View source for Blink (Doctor Who)



{{DISPLAYTITLE:Blink (''Doctor Who'')}}
{{Infobox Doctor Who episode
| number             = 186
| serial_name        = Blink
| show               = DW
| type               = episode
| image              = [[File:Blink (Doctor Who).jpg|275px|A young woman stands next to a stone statue in an abandoned house which is covering its eyes with one of its arms.]]
| caption            = Sally Sparrow ([[Carey Mulligan]]), unaware she is being watched by the statue-like [[Weeping Angel]]s.
| doctor             = [[David Tennant]] – [[Tenth Doctor]]
| companion          = [[Freema Agyeman]] – [[Martha Jones]]
| guests             =
* [[Carey Mulligan]] – Sally Sparrow
* [[Lucy Gaskell]] – Kathy Nightingale
* [[Finlay Robertson]] – Larry Nightingale
* [[Richard Cant]] – Malcolm Wainwright
* [[Michael Obiora]] – DI Billy Shipton
* [[Louis Mahoney]] – Old Billy
* [[Thomas Nelstrop]] – Ben Wainwright
* [[Ray Peacock|Ian Boldsworth]] – Banto
* Ray Sawyer – Desk Sergeant
* Aga Blonska, Elen Thomas – Weeping Angel (uncredited)<ref name="RT">{{cite journal|last=Griffiths|first=Nick|title=Hells Angels|journal=[[Radio Times]]|publisher=Exponent|date=15 June 2007|issue=9|pages=14–15}}</ref>{{sfn|Russell|2007|p=186}}
| director           = [[Hettie Macdonald]]
| writer             = [[Steven Moffat]]
| based_on           = {{Based on|"'What I Did on My Christmas Holidays' By Sally Sparrow"|Steven Moffat}}
| producer           = [[Phil Collinson]]
| executive_producer = [[Russell T Davies]]<br>[[Julie Gardner]]
| composer           = [[Murray Gold]]
| production_code    = 3.10
| series             = [[Doctor Who (series 3)|Series 3]]
| length             = 45 minutes
| date               = {{Start date|2007|6|9|df=y}}
| preceding          = "[[The Family of Blood]]"
| following          = "[[Utopia (Doctor Who)|Utopia]]"
}}
"'''Blink'''" is the tenth<!-- Christmas specials aren't counted in the series episode count, making this the 10th episode --> episode of the [[Doctor Who (series 3)|third series]] of the British [[science fiction on television|science fiction television]] series ''[[Doctor Who]]''. It was first broadcast on 9 June 2007 on [[BBC One]]. The episode was directed by [[Hettie MacDonald]] and written by [[Steven Moffat]]. The episode is based on a previous short story written by Moffat for the 2006 ''Doctor Who Annual'', titled "'What I Did on My Christmas Holidays' By Sally Sparrow".

In the episode, the [[Tenth Doctor]]—a [[time travel in fiction|time travelling]] alien played by [[David Tennant]]—is trapped in 1969 and tries to communicate with a young woman in 2007, Sally Sparrow ([[Carey Mulligan]]), to prevent the statue-like [[Weeping Angel]]s from taking control of the [[TARDIS]]. Sparrow and her best friend's brother, Larry Nightingale ([[Finlay Robertson]]), must unravel a set of cryptic clues sent through time by the marooned Doctor, left in DVD [[Easter egg (media)|Easter eggs]].

Both the Doctor and his [[Companion (Doctor Who)|companion]] [[Martha Jones]], played by [[Freema Agyeman]], are on screen for little of this episode, and another episode was being filmed simultaneously; "Blink" is consequently sometimes referred to by fans as a "Doctor-lite" episode. The scenes at Wester Drumlins were shot in a derelict house in [[Newport, Wales|Newport]]. To create the angels, two actresses wore makeup and prosthetics. The episode was seen by 6.62 million viewers in the United Kingdom.

"Blink" received widespread praise, and is widely considered to be one of the best episodes of the show. Moffat won the [[British Academy of Film and Television Arts|BAFTA Craft]] and [[BAFTA Cymru]] awards for Best Writer, and the [[Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form]]; while for her single performance in the series, Mulligan won the [[Constellation Awards|Constellation Award]] for Best Female Performance in a 2007 Science Fiction Television Episode. In 2009 the episode was voted the second-best ''Doctor Who'' story ever by readers of ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]''.

==Plot==
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PER MOS:TVPLOT, PLOT SUMMARIES SHOULD BE NO MORE THAN 400 WORDS.


-->
In 2007, Sally Sparrow, intrigued by a message written to her under peeling wallpaper about "the [[Weeping Angel]]",<!--"Beware the Weeping Angel. Oh, and duck!"--> explores the abandoned house Wester Drumlins with her friend Kathy Nightingale. Kathy is sent back in time to 1920 by an angel statue. At that moment, Kathy's grandson Malcolm delivers to the house a message from 1987 about the long life Kathy led. Before leaving, Sally takes a [[Pin tumbler lock|Yale key]] hanging from the hand of a statue. Sally visits Kathy's brother Larry at work to tell him Kathy loves him. Larry explains that he has been documenting an [[Easter egg (media)|Easter egg]] in seventeen different DVDs containing a video message of a man having half of a conversation with the viewer. Larry gives Sally a list of the DVDs. Four statues follow Sally to the police station, where they take an impounded fake police box and send DI Billy Shipton back to 1969. The man in the Easter egg, a time traveller called the [[Tenth Doctor]], has also been sent to the past, and asks Billy to relay a message decades later. Billy puts the Easter egg on the DVDs. In 2007, a much older Billy phones Sally to visit him on his deathbed in the hospital. Before he dies, Billy instructs Sally to look at the list. The list is Sally's own DVD collection.

