Watched 15-Aug off a networked xvid file of the original BBC broadcast.
This is it. This is the pinnacle of DW.
This first new number 1 ranked story in 32 years.
Weirdly it is meant to be a bottle episode i.e. one where the regular cast are minimised to free them up for leave or work on other eps.
It becomes a showcase for the very cute and highly talented Carey Mulligan (21 yo at the time of production) who has since become a famous international film star. Sally Sparrow is smart and sassy. She's not ambitious or mean or slow and dopey. She's great. One odd question I have is I wonder who she is and what her job/purpose actually is? It's revealing of how good the character is that the answer to that question just invites delicious speculation.
If anyone ever tells me that a female Doctor can't work then Blink is a fairly devastating argument against that nonsense.
Odd thing I noticed on this rewatch about Blink is how different to normal the incidental music is. Typically DW incidental music of this period time was loud, stirring chords and fast, triumphant crescendoes. In this the music's lonely oboe, slow and mournful punctuated by throbbing power chords. It's not a bad move.
The direction is bloody good too. In most revews of Blink it doesn't get enough praise. Hettie MacDonald provides plenty of thoughtful and poignant storytelling sequences. I'll cite the death scene of Billy. He asks about the rain, Sally says it's the same rain, there's a cross fade to a hospital room with an empty bed and Sally strides on to the next scene in a purposeful way. That's a death scene without a hammy death and the sound of your mind being stimulated.... Hettie will be back for The Magician's Apprentice (2015)
In typical Steven Moffat style the story centres on clues hiding in plain sight (what links the 17 DVD's?) , inventive delivery of narrative dialogue (the Doctor's speech on the DVD extras is presented as a mysterious monologue ("it's as if he's having half a conversation") and later it just clicks together with Sally Sparrow in Wester Drumlins seemingly for no reason and Robert Holmes style world building with throwaway lines (try this.)
SALLY: My God, it's you. It really is you. Oh, you don't remember me,
do you?
(Martha is carrying a quiver of arrows, and the Doctor has a long bow.)
MARTHA: Doctor, we haven't have time for this. The migration's started.
DOCTOR: Look, sorry, I've got a bit of a complex life. Things don't
always happen to me in quite the right order.
Unlke the heavy Human Nature layered symbolism this is merely intricate and has terrifying new, high concept monsters (Angels)
Winner of the third in a row annual Hugo Short Form Dramatic presentation for Doctor Who. Stemo scored BAFTAS, Carey won a Constellation award (Canadian) for Best Performance.
The very best episodes of DW are often not series finales or regenerations or Daleks,Daleks,Daleks. They're often seemingly run of the mill mid series "bottles".
This one is near to perfect. What ever could possibly beat this?
LJM Rating 4.79/5.00
SPJ Rating 9.98/10
No. 1 (out of 197)
Link to Cumulative Rankings
Rankings Scoreboard
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