This is one of the best episodes of Doctor Who ever made. The story is clever and I like that the Doctor and Martha only play a small part in it. I've always though that Sally Sparrow would have made a great companion.
I completely agree with everything you said. :) It takes a special character (an actor/actress) to be able to come into a show like this and be the focus of the episode and actually pull it off.
I've heard it that Carey Mulligan was actually asked if she wanted to be a companion but declined the offer. Bit of a shame, I think, Sally Sparrow's one of my favourite one-off characters.
17:47 They're not looking at them, but the audience is. One of the best things about this episode is they never move when the audience can see them either. For example, ones in the background move occasionally, but only when they are covered by a character.
Actually while that's true as a concept in this episode, the more in universe reason they can't get them is that the angel pointing is facing the three others. It is locking his allies.
@@canadian__ninjaThis sort of necessarily means that in a group, only the one last in line can move forward until he hits the field of vision of another one, and he better hope he's not looking at the one who just saw him or else they are both stuck indefinitely.
Reminds me of Village of the Angels. Everyone craps on that era, and it’s not my favorite, but that was a damn good Weeping Angel episode, perhaps my favorite, especially odd since it’s the only one not written by Moffat.
Nothing spookier than living near the street they filmed this episode, then later realizing I could see it from my bedroom window. One night it even had a light on. I dont think I slept that night 😅
@@BritanyBinges I could see the old creepy house the Angels were in. Where this episode was filmed from where I used to live. Didnt realize until a week before we moved. Kinda glad I didnt know until much later tbh xD
Fun Fact: They had completely shot all the scenes with the young Billy before casting his older counterpart. The older actor had an accent (I think Jamaican), The young Billy had to redub his entire performance to match the accent.
I was just checking before saying the same thing! Great performances by Michael Obiora and to the late Louis Mahoney. I understand that the latter was actually born in Gambia although I confess that the accent always sounded Caribbean to my ears too.
The angel threw the rock. The doctor knew to warn Sally bc she prob included that in her report. It’s one of those timey wimey things where a future event causes a past event that allows the future event to happen
DOCTOR: Don't blink. Blink and you're dead. Don't turn your back. Don't look away. And don't blink. Good luck. Now I'm terrified to go near status's or even look at them. Thanks Moffat!
Bit of trivia for you. Moffat didn't intend for this to be a Doctor Who episode. It was a feature film he was writing. Had it pegged as his Hollywood breakthrough. Then he was getting close to a deadline with still no idea for the episode so he repurposed it. So glad he did. The Whoniverse is so much richer with the angels in it.
@@robvanriot while I haven't been able find an interview backing up what I saw in a clip about the angels ages ago (where I got this) I have found the short story you talk about. That story is nothing to do with the angels. At all. It's a conversation over time where the ninth Doctor is split from the TARDIS by twenty years and employs a 12 year old Sally Sparrow 's help in getting the TARDIS back to him. It's not that element I was talking about, but rather the angels as a concept so no need to get snarky.
I like the idea that the angels don't move in the episode when we (the audience) are looking at them. Like when Sally took the key, realistically she wasnt looking at them so they should have got her but because we were looking, they didnt move.
This is the episode that introduced me to Doctor Who. It's ONE of the best ...if not THE best... episode to show a friend who is curious about the show. It has almost zero plot spoilers. It could almost fit in at any point in the show.
Moffat wrote some of the best episodes! The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances in Series 1, The Girl in the Fireplace in Series 2, Blink in Series 3, and Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead. Moffat also created some of the most iconic characters of New Who: Captain Jack Harkness, the Weeping Angels, and River Song.
That's why Moffat is my favorite writer. He was even before I knew that he eventually became the showrunner. I'm pretty sure he's written most of my favorite episodes. :)
Once you're finished with David Tennant. You have to watch the bloopers. If I'm remembering correctly i do believe there's footage of the actresses of the Weeping Angels dancing in costume XD
I'm actually in the 12th's Doctor era over on Patreon. :) I've been holding off on bloopers because I find that they kind of ruin shows for me (at least the parts with the bloopers) because that's all I can think about when I watch those parts on a rewatch. :-/
This is one of my favourite episodes. Carey Mulligan did such a great job, no wonder she's had a solid film career since Most of the weeping angels are actually people in costume because they couldn't make statues in enough positions. There's some funny behind the scenes footage of them
Blink was written by Steven Moffat who took over as showrunner after Russell T. Davies left the show. It was the same message on all the DVDs otherwise Larry would have a bunch of transcripts in his folder but he only has the one. Also I do have a T-shirt with the message "The Angels Have The Phone Box" as well as one that says "Keep Calm and Don't Blink".