{{external media|float=left|video1=[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwdbLu_x0gY Sally and Larry watch the Doctor's Easter Egg at the Wester Drumlins] from official BBC ''Doctor Who'' Channel}}
Sally and Larry return to the house and play the Easter egg on a portable DVD player. Sally discovers she can converse with the Doctor in 1969, as he possesses a copy of the complete transcript that Larry is currently compiling. The Doctor explains that aliens called Weeping Angels turn to stone statues when any living creature observes them. He fears they are seeking the vast reserves of time energy in the police box, which is his time machine the [[TARDIS]].

A Weeping Angel pursues Sally and Larry to the basement where the TARDIS is. Sally and Larry use the Yale key to hide inside. Larry inserts a now-glowing DVD, which also functions as a control disk, in the console's DVD player. The ship returns to the Doctor, while leaving Sally and Larry behind. The Weeping Angels standing around the TARDIS get tricked into looking at each other and are permanently frozen. A year later, Sally meets the Doctor prior to his being stuck in 1969. She hands the Doctor the transcript, and warns that he will need it.

==Production==

===Writing===
{{Quote box
 |quote = You have to remember that being scared of the dark and being scared of monsters is basically a childish impulse. There's always something of the nursery about horror....Adults never quite grow out of their childhood fears. They just belong in a different part of our heads. ''Doctor Who'' isn't a childish programme, but it is childlike: it's a programme for children. And many, many adults who watch and love it watch it as that: as something like ''[[Harry Potter]]''.
 |source =  —Steven Moffat on writing [[horror fiction]] for ''Doctor Who''.<ref name="radiotimes2007"/>
 | width  = 30em
 | bgcolor= #CCCCFF
 | align  = left
 | quoted = 1
}}
[[File:Steven Moffat Comic Con 2008.jpg|thumb|right|175px|alt=A man at ComicCon|The episode was written by [[Steven Moffat]].]]
"Blink" was written by [[Steven Moffat]]. Part of the story for "Blink" is based on Moffat's [[Ninth Doctor]] short story from the ''Doctor Who Annual 2006'' called "'What I Did on My Christmas Holidays' by Sally Sparrow".<ref name="factfile"/> The short story is presented as a homework essay from Sally, though only 12 years old, who encounters evidence of the Doctor's presence from the past in her aunt's house while visiting. "What I Did" includes several elements that are reused in "Blink", including messages under the wallpaper and an [[ontological paradox]] involving a conversation between Sally and the Doctor, prerecorded on a [[VHS|video cassette]], based on a written transcript—the essay itself; however, instead of the Weeping Angels, "What I Did" features the Doctor and the TARDIS inadvertently separated twenty years in time by a fault in the time machine, and the Doctor is able to instruct Sally how to bring it back to him in the past.<ref name=thstory>{{cite web|last=Moffat|first=Steven|title='What I Did on My Christmas Holidays' by Sally Sparrow|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/s4/features/stories/fiction_blink_the_original_story/page/1|publisher=[[BBC]]|access-date=11 November 2020|year=2006}}</ref>

Moffat had held the idea of the Weeping Angels since seeing an angel statue in a graveyard whilst on a family holiday, and had planned to use them for the next series in the episodes that became "[[Silence in the Library]]" and "[[Forest of the Dead]]". However, after withdrawing from the writing of series three's first two-part story—[[Helen Raynor]] took over these episodes, writing "[[Daleks in Manhattan]]" and "[[Evolution of the Daleks]]"—Moffat volunteered to write the series' Doctor-lite episode and opted to use the Weeping Angels in what would become "Blink".<ref>{{cite web
|url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/doctorwho/articles/Ask-the-Execs-Angels-and-Arrivals
|archive-url= https://archive.today/20130114073053/http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/doctorwho/articles/Ask-the-Execs-Angels-and-Arrivals
|url-status= dead
|archive-date= 14 January 2013
|title= Ask the Execs: Angels and Arrivals
|publisher = BBC
|date = 21 August 2012
|access-date = 22 August 2012
}}</ref> Moffat was also inspired to write the episode based on the popular children's game [[Statues (game)|Statues]],<ref name=whoisthedoctor>Burk and Smith, p. 166</ref> which he always found "frightening".<ref name="confidential"/> [[Murray Gold]], the composer for the series, later compared the creatures to the moving ghostly [[topiary]] animals in [[Stephen King]]'s 1977 horror novel ''[[The Shining (novel)|The Shining]]''.<ref name="commentary"/>

