"Blink" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on BBC One on 9 June 2007,^[1] and is the tenth episode of Series 3 of the revived Doctor Who series. It was a single episode story, written by Steven Moffat. This article is about the television series. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... David Tennant is the stage name of David John McDonald (born 18 April 1971), a Scottish actor from Bathgate, West Lothian, best known for portraying the tenth incarnation of the Doctor in the television series Doctor Who. ... The Tenth Doctor is the name given to the tenth and current incarnation of the fictional character known as the Doctor seen on screen in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. ... Companion, in the long-running BBC television science fiction programme Doctor Who and related works, is a term used to describe a character who travels with and shares the adventures of the Doctor. ... Freema Agyeman (born 1979 in Finsbury Park, London[1] ) is an English actress whose first notable appearance was in the ITV soap opera Crossroads. ... Martha Jones is a fictional character played by Freema Agyeman in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who, and will appear in its spin-off series, Torchwood. ... Steven Moffat (born 1961 in Paisley, Scotland) is a British comedy/drama writer who has contributed to television series since the late 1980s. ... Hettie MacDonald is a British television director who won a Grand Prix award, a International Jury Award - Honorable Mention and a Peoples Choice Award for her work on the film beautiful thing. Beautiful Thing -1996 Lily and the Secret Planting -2002 Casualty Whatever It Takes - 1997 What Friends Are... Helen Raynor (born March 27, 1972) is a British television and theatre writer and script editor. ... Phil Collinson is a British television producer. ... Russell T Davies, interviewed for the documentary series Doctor Who Confidential in 2005. ... She was born on September 3, 1981 in Richmond, Virginia. ... Doctor Who episodes redirects here. ... June 9 is the 160th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (161st in leap years), with 205 days remaining. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... The Family of Blood is the ninth episode of Series 3 of the revived British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... Utopia is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... Doctor Who episodes redirects here. ... A broadcast of the long-running and popular British science-fiction series Doctor Who. ... This article is about the television series. ... For the BBC radio station, see BBC Radio 1. ... June 9 is the 160th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (161st in leap years), with 205 days remaining. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... Doctor Who episodes redirects here. ... Steven Moffat (born 1961 in Paisley, Scotland) is a British comedy/drama writer who has contributed to television series since the late 1980s. ...

As with 2006's "Love & Monsters", the Doctor and his companion feature little, due to David Tennant and Freema Agyeman being busy filming other episodes.^[2] Love & Monsters is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ...

Synopsis

Sally Sparrow is a photographer, who enters an old abandoned house to take pictures. Inside, though, the Weeping Angels are waiting. She must decipher several cryptic messages from 1969 from a strange man called the Doctor - all directed specifically at her.

Plot

The episode, set mainly in 2007, focuses upon Sally Sparrow, who breaks into a dilapidated house called Wester Drumlins to take photographs. There she discovers behind the peeling wallpaper a message from "the Doctor" dated 1969, calling her by name and telling her to "beware the Weeping Angels" and then to "duck now", just before an object launched from behind nearly hits her. This is a list of monsters and aliens from the long-running BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who. ...

She returns the next day with her friend, Kathy Nightingale. A man soon arrives at the door with a decades-old letter from his grandmother, saying he had promised to deliver it to Sally on this date at exactly this time. The name of his grandmother was Kathy Nightingale. Thinking this is a prank, she searches for Kathy, who has just disappeared. Sally encounters three Weeping Angel statues, one holding a Yale key. She takes the key and leaves the house, unaware that the Angels have moved and are watching her from the windows. The pin tumbler lock is a lock mechanism that uses pins of varying lengths to prevent the lock from opening without the correct key. ...

Sally reads the letter, wherein Kathy explains that the Weeping Angels transported her back to 1920. The letter asks Sally to explain her absence to her last close relative — Kathy's brother Larry, who runs a store that sells rare DVDs. Larry has also discovered a message from the Doctor, which features him carrying on half of an unfathomable conversation, as an easter egg hidden on seventeen unrelated DVDs. The easter egg is unusual in that no-one who worked on the DVDs had any idea it was there, it seemed to pop up from no-where. At one point, the Doctor appears to respond to one of Sally's comments and then tells her he can hear what she's saying, seriously freaking her out. Larry gives Sally a list of the DVDs that have the Doctor on them. DVD (also known as Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc) is a popular optical disc storage media format. ... A virtual Easter egg is a hidden message or feature in an object such as a movie, book, CD, DVD, computer program, or video game. ...