I like the implication that Kathy’s daughter Sally (born in 30s or 40s?) is the same Sally that Billy would then marry in the 70s, just a cool little connection
The timeline is that this episode is set in 2007 - the Doctor says it is 38 years after 1969 - except for the last scene, which is a year later. Martha meets the Doctor in 2008 (because Rose missed a year in Series 1). So the last scene fits nicely in 2008. It has to be after The Lazarus Experiment and before Utopia.
A subtle production decision that makes takes this episode over the top for me, is that the angels can’t move even when it’s only US as the viewer seeing them. It’s as if they know that even beings from an alternate reality are looking in on them. Having them freeze even when the viewer is seeing them makes us an active participant in the story and it takes the fear factor up a thousand percent.
@@WolfHreda Agreed... I really wish the weeping angels had stayed a one-off thing, because the more you try to explain it the less it makes sense and the impact of the experience diminishes so much. The angels breaking that rule kind of mirrors how I personally felt about Moffat's series, in that it felt like the audience was no longer being welcomed into the world and a part of the story. It stopped being easy for people of all ages and all walks of life to understand what was going on, and even when that was directly because of poor writing, there was always such an attitude of "well you must be stupid, it's timey wimey, I'm the Doctor and I say so, so catch up already" with how the confusing things and plot holes got explained away...
23.10 re the “duck” I believe the implication is that the Angel threw the rock at her - glad you enjoyed this one! I watched it for the first time in a sleepover when it first came out and we were all terrified of the weeping angels😂
This is my favourite Doctor Who episode by far. When I first watched this episode, I was living in Cardiff (where the show is produced, and the city appears a lot in the show), and well all those statues they showed at the end are all ones I recognised, so that was super creepy for me
@@BritanyBingesTry "Pride and Prejudice" from 2005. She is Elizabeth's younger sister Kitty and it's so good. She is also in "Drive" (2011) and "The Great Gatsby" (2013). In 2015 she played the leading role in "Suffragette".
@@BritanyBinges She's played by Carey Mulligan. Her best film (in my view) is Promising Young Woman. Really worth a watch - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Promising_Young_Woman
Even though Matt Smith is my Doctor, and even though Tennants run is only my 3rd favourite, this is still probably my favourite episode in Doctor Who. Its so genius. And the fact that the Angels can't move when the audience sees them, is one of the best things ever.
Sally gave him a folder, which had all of her interactions with the angel, the house, the Police. This allowed them to put the messages so there would be no temporal paradoxes
The best episode for me With the best doctor With the best villain It s so clever to add villain like the Angel. When i watch the episode for the first time, 2 days after i visit the Reims cathédrale And they have multiple angels in the front of the cathédrale This episode remember this every time
Yep you’re right you’re not in the minority. A game changing episode I think. Showed that Doctor lite episodes can work when they’re written well. The characters are amazing, the plot is complex but solvable… its scary, funny, touching. Really is quite a genius piece of writing. (But like I said before I think this run of 6 episodes from human nature through to the finale of season 3 is brilliant and only bettered by the final 6 episodes of season 4).
THANKS for this!!! Ten couldn't get a job in 1969 because he didn't want to take from Doctor Three's UNIT thunder :) I read somewhere that Moffat wrote this in just a few days. The brother/boyfriend was so proto-Rory.... :)
The first episode I ever saw, I immediately feel in love with the show! Here's one more timey-wimey paradox for you: Since the later episodes in Series 5 establish that, "The image of an Angel becomes an Angel," it's possible that the Weeping Angels in this story were born from the photos of themselves which Sally gave the Doctor. They may not have even existed to send the Doctor back in time if the Doctor and Sally had not run into each other at the end!
Not sure if anyone's said it previously but the thing about this episode that I love is that it's the perfect example of how to do a successfully scary, atmospheric and thought provoking episode of TV on a very small special effects budget and with very little screen time for your central characters as well!