"Blink" is 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 the "[[Human Nature (Doctor Who episode)|Human Nature]]" and "[[The Family of Blood]]" story arc, which was adapted by [[Paul Cornell]] from his 1995 novel ''[[Human Nature (novel)|Human Nature]]'';<ref>{{cite web|first=Chris|last=Allen|url=https://www.digitalspy.com/british-tv/s7/doctor-who/tubetalk/a224345/gareth-roberts-talks-who-sarah-jane.html|title=Gareth Roberts talks 'Who', 'Sarah Jane'|website=[[Digital Spy]]|date=10 June 2010|access-date=14 August 2012}}</ref> and "[[Dalek (Doctor Who episode)|Dalek]]", which used the basic premise as well as several scenes and lines of dialogue adapted by [[Robert Shearman]] from his 2003 audio drama ''[[Jubilee (Doctor Who audio)|Jubilee]]''.<ref name="Cavern">{{cite web| title = Doctor Who at the Cavern Club&nbsp;– A Great Success |publisher = The Mind Robber | year = 2007 |url=http://www.themindrobber.co.uk/dr-who-at-cavern.html |access-date = 19 September 2007 }}</ref> "Blink" is referred to as a "Doctor-Lite" episode because the Doctor and his companion have very little screen time.<ref name="lite">{{cite journal|title=2007 Awards|journal=[[Doctor Who Magazine]]|publisher=[[Panini Comics]]|location=[[Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent]]|issue= 389|pages=40–41|date=12 December 2007}}</ref> This allowed two episodes to be filmed simultaneously,<ref name="RT" /><ref name="radiotimes2007">{{cite web|title=Steven Moffat Interview 2007 |date=June 2007 |url=http://www.radiotimes.com/content/show-features/doctor-who/steven-moffat-interview-2007/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240525120440/https://www.webcitation.org/61g7opV6C?url=http://old.radiotimes.com/content/show-features/doctor-who/steven-moffat-interview-2007/ |archive-date=25 May 2024 |work=[[Radio Times]] |publisher=Exponent |access-date=4 May 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=sfx_jan2007>{{cite journal|title=Who Horizons|journal=[[SFX (magazine)|SFX]]|publisher=[[Future Publishing]]|date=January 2007|pages=46}}</ref> a process known as "double banking".<ref name="commentary"/> The practice began with the 2006 entry "[[Love & Monsters (Doctor Who)|Love & Monsters]]", and continued for episodes such as "[[Turn Left (Doctor Who)|Turn Left]]", "[[Midnight (Doctor Who)|Midnight]]",<ref>{{cite episode |title=[[Doctor Who Confidential#Series 4 (2008)|Here Come The Girls]] |series=[[Doctor Who Confidential]] |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC Three]] |location=[[Cardiff]] |airdate=2008-06-21|series-no=4|number=10}}</ref> and "[[The Girl Who Waited]]".<ref>{{cite web|first=Dan|last=Martin|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2011/sep/10/the-girl-who-waited|title=Doctor Who: THe Girl Who Waited&nbsp;– series 32, episode 10|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=10 September 2011|access-date=14 August 2012}}</ref> Moffat stated that he felt relaxed when he was writing the script for "Blink", for if it proved to be unpopular, he could blame the "Doctor-lite" structure of the episode.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.radiotimes.com/content/show-features/doctor-who/steven-moffat-interview-2008/ |title=Steven Moffat interview 2008 |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/61g5HQjoH?url=http://old.radiotimes.com/content/show-features/doctor-who/steven-moffat-interview-2008/ |archive-date=13 September 2011 |work=[[Radio Times]] |publisher=Exponent |date=June 2008 |access-date=25 March 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Due to the show's tight schedule, "Blink" had only one script meeting.<ref name="commentary"/>

===Filming===
[[File:Carey Mulligan 2009.jpg|thumb|right|200px|alt=A woman stands and smiles, holding a microphone|Actress [[Carey Mulligan]] (seen here in 2009) appeared in the episode as Sally Sparrow.]]
"Blink" was directed by [[Hettie MacDonald]], making her the first female director of a ''Doctor Who'' episode since the [[Sixth Doctor]] serial ''[[The Mark of the Rani]]''.<ref>{{cite web|last=Jusino|first=Teresa|title=Moffat's Woman #3 – Sally|url=https://www.tor.com/blogs/2010/01/moffats-women-3-sally|work=[[Tor Books|Tor.com]]|publisher=[[Macmillan Publishers|Macmillan]]|access-date=7 August 2012|date=27 January 2010}}</ref> [[Russell T Davies]], the series' executive producer, later noted that, due to MacDonald's work, the episode included some of "the most beautiful [visuals] we've ever had".<ref name="commentary"/> British actress [[Carey Mulligan]] was chosen to play Sally Sparrow; Mulligan was reportedly ecstatic to have been cast in the series. She was initially concerned with the fact that Tennant would have little screen time, but after the episode aired was very pleased with the final result.<ref name="confidential"/>