Sally goes to the police, where a Detective Inspector, Billy Shipton, shows her a car park full of abandoned vehicles found at Wester Drumlins, including a fake police box with a Yale lock that cannot be opened. Billy then begins to flirt with Sally, asking her to have a drink with him. She laughs, gives him her telephone number and leaves. Outside, Sally realises that the Yale key could be used to open the police box while inside, Billy is sent back in time by the Weeping Angels to 1969. The Doctor finds him and tells him that the Angels feed on potential energy, and to do this they send people into the past and feed on the futures that will never be. After Billy asks the Doctor how he knows all this, he asks Billy to deliver a message to Sally, but apologises that it's going to take a while. In 2007, Billy calls Sally minutes after they last spoke (from her point of view) and asks her to meet him in a hospital. He is now an old man although he did marry in the past (to someone called Sally, no less) and eventually got into DVD publishing, and it was he who was responsible for adding the easter eggs. He gives her the Doctor's message... look at the list of DVDs. She stays with him until he dies shortly after. Inspector is a rank in many police forces. ... The current TARDIS prop. ... Also: 1969 (number) 1969 (movie) 1969 (Stargate SG-1) episode. ...

Looking at the list, Sally realises the connection between the DVDs... they are the seventeen DVDs that Sally owns. The easter egg was intended for her. Sally and Larry enter Wester Drumlins, and watch the Doctor's message on a DVD. This time Sally provides the other half of the conversation, which Larry adds to a transcript he brought with him. The Doctor explains several things: he has a complete transcript of the incomplete conversation and is reading off an autocue, which is possible due to the non-linear nature of time; and that the Weeping Angels are "quantum locked", meaning they turn to stone when observed, but when unobserved they are fast and can be deadly, hence it is of utmost importance that she does not blink. He also tells them that the Weeping Angels feed off of the potential energy of what the victim could have become by teleporting people to the past where they "live to death". They stole the TARDIS from The Doctor and Martha to try and feed off of all of the time energy in it, with which they could absorb so much power as to switch off the sun if they wished, it is vital they don't make it inside. When Sally asks the Doctor how she can defeat the Angels he cannot answer, as his copy of the transcript has ended since Larry has stopping writing... an Angel has entered the building! He urges her to keep her eyes on the Angels, and to not blink! The quantum Zeno effect is a quantum mechanical phenomenon first described by George Sudarshan and Baidyanaith Misra of the University of Texas in 1977. ...

While trying to escape from an Angel in the room they are watching the DVD in, Larry and Sally discover the TARDIS in the cellar. Unwilling to let their prey escape, the Angels cause a light bulb, the room's only light source, to flicker, allowing them to draw closer to the TARDIS. Larry and Sally manage to get into the TARDIS and shut the doors, just as the Angels manage to surround it. The DVD that Larry and Sally brought with them activates a protocol in the TARDIS, causing it to return to the Doctor. Sally and Larry are left behind, leaving the Angels trapped forever in a circle, tricked into observing each other.

The final scene takes place a year later, with Sally and Larry running the DVD store together, however Sally is keeping a folder of everything connected with her experience with the Doctor and the Angels. Even though the danger has passed she still doesn't how the Doctor got the list of DVDs, the transcript, how he knew what to write on the walls etc. As Larry goes to get some milk, Sally suddenly spots the Doctor and Martha emerge from a taxi outside the shop, armed with bows and arrows, apparently in pursuit of an unidentified monster. She quickly runs out and calls to him and when the Doctor fails to recognize Sally, she realizes he has not yet experienced the episode's events (causing an ontological paradox). Finally understanding fully, she hands over the folder which contains everything the Doctor will need to extricate himself from 1969 and tells him he'll need it in the future. Sally and the Doctor exchange goodbyes as Larry returns surprised to find the man from the DVD Easter Egg. The episode ends with a repeat of the Doctor's warning to Sally, this time directed at the viewer, overlaid with flashes of famous bronze and stone statues. An ontological paradox is a paradox of time travel that questions the existence and creation of information and objects that travel in time. ... The fourth wall is the imaginary invisible wall at the front of the stage in a proscenium theater, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play. ...

Cast

• The Doctor — David Tennant
• Martha Jones — Freema Agyeman
• Sally Sparrow — Carey Mulligan
• Kathy Nightingale — Lucy Gaskell
• Larry Nightingale — Finlay Robertson
• Malcolm Wainwright — Richard Cant
• DI Billy Shipton — Michael Obiora
• Old Billy — Louis Mahoney
• Ben Wainwright — Thomas Nelstrop
• Banto — Ian Boldsworth
• Desk Sergeant — Ray Sawyer
• Weeping Angel - Aga Blonska (uncredited)^[3]

The Tenth Doctor is the name given to the tenth and current incarnation of the fictional character known as the Doctor seen on screen in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. ... David Tennant is the stage name of David John McDonald (born 18 April 1971), a Scottish actor from Bathgate, West Lothian, best known for portraying the tenth incarnation of the Doctor in the television series Doctor Who. ... Martha Jones is a fictional character played by Freema Agyeman in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who, and will appear in its spin-off series, Torchwood. ... Freema Agyeman (born 1979 in Finsbury Park, London[1] ) is an English actress whose first notable appearance was in the ITV soap opera Crossroads. ... Carey Hannah Mulligan[1] (born 28 May 1985) is a British actress. ... Lucy Gaskell is a British actress born in Wigan in 1980. ... Michael Obiora is an English Actor. ... Louis Mahoney is a British actor. ... // Born in Hebden Bridge, Thomas gained a Bachelor of Arts in Actor Musicianship at Rose Bruford College in 2002 and has garnered a successful career on the London comedy circuit, working with NewsRevue, Simeon Goulden and The Plan B Show and on his own material. ...