Great reaction to one of the all time best DW episodes. Your avalanche of words in the wrap up/outro shows how excited you were after having watched it (I felt the same way the 1st time.) Nu Who often relies on classic monsters to do the heavy lifting, so it was cool to see a new one being so epic.
This is one of those instant classic episodes. Like when this came out everyone was talking about it and 16 years later people are still talking about it. I remember I had to stay at my auntie's house the night this was on and we had a deal that if I got to watch Doctor Who, she got to watch some boring musical that made me want to rip my hair out. Well, she hates scary stuff and she was not thrilled to be watching this but I loved it. Then I got to watch it the day after again with my family and watch my Brother crap himself. Good times.
I like Martha’s “all of space and time he promised me!” There’s a story in the Doctor Who comics where the 13th Doctor visits Martha in her job in the shop.
Ah yes the EP with the line "Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey" and Weeping Angels' first appearance, absolute terrifying they are. One of the better Doctor/Companion lite EPs up to this point.
It was the ONLY good "lite" episode. They did better with Moonlight, just having it companion light, and Turn Left, with Doctor lite. Having both lite needs an amazing script, and the first effort was a 100% fail.
So a thing I love about this episode about the angels in particular, the original concept is that the angels are beings of a dimensions outside our own, 4th 5th 6th whatever outside of 3rd, and so don't move when we, the viewers can see them. I remember seeing an interview about this episode back when it was made. This was changed however when angels appeared in later episodes and it always disappointed me
This was one of the best episodes of doctor who and the best episode to not fully feature the doctor and also one of the best and scariest villains of doctor who I used to be scared of these weeping angels so glad you reacted to this
A great reaction to a top episode! It IS awesome & so well written & performed - from older & younger Billy to Kathy - plus, it was very Doctor-lite! Cary Mulligan played Sally, and she's a great actress. P.S I've always thought an angel threw the rock......P.P.S The angels do return!
The actor who played the older Billy in hospital appeared in classic Doctor Who…not sure if you’ve seen the episode yet, but no spoilers. Is nice to see recurring actors from the glory days. Also I wish a weeping angel could zap me into the 1970s when I was born, see my grandparents and father again
The only explanation I can think of for The Doctor's warning to Sally to duck at the beginning is if she wrote a detailed narrative of the whole thing, and included that with the paperwork she gives to the Doctor in the end. He then takes it as an instruction (Wibbly-wobbly, Timey-wimey rules, lol), goes to the house and writes it on the wall for her to find. Best way to think of time-travel: Don't assume a sequence of events has to happen in linear order. What we think of as the later-event(s) can happen first to the person jumping around in time.
Not really hard to understand. Doctor has found himself in the middle of bootstrap paradox (google it), meaning, he had to do exactly what was in the transcript to avoid paradox and the universe breaking apart (Rose's dad situation). He did it because he did it.
It’s like Harry’s Patronus in Prisoner of Azkaban. “It wasn’t my dad I saw earlier, it was me. I knew I could do it this time because, well… I’d already done it!”
It's a time travel episode without a time traveling Doctor. It's fun exercise of nonlinear causality. There is no episode showing what they fight at the end. Elsewhere in the show we see the Tardis disappear for a moment but when it comes back, it's been hours, days, even years for the Doctor. It might be we only watch minuscule part of the Doctor's adventures. The same easter egg on DVDs of different movies. The same clip unrelated to the movie on different movies would intrigue youtube commentators.
This is a double banking episode, something used on _Doctor Who_ to save time, where two episodes would be filmed at the same time. The focus would be on guest actors with the Doctor and his companion just making brief appearances or the Doctor and companion would split up and each have a solo episode. I would love an episode after this where the Doctor and Martha are in the '60s, but alas. There's always fanfic, I suppose.
"I have until the rain stops" kills me every time for some reason. Everything I love about Moffat's writing (I vastly prefer him to RTD) is present in this episode. I was surprised you didn't recognise Carey Mulligan, but then again I hadnt seen a Denzel Washington film until two years ago so we all have our blind spots!
For me this is the best episode, it had it all and kept you interested. The first of the Weeping Angels stories. I assume Sally wrote the story down for the doctor and told him she saw the writing on the wall, so back in 1969 he went to Westa drumlins and knowing what was to come wrote it for her to find.