Location shooting for scenes set at the Police Station Garage took place at the [[Coal Exchange]] and Mount Stuart Square, [[Cardiff Bay]] on 21 November 2006.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/arts/sites/doctor-who-wales/alllocations/cardiff-coal-exchange-mount-stuart-square|title= Walesarts, Coal Exchange and Mount Stuart Square, Cardiff Bay|work=BBC – Wales|publisher = [[BBC]]|access-date = 30 May 2010}}</ref> Fields House, located in Newport, filled in for Wester Drumlins.<ref name="confidential"/><ref>{{cite web|title=Fields House|url=https://www.doctorwholocations.net/locations/fieldshouse|publisher=Doctor Who – The Locations Guide|access-date=7 August 2012}}</ref> The house was already abandoned and falling into disrepair when the filming crews arrived. Moffat noted that "very little of it was tarted up" for the shoot; Moffat later called the location "the creepiest house" he had ever seen.<ref name="commentary"/> The name was taken from a previous residence that Moffat lived in during the late 1990s.<ref name="wester">{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071206130918/http://www.gallifreyone.com/forum/showpost.php?p=4167147&postcount=23|archive-date=6 December 2007|url=http://www.gallifreyone.com/forum/showpost.php?p=4167147&postcount=23|title=Wester Drumlins|last=Moffat |first=Steven |author-link=Steven Moffat |date=12 June 2007 |publisher=[[Outpost Gallifrey]] |access-date=14 August 2012}} {{subscription required}}</ref> Larry describes the residence as "[[Scooby-Doo (character)|Scooby-Doo]]'s house", a reference to the dilapidated mansions that the ''[[Scooby-Doo]]'' gang would usually visit.{{sfn|Russell|2007|p=187}} The BBC Fact File for the episode notes that 1969—the year Martha, the Doctor and Billy are sent to—is the first year ''[[Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!]]'' aired.<ref name="factfile">{{cite web|first=Peter|last=Ware|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/episodes/2007/facts/fact_310.shtml|title=Doctor Who – Fact File – "Blink"|publisher=[[BBC]]|access-date=9 June 2007}}</ref>

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. Initially, Obiora played the role with a London accent; Mahoney, however, had a Gambian accent, and so Obiora had to re-dub his lines to match.<ref name="commentary"/> 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.<ref name="commentary"/> Moffat has confirmed that this line is an [[in-joke]] aimed at the Outpost Gallifrey forum.<ref name="commentary"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gallifreyone.com/forum/showpost.php?p=4161263&postcount=177 |title=Re: Moffat hates fans? |access-date=12 June 2007 |last=Moffat |first=Steven |author-link=Steven Moffat |date=12 June 2007 |publisher=[[Outpost Gallifrey]] |quote=I put in the Windows gag SPECIFICALLY to make this forum laugh. It was for us lot here&nbsp;– the rest of the world didn't notice. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930202521/http://www.gallifreyone.com/forum/showpost.php?p=4161263&postcount=177 |archive-date=30 September 2007 |url-status=dead}} {{subscription required}}</ref>

===Effects===
Moffat joked that "since I was a kid, I've been thinking of ''Doctor Who'' monsters, just now when I do, it costs the art department […] a lot of money".<ref name="confidential"/> To create the rigid structure of the angels' dresses, prosthetics supervisors Rob Mayor soaked fabric in fibreglass resin, which was then painted over.<ref name="confidential"/> Although they are never shown moving on screen, all of the Weeping Angels were played by actresses Aga Blonska and Elen Thomas wearing makeup and prosthetics.{{sfn|Russell|2007|p=186}}<ref name="confidential">{{cite episode |title=Do You Remember the First Time? |series=[[Doctor Who Confidential]] |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC Three]] |location=[[Cardiff]] |airdate=9 June 2007|series-no=3|number=10}}</ref> The actresses wore two distinct masks: one that was more docile looking, and one with fangs bared.<ref name="confidential"/> Blonska later noted that "I'm partly painted, partly glued into the costume, but it's quite comfortable."<ref name=radiotimesangels>{{cite web|title=Creating the Weeping Angel |url=http://old.radiotimes.com/content/show-features/doctor-who/creating-the-weeping-angel/ |work=[[Radio Times]] |publisher=Exponent |access-date=8 August 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240525120642/https://www.webcitation.org/61hZKx7IG?url=http://old.radiotimes.com/content/show-features/doctor-who/creating-the-weeping-angel/ |archive-date=25 May 2024 |date=June 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Although the actresses were slightly "wobbly" when they stood still, the producers used digital effects to, in essence, freeze the angels on film.<ref name="commentary"/> Moffat was very pleased with the results, and called them "fantastic".<ref name="confidential"/> Mulligan later called the effects "so good" and "really creepy".<ref name="confidential"/>

To create the effect of the Angels rocking the TARDIS Mulligan and 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.<ref name="confidential"/> 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. Moffat felt that this one-way filming made the performance more convincing.<ref name="commentary"/> 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.<ref name="commentary"/> Gold called the sequences "the heart of the [[wikt:Chinese puzzle|Chinese puzzle]]".<ref name="commentary"/>

==Broadcast and reception==
"Blink" was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on [[BBC One]] on 9 June 2007. Overnight ratings showed that it was watched by 6.1 million viewers, which rose to 6.62 once time-shifted viewers were taken into account.<ref name="factfile"/> The episode was the seventh most watched episode on BBC One for the week ending 10 June and was the lowest-rated episode of ''Doctor Who''{{'s}} third series.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.barb.co.uk/whats-new/weekly-top-30?|title=Weekly Top 30 Programmes|publisher=[[Broadcasters' Audience Research Board]]|access-date=29 April 2012}} Note: Information is in the section titled "w/e June 04–10, 2007", listed under BBC1</ref> It received an [[Appreciation Index]] of 87, considered "excellent".<ref name="factfile"/> In its initial broadcast, a short clip of a card reading "One Year Later" was shown before the episode's denouement. In the [[Broadcast syndication|syndicated]] and the DVD version, this shot has been removed.<ref name=whoisthedoctor2>Burk and Smith, p. 167</ref>