Cast Notes

• Louis Mahoney plays an elder Billy Shipton. He has previously appeared in the Third Doctor serial Frontier in Space (1973) as a newscaster, and the Fourth Doctor serial Planet of Evil (1975) as Ponti.

Louis Mahoney is a British actor. ... The Third Doctor is the name given to the third incarnation of the Doctor seen on screen in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. ... Frontier in Space is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from February 24 to March 31, 1973 // Synopsis Materialising on an Earth cargo spaceship in the 26th century, the Doctor and Jo are caught up in the... The Fourth Doctor is the name given to the fourth incarnation of the Doctor seen on screen in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. ... Planet of Evil is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from September 27 to October 18, 1975. ...

Continuity

• A holographic projection of the Tenth Doctor can be seen in this episode. Earlier projections of the Doctor are that of the Seventh and Eighth Doctors in the television movie, the Ninth seen in "The Parting of the Ways", and another of the Tenth Doctor's projections in "Doomsday".
• The TARDIS fading away around Sally and Larry is similar to the effect used in "The Parting of the Ways", where the TARDIS materialises around Rose and a Dalek. A similar trick is used in "The Runaway Bride" where it fades in around the Doctor and Donna, and in Logopolis where it materialises around the Master's TARDIS.
• The Doctor says "I'm rubbish at weddings, especially my own" when explaining to Sally that he experiences events out of sequence. He has in the past referred to being a father ("Fear Her"), and formerly travelled with his granddaughter. The First Doctor is accidentally betrothed to the lady Cameca by making her a cup of cocoa in story The Aztecs. In "The Family of Blood", the Doctor as John Smith foresees an alternate future as a human where he has a successful marriage and raises a family.
• Larry gives Sally the list of DVDs from a folder with a Cunard White Star Line sticker on it. White Star were the operators of the ill-fated RMS Titanic. The later episode "Voyage of the Damned" features the Titanic.

-1... The Eighth Doctor is a fictional character, the eighth incarnation of the Doctor seen on screen in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. ... Doctor Who (film) redirects here. ... The Ninth Doctor refers to the ninth official incarnation of the fictional character known as the Doctor, in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. ... The Parting of the Ways is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast on June 18, 2005. ... Doomsday is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... Rose Tyler is a fictional character played by Billie Piper in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... For other uses, see Dalek (disambiguation). ... The Runaway Bride is a special episode of the long running British science fiction television series Doctor Who, starring David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor. ... Donna Noble is a fictional character played by Catherine Tate in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... Logopolis is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from February 28 to March 21, 1981. ... This article is about the character. ... Fear Her is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... Susan Foreman is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... The First Doctor is the name given to the first incarnation of the Doctor seen on screen in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. ... The Aztecs is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in 4 weekly parts from May 23 to June 13, 1964. ... The Family of Blood is the ninth episode of Series 3 of the revived British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... Cunard may refer to: Samuel Cunard (1787–1865), British shipping magnate. ... For other uses, see White star. ... For other uses, see Titanic (disambiguation). ... For the 1976 film of the same title, see Voyage of the Damned. ...

Outside references

• Larry describes the house as "Scooby-Doo's house", a reference to the dilapidated mansions that the Scooby-Doo gang (Mystery Inc.) would usually visit. The BBC fact file notes that 1969, the year Martha, the Doctor and Billy are sent to, is the first year Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! aired.^[4]
• The newspaper shown to Kathy in 1920 has the headline "Hull FC to play Hull Kingston Rovers", a reference to the two professional Rugby League teams in Hull.^[5]
• Billy mentions that the windows of the TARDIS are the wrong size for a real police box. In 2004, when the first photographs of the new series' TARDIS prop were revealed, there was a vigorous discussion of the box's dimensions on the Outpost Gallifrey Doctor Who discussion forum, in which some fans complained that the prop's windows were too big. Writer Steven Moffat has confirmed that this line is an in-joke aimed at the Outpost Gallifrey forum.^[6]
• The name of the dilapidated house, Wester Drumlins, is taken from a previous residence of Steven Moffat from the late 1990s.^[7]

