is sublime, making every appearance of the Angels chilling, helped by Murray Gold’s screeching score- the movement of the Angels with the flickering light is a real heart-stopper. Crucially, MacDonald is just as skilful at directing the more subdued scenes and is masterful at creating mood. The production values are also superb- it is hard to believe that the Angels are actually people in costume and you genuinely think that they made different statues for each pose. As with "Love & Monsters", the Doctor-lite story has a director who only made one contribution and I hope she returns.

"Blink" had to follow the unqualified triumph of "Human Nature"/"The Family of Blood". At the time, it felt that Paul Cornell’s story would be impossible to match- yet "Blink" certainly does that, equally effective in a totally different way. A triumph for all concerned.

NEXT: "Utopia"