A [[DVD region code#Region codes and countries|Region 2]] DVD containing "Blink" together with the episodes "Human Nature" and "The Family of Blood" was released on 23 July 2007.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbcshop.com/david-tennant/doctor-who-series-3-vol-3-dvd/invt/bbcdvd2383/|title=Doctor Who: Series 3 Vol. 3|publisher=[[BBC]]|work=BBCShop|access-date=18 June 2010}}</ref> It was re-released as part of the complete series three DVD on 5 November 2007.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbcshop.com/david-tennant/doctor-who-complete-series-3-dvd/invt/bbcdvd2385/|title=Doctor Who: The Complete Series 3 (DVD)|publisher=[[BBC]]|work=BBCShop|access-date=6 August 2012}}</ref>

===Critical reception and accolades===
[[File:From episode "Blink" (3174170752).jpg|thumb|right|The wall with the Doctor's writing, as shown at the Doctor Who Experience.]]
"Blink" received positive reviews, with many praising the acting, the script, the level of fear and the [[Weeping Angels]] themselves. ''[[The Guardian]]''{{'s}} Stephen Brook called it a "wonderfully creepy episode" that "ultimately made sense" despite "barely featur[ing] the Doctor and Martha".<ref>{{cite news|first=Stephen|last=Brook|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2007/jul/02/doctorwhoitsseasonfinalet|title=Doctor Who: it's season finale time!|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|date=2 June 2007|access-date=25 March 2012}}</ref> David Bradley of ''[[SFX (magazine)|SFX]]'' awarded "Blink" five out of five stars, saying that it could have featured any of the previous Doctors and predicted that its "timelessness" would ensure that it would "[go] down as one of the finest, scariest, cleverest ''Who'' episodes ever".<ref>{{cite journal|first=David|last=Bradley|url=https://www.sfx.co.uk/2007/06/09/doctor_who_3_10_blink/|title=Doctor Who 3.10 'Blink'|journal=[[SFX (magazine)|SFX]]|publisher=[[Future Publishing]]|date=9 June 2007|access-date=25 March 2012}}</ref> [[IGN]]'s Travis Fickett gave the episode 9.1 out of 10, praising the way the audience felt they had known Sally Sparrow for a while, as well as the strength of Mulligan's performance, although he noted that "all of the performances in this episode are exceptional".<ref name=ficketign/> He concluded that, "it's difficult to believe that so much was accomplished in such a short amount of time. The story of not one, but two relationships was told, several time lines intersected and a new and rather frightening enemy was vanquished without The Doctor ever coming face to face with them".<ref name=ficketign>{{cite web|first=Travis|last=Fickett|url=http://tv.ign.com/articles/820/820427p1.html|title=Doctor Who 'Blink' Review|work=[[IGN]]|publisher=[[News Corporation (1980–2013)|News Corporation]]|date=17 September 2007|access-date=25 March 2012}}</ref> Ross Ruedinger of ''[[Slant Magazine]]'' believed that the episode was not just the best ''Doctor Who'' episode, but also a great episode of the science fiction and horror genre that could allow it to stand alone. He also praised the fear-inducing concept of the Weeping Angels as well as the "tenderness of the story and the characters" which were "quite intricate given how much is going on in these 45 minutes".<ref>{{cite web|first=Ross|last=Ruedinger|url=http://www.slantmagazine.com/house/2007/09/doctor-who-season-three-ep-10-blink/|title=Doctor Who, Season Three, Ep. 10: 'Blink'|work=[[Slant Magazine]]|date=15 September 2007}}</ref> ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' named the episode one of the best of the show's entire run, noting that, while the Doctor "is somewhat on the periphery here", it "adds to the threat".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/3674193/The-10-greatest-episodes-of-Doctor-Who-ever.html|title=The 10 Greatest Episodes of Doctor Who Ever|newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|date=2 July 2008|access-date=11 February 2012}}</ref>