Scooby-Doo Scoobert Scooby-Doo is a fictional dog and the eponymous character of the popular television series Scooby-Doo. ... Scooby-doo is also British naval divers slang for civilian sport scuba diver. Scooby-Doo is an important character in animation up to this day Scooby-Doo is a long-running animated series produced for television by Hanna-Barbera Productions from 1969 to 1986, 1988 to 1991, and from 2002... Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! is the first incarnation of the long-running Hanna-Barbera Saturday morning cartoon Scooby-Doo. ... Hull FC is a professional rugby league football club formed in 1865 and based in Hull, England. ... Official website www. ... Rugby league football (usually shortened to rugby league, football, league) is a full-contact team sport played with a prolate spheroid-shaped ball by two teams of thirteen on a rectangular grass field. ... A police box is a telephone kiosk or callbox for use by members of the police. ... Outpost Gallifrey is a fan website for the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... An in joke is a joke whose humour is clear only to those people who are in a group that has some prior knowledge (not known by the whole population) that makes the joke humorous. ... For the band, see 1990s (band). ...

Production and publicity

• The BBC Fear Forecasters gave this episode a 5.5 rating ("Off the Scale"). The only other episode with a rating above 5 is "The Impossible Planet", which received a 6 ("Beyond Fear"). A notice for parents was also attached to the top of the page, recommending that parents record the episode and watch it in the daytime with their children, as it was one of the scariest episodes yet.^[8] This warning is similar to the warning that was attached for "The Empty Child"/"The Doctor Dances", both of which were also written by Steven Moffat.^[9][10]
• Part of the story of "Blink" is based on Moffat's own Ninth Doctor short story from the Doctor Who Annual 2006 called "What I Did on My Christmas Holidays by Sally Sparrow".^[11] "Blink" is thus the third story of the revived series to be adapted for television by the same writer from a piece of their spin-off writing. It follows "Human Nature"/"The Family of Blood", which were adaptations by Paul Cornell of his novel Human Nature, and "Dalek", which had the basic premise as well as some scenes and dialogue adapted by Robert Shearman from his audio drama Jubilee.^[12]

• The Doctor and Martha's absence from the majority of the episode was due to the filming of two episodes simultaneously.^[3]
• This is the first episode since the Sixth Doctor serial The Mark of the Rani to be directed by a woman.
• Although they are never shown moving on screen, all of the Weeping Angels were played by actors wearing prosthetics. Footage of them being put into costume — and moving on the set can be seen in the Doctor Who Confidential episode "Do You Remember The First Time?".
• The Doctor's unedited Easter Egg message was itself included as an Easter Egg on the Series 3 DVD release.

The Impossible Planet is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... The Empty Child is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast on May 21, 2005. ... The Doctor Dances is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast on May 28, 2005. ... The Ninth Doctor refers to the ninth official incarnation of the fictional character known as the Doctor, in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. ... For the Doctor Who novel of the same name, see Human Nature (Doctor Who novel). ... The Family of Blood is the ninth episode of Series 3 of the revived British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... This article is about the British writer. ... Human Nature is an original novel written by Paul Cornell and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... Dalek is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who that was first broadcast on April 30, 2005. ... Robert Shearman (also credited as Rob Shearman; born February 10, 1970 in London, England, United Kingdom) is currently best-known as a writer of Doctor Who audio plays for Big Finish, and for his ongoing association with Jarvis & Ayres Productions (Martin Jarvis and Rosalind Ayres) which has resulted in four... Jubilee is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... The Sixth Doctor is the name given to the sixth incarnation of the Doctor seen on screen in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. ... The Mark of the Rani is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in two weekly parts from February 2 to February 9, 1985. ... The Doctor Who Confidential logo Doctor Who Confidential is a documentary series created by the British Broadcasting Corporation to complement the revival of the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ...

References

Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Wikiquote is one of a family of wiki-based projects run by the Wikimedia Foundation, running on MediaWiki software. ... Dreamwatch is a magazine covering science fiction and fantasy films, books and television programmes. ... is the 58th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... Current Radio Times logo Radio Times is the BBCs weekly television and radio programme listings magazine. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... June 9 is the 160th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (161st in leap years), with 205 days remaining. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 161st day of the year (162nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Steven Moffat (born 1961 in Paisley, Scotland) is a British comedy/drama writer who has contributed to television series since the late 1980s. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 163rd day of the year (164th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Outpost Gallifrey is a fan website for the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 163rd day of the year (164th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Steven Moffat (born 1961 in Paisley, Scotland) is a British comedy/drama writer who has contributed to television series since the late 1980s. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 163rd day of the year (164th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Outpost Gallifrey is a fan website for the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ... is the 157th day of the year (158th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 261st day of the year (262nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Blink. Doctor Who Episodes. BBC.
• "don't blink" - episode trailer