Many critics consider the episode one of the strongest during Tennant's time as the Doctor. IGN's Matt Wales named it the sixth best episode of Tennant's tenure,<ref>{{cite web|first=Matt|last=Wales|url=http://tv.ign.com/articles/105/1058228p2.html|title=Top 10 Tennant Doctor Who Stories|work=[[IGN]]|publisher=[[News Corporation (1980–2013)|News Corporation]]|date=5 January 2010|access-date=11 February 2012}}</ref> while Sam McPherson of [[Zap2it|TVOvermind]] listed it as the second best Tenth Doctor episode.<ref>{{cite web|first=Sam|last=McPherson|url=http://www.tvovermind.com/doctor-who/the-tenth-doctors-top-5-doctor-who-episodes/|title=The Tenth Doctor's Top 5 Doctor Who Episodes|publisher=TVOvermind|date=2 January 2010|access-date=11 February 2012|archive-date=4 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120404021848/http://www.tvovermind.com/doctor-who/the-tenth-doctors-top-5-doctor-who-episodes|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2011, before the second half of the [[Doctor Who (series 6)|sixth series]], ''[[The Huffington Post]]'' labelled "Blink" as one of the five essential episodes for new viewers to watch.<ref>{{cite web|first=Catherine|last=Lawson|url=http://www.aoltv.com/2011/08/09/doctor-who-5-essential-episodes/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120626184048/http://www.aoltv.com/2011/08/09/doctor-who-5-essential-episodes/|url-status=dead|archive-date=26 June 2012|title=Catch Up With 'Doctor Who': 5 Essential Episodes|work=[[HuffPost]]|date=9 August 2011|access-date=11 February 2012}}</ref> The Weeping Angels also received critical praise. In 2009 ''SFX'' named the climax with the Weeping Angels advancing on Sally and Larry the scariest moment in ''Doctor Who''{{'s}} history, describing it as "a terrifying combination of scary concept and perfect direction".<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.sfx.co.uk/2009/02/01/21_scariest_doctor_who_moments_7/|title=21 Scariest Doctor Who Moments 7|journal=[[SFX (magazine)|SFX]]|publisher=[[Future Publishing]]|date=1 February 2009|access-date=14 April 2012}}</ref> The Weeping Angels came in at number three in [[Neil Gaiman]]'s "Top Ten New Classic Monsters" in ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'',<ref>{{Cite news|title=Neil Gaiman: My Top 10 New Classic Monsters|url=https://ew.com/article/2008/06/20/my-new-classics-top-10-neil-gaiman/|newspaper=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|publisher=[[Time Inc.|Time Inc]]|date=July 2008|access-date=19 March 2020}}</ref> while [[TV Squad]] named them the third scariest television characters.<ref>{{cite web|first=Annie|last=Wu|url=http://www.aoltv.com/2007/10/24/all-time-scariest-tv-characters-3-weeping-angels/|title=All-time scariest TV characters|work=[[TV Squad]]|publisher=[[Weblogs, Inc.|Weblogs, Inc]]|date=24 October 2007|access-date=7 August 2012|archive-date=25 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130525233558/http://www.aoltv.com/2007/10/24/all-time-scariest-tv-characters-3-weeping-angels/|url-status=dead}}</ref> They were also rated the third-best "baddie" in ''Doctor Who'' by ''The Daily Telegraph'', behind the [[Auton|Nestene Consciousness]] and Daleks.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/8493054/Doctor-Who-the-top-ten-baddies.html?image=7|title=Doctor Who – The Top Ten Baddies|newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]|publisher=[[Telegraph Media Group]]|access-date=7 August 2012|location=London|date=4 May 2011}}</ref> In 2009 ''SFX'' listed the Angels in their list of favourite things of the revival of ''Doctor Who'', writing, "Scariest. Monsters. Ever."<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.sfx.co.uk/2009/02/01/27_things_sfx_loves_about_new_who_3/|title=27 Things SFX Loves About New Who 3|journal=[[SFX (magazine)|SFX]]|publisher=[[Future Publishing]]|date=1 February 2009|access-date=7 August 2012}}</ref>

Writer Steven Moffat was awarded the 2008 [[British Academy Television Craft Awards|BAFTA Craft]] and [[BAFTA Cymru]] awards for Best Writer for his work on this episode.<ref name="bafta1">{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2008/04_april/28/cymru.shtml|title=BAFTA Cymru success for BBC Wales |publisher=[[BBC]] |date=28 April 2008 |access-date=13 May 2008}}</ref><ref name="bafta2">{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7395593.stm |title=Bafta glory for Channel 4's Boy A|work=[[BBC News Online]] |publisher=[[BBC]] |date=12 May 2008 |access-date=13 May 2008}}</ref> "Blink" won the [[Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form]],<ref name="Hugo">{{cite web |title=2008 Hugo Award Results Announced |url=https://www.thehugoawards.org/?p=146 |work=[[Hugo Award]] |publisher=[[World Science Fiction Society]] |date=9 August 2008 |access-date=11 August 2008 }}</ref> and [[Carey Mulligan]] received the [[Constellation Awards|Constellation Award]] for Best Female Performance in a 2007 Science Fiction Television Episode.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://constellations.tcon.ca/2008.shtml |title=Looking Back At... The 2008 Constellation Awards |work=[[Constellation Awards|The Constellation Awards]] |publisher=TCON Promotional Society |date=15 July 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706205410/http://constellations.tcon.ca/2008.shtml |archive-date=6 July 2011 }}</ref> The episode was nominated for the [[Nebula Award]] for Best Script,<ref name="nebula">{{cite web |last=Rowe |first=Josiah |title='Blink' gets Nebula nod |publisher=[[Outpost Gallifrey]] |date=21 January 2008 |url=http://www.gallifreyone.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?id=EkppAplkAkQBWREwTW&tmpl=newsrss&style=feedstyle |access-date=21 January 2008 |archive-date=23 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120623203649/http://www.gallifreyone.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?id=EkppAplkAkQBWREwTW&tmpl=newsrss&style=feedstyle |url-status=dead }}</ref> but lost to ''[[Pan's Labyrinth]]'' by [[Guillermo del Toro]].<ref name="nebula2">{{cite web|title=2007 Nebula Award Winners |publisher=Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc |date=26 April 2008 |url=http://www.sfwa.org/news/2008/07nebwiners.htm |access-date=2 June 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080531095020/http://www.sfwa.org/news/2008/07nebwiners.htm |archive-date=31 May 2008 }}</ref>

===Legacy===
"Blink" received the award for Best Story in the ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]'' 2007 Survey.<ref name="lite"/> In ''Doctor Who Magazine''{{'s}} 2009 poll to find the greatest ''Doctor Who'' story ever, it came in second place after [[Peter Davison]]'s final story, ''[[The Caves of Androzani]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/09/17/best_who_ever/| title=''Doctor Who'' fans name best episode ever|first=Lester| last= Haines|work=[[The Register]]|publisher=Situation Publishing|date=17 September 2009|access-date=11 February 2012}}</ref> In a 2007 poll conducted by the [[BBC]], taking votes from 2,000 readers of the ''Doctor Who Adventures'' magazine, the Weeping Angels were voted the scariest monsters of 2007 with 55% of the vote; the [[Master (Doctor Who)|Master]] and the [[Dalek]]s took second and third place with 15% and 4% of the vote.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Monster Hit|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080301231156/http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/news/cult/news/drwho/2007/09/12/48755.shtml|archive-date=1 March 2008|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/news/cult/news/drwho/2007/09/12/48755.shtml|publisher=[[BBC]]|date=12 September 2007|access-date=7 August 2012}}</ref> In a 2012 poll of over ten thousand respondents conducted by the ''[[Radio Times]]'', the Weeping Angels were again voted the best ''Doctor Who'' monster with 49.4% of the vote.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2012-06-09/doctor-who-weeping-angels-beat-the-daleks-to-be-voted-fans-favourite-ever-monsters|title=Doctor Who: Weeping Angels beat The Daleks to be voted fans' favourite ever monsters|work=[[Radio Times]]|publisher=Exponent|last=Jones|first=Paul|date=9 June 2012|access-date=7 August 2012}}</ref> In ''Doctor Who Magazine''{{'s}} 2014 fan poll of the greatest episodes of all time, "Blink" again came in second, this time behind the 2013 episode "[[The Day of the Doctor]]".<ref>{{cite magazine|title=The Top 10 Doctor Who stories of all time|url=http://www.doctorwhomagazine.com/the-top-10-doctor-who-stories-of-all-time/|access-date=21 August 2014|magazine=Doctor Who Magazine|date=21 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191206154728/https://doctorwhomagazine.com/the-top-10-doctor-who-stories-of-all-time/|archive-date=6 December 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> In the fifteenth series episode "[[Lux (Doctor Who)|Lux]]", which included several [[fourth wall]]-breaking concepts, the Doctor meets fans of the show ''Doctor Who'' who insist that "Blink" is their favorite episode.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.avclub.com/doctor-who-recap-season-2-episode-2-lux | title = Doctor Who goes all Scooby-Doo in the meta "Lux" | first = Isobel | last = Lewis | date = 19 April 2025 | accessdate = 20 April 2025 | work = [[The A.V. Club]] }}</ref>

Moffat, after becoming lead writer of the programme, wrote "[[The Time of Angels]]" and "[[Flesh and Stone]]" for the fifth series as a more action-oriented sequel that brought back the Weeping Angels, believing that good monsters should come back with a different style of story.<ref>{{cite web|first=Steven|last=Moffat|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/webarchive/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.co.uk%2Fblogs%2Ftv%2F2010%2F04%2Fdoctor-who-the-return-of-the-w.shtml|title=Doctor Who: The return of the Weeping Angels|publisher=[[BBC]]|date=22 April 2010|access-date=7 August 2012}}</ref> They also returned in "[[The Angels Take Manhattan]]" from the show's [[Doctor Who (series 7)|seventh series]] ,<ref>{{cite web|first=Morgan|last=Jeffery|url=https://www.digitalspy.com/british-tv/s7/doctor-who/news/a372359/doctor-who-weeping-angels-return-for-amy-and-rory-exit.html|title='Doctor Who': Weeping Angels return for Amy and Rory exit|work=[[Digital Spy]]|publisher=[[Nat Mags]]|date=21 March 2012|access-date=7 August 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/doctorwho/articles/The-Power-of-Three-and-The-Angels-Take-Manhattan|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130114050241/http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/doctorwho/articles/The-Power-of-Three-and-The-Angels-Take-Manhattan|url-status=dead|archive-date=14 January 2013|title=The Power of Three and The Angels Take Manhattan|publisher=BBC|date=15 August 2012|access-date=18 August 2012}}</ref> featured in the mini-episode, "[[Good as Gold (Doctor Who)|Good as Gold]]", written by children for a ''[[Blue Peter]]'' contest<ref>{{cite web|first=Paul|last=Jones|url=http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2012-05-24/weeping-angels-to-feature-tonight-in-brand-new-doctor-who-adventure|title=Weeping Angels to feature tonight in brand-new Doctor Who adventure|publisher=[[BBC]]|date=24 May 2012|access-date=7 August 2012}}</ref> and have made cameo appearances in the episodes "[[The God Complex]]", "[[The Time of the Doctor]]", "[[Hell Bent (Doctor Who)|Hell Bent]]", "[[Revolution of the Daleks]]" and in the finale to the first series of the ''Doctor Who'' spin-off, ''[[Class (2016 TV series)|Class]]''. They are also featured in the [[New Series Adventures]] novel ''Touched by an Angel'' by [[Jonathan Morris (author)|Jonathan Morris]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Doctor Who: Touhed by an Angel|publisher=Amazon.co.uk|id= {{ASIN|1849902348|country=uk}}}}</ref> They returned to face the [[Thirteenth Doctor]] in series 13, ''[[Doctor Who (series 13)|Flux]]''.

A line spoken by the Doctor, "The angels have the phone box",<ref>{{cite episode|title=Blink|series=[[Doctor Who]]|credits=[[Steven Moffat]] (writer), [[Hettie MacDonald]] (director), [[Phil Collinson]] (producer)|airdate=9 June 2007|network=[[BBC]]|station=[[BBC One]]|series-no=3|number=10|time= 31:18}}</ref> is [[Metanoia (rhetoric)|rhetorically repeated]] by Larry and prompts him to say "I've got that on a T-shirt". As expected by Moffat and Gold,<ref name="commentary">{{cite video|people=[[Steven Moffat]], [[Murray Gold]]|date=9 June 2007|title=Blink: Episode Commentary|location=''[[Doctor Who (series 3)|Doctor Who: The Complete Third Series]]''|medium=DVD|publisher=[[BBC Video]]}}
</ref> this led online retailers such as [[ThinkGeek]],<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.thinkgeek.com/interests/exclusives/e78d/ | title= The Angels Have the Phone Box | work= [[ThinkGeek]]|publisher=[[Geeknet]] | access-date=4 May 2011}}</ref> and [[Zazzle]],<ref>{{cite web|title=The Angels Have the Phone Box Gifts|url=https://www.zazzle.com/the+angels+have+the+phone+box+gifts|publisher=[[Zazzle]]|access-date=7 August 2012}}</ref> among others, to offer versions of such a product for sale. In addition, the "wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey" line has been used to describe several of Moffat's complex time travel stories, such as "[[Let's Kill Hitler]]" and "[[The Big Bang (Doctor Who)|The Big Bang]]".<ref>{{cite news|first=Michael|last=Hogan|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/doctor-who/8725946/Doctor-Who-Lets-Kill-Hitler-BBC-One-review.html|title=Doctor Who, Let's Kill Hitler, BBC One, review|newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|date=27 August 2011|access-date=7 August 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Dan|last=Martin|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2011/aug/27/doctor-who-television|title=Doctor Who: Let's Kill Hitler&nbsp;– series 32, episode 8|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|date=27 August 2011|access-date=7 August 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Matt|last=Wales|url=http://au.tv.ign.com/articles/110/1102387p1.html|title=Doctor Who: 'The Big Bang' Review|work=[[IGN]]|publisher=[[News Corporation (1980–2013)|News Corporation]]|date=29 June 2010|access-date=7 August 2012}}</ref> The line was also referenced in the first episode of the fifth series, "[[The Eleventh Hour (Doctor Who)|The Eleventh Hour]]", when the [[Eleventh Doctor]] ([[Matt Smith]]) scans the crack in young [[Amy Pond|Amelia Pond]]'s (Caitlin Blackwood) wall with his sonic screwdriver.<ref>Burk and Smith, p. 227</ref> [[BBC America]] created a series of four specials prior to the seventh series premiere of ''Doctor Who'', including one entitled "The Timey-Wimey Stuff of Doctor Who".<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/doctor-who/22129/new-doctor-who-docs-coming-to-bbc-america | title = New Doctor Who docs coming to BBC America | first= Louisa | last = Muller | date = 25 July 2012 | access-date = 23 August 2012 | publisher = [[Den of Geek]] }}</ref>

British "[[Doctor Who fandom#Music inspired by Doctor Who|Timelord rock]]" band [[Chameleon Circuit (band)|Chameleon Circuit]], composed of [[YouTube]] bloggers [[Alex Day]] and [[Charlotte McDonnell]] (formerly Charlie McDonnell) among others, wrote a song about the episode, also entitled "Blink", and released it on their debut eponymous album.<ref>{{cite web|last=Newitz|first=Annalee|author-link=Annalee Newitz|title=It's Not Filk – It's Trock!|url=http://io9.com/5086730/its-not-filk-+-its-trock|work=[[i09]]|publisher=[[Gawker Media]]|access-date=7 August 2012|date=14 November 2008|archive-date=27 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120927083612/http://io9.com/5086730/its-not-filk-+-its-trock|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite AV media notes |title= Chameleon Circuit|others=Chameleon Circuit |year=2009 |publisher= [[Hank Green#DFTBA Records|DFTBA Records]]}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
*{{cite book|last=Burk|first=Graeme|title=Who Is the Doctor: The Unofficial Guide to Doctor Who: the New Series|year=2012|publisher=ECW Press|location=Toronto, Canada|isbn=978-1-55022-984-4|author2=Robert Smith|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/whoisdoctorunoff0000burk}}
*{{cite book|last=Russell|first=Gary|title=Doctor Who Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to Time and Space|year=2007|publisher=[[BBC Books]]|location=London, United Kingdom|isbn=978-1-84607-291-8|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/doctorwhoencyclo0000russ}}

==External links==

*{{BBCDWnew | year=2007 |id = 310| title = Blink }}

*{{IMDb episode|1000252|Blink}}

{{Doctor Who episodes|N3}}
{{navboxes|list1=
{{Doctor Who episodes by Steven Moffat}}
{{Tenth Doctor stories|selected=Television}}
{{Weeping Angel stories}}
{{Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form}}
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{{Wikipedia attribution|original_title=Blink (Doctor Who)|access_date=2026-02-27}}