This is an incredible episode, more so when you consider it's Doctor and Martha light. Sally really sells this episode and Lawrence as well. Considering we only see Billy for a short time, his story and connection with Sally feels authentic and you feel for him. It's (one of) the things that confuses me. Why can't the Doctor go back in time to find those people who've been taken. But then I suppose the events we see wouldn't happen as intended for the Doctor to get the Tardis back? I dunno, it makes my head hurt.
There are two direct sequels to this episode... a “found phone” mobile game called “The Lonely Assassins” and a 10-part full cast official podcast adventure called “Redacted.” Both take place after series 11 or 12 though.
I think the Angel threw the rock to incapacitate her, to make it easy to get her without being seen. I just don’t know how the Doctor knew she needed to duck. Also. Throughout this whole episode we don’t actually tell Larry what happened to his sister, he just doesn’t get told at all that she’s dead. Even in the time jump forward at the end we don’t really explore any of that, how he’s feeling etc.
The bit at the end showing all the different statues, i know they were hoping to scare people forever with that, and it worked 😂 12 yr old me was terrified of every single statue i ever saw after this
Don't worry about your brain breaking, it is very brain-breaking stuff. "Wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey" isn't complicated though, it's basically a way to hand-wave away overthinking of time travel paradoxes hahaha. And the bow and arrow is easy to understand - we just have to realise that we as the audience don't get to see all of the adventures the characters have. Just know that they spend more time together than we actually see, but that anything plot-relevant would be in an actual episode of course, so we're not really missing much.
“I think it’s pretty” I think I was 9 or 10 when I watched this episode for the first time and I haven’t been able to look at those statues the same way since 😅
This may have been the first time I saw Carey Mulligan, who has, of course, gone on to be nominated for an Oscar (maybe more than once). Sally Sparrow is one of the guest characters who might have made a good companion.
This was the finest Dr Who story I’d seen up to this point (the first I’d seen was City of Death back in 1979 and it scared the pants off me 😅) Glad you enjoyed it too 😊
Many people would recommend this episode as the best episode for someone who hasn't seen the series to understand what Doctor Who is, in my opinion, although this is a great episode, I would recommend "The Girl in the Fireplace". What do you think ? Of the episodes you've seen, which one would you recommend if you could only recommend one?
While I do think Blink is an INCREDIBLE episode, I definitely wouldn't recommend it as the only/first one to watch if you wanted to get an idea of what the show is since the Doctor is barely in it. I actually think you might be spot-on with The Girl in the Fireplace. It has a little bit of everything... the Doctor interacting with companions, a spaceship, a historical setting, creepy alien adversaries, the doctor being goofy, intense, romantic, and sad, great writing, great costumes, great music, elicits so many different emotions from the viewer, etc.
Did anyone else notice the reflection in Britany's glasses while she was watching and immediately think, "The image of an angel becomes itself an angel."?
If you want another top tier weeping angel story then I highly recommend Big Finish's recent boxset "The Eighth Doctor Adventures: Connections". All you need to know going in is that previous stories with the cast exist and it's in the period just before the time war properly breaks out, thats about it. I honestly think that the story with them in this box set is even better than "Blink".
It would seem that the angel threw it (whatever it was), and that if it hit her, she would have been sent back in time. Obviously, they took pictures of the wall and gave them to the Doctor, so he knew what to write, and of course it's a paradox.
Right, I meant was what the Doctor recorded the same video. So, I was curious at the time if there were differences in the easter eggs. But, it's clear they were all the exact same easter egg.
I wonder what would happen if you grabbed onto an angel and then blinked. Would it be forced to stay still because you can perceive it, or would it kill you because you're touching it and it's able to consume your time energy?
So, not sure if this is something you know or not since this’ll be the third time you watched an episode like this but I’ll say it anyways, each season of Doctor Who during the RTD era had what they called a “Doctor-lite Episode” where due to filming schedules, there would have to be one episode per season where the actor for the Doctor wasn’t available as they were filming the finale so they wrote the episode with that in mind (I’m not sure if this was a thing in Series 1 but if it was then the episode was “Fathers Day”) In series 2 we had “Love and Monsters” which is highly regarded as one of the worst episodes of DW (which I agree with) Series 3 came with this absolute banger and then Series 4 actually had to have both a Doctor-lite *and* a Companion-Lite episode which resulted in “Turn Left” and “Midnight” which are two amazing episodes with Midnight being one I rewatch very regularly
As someone who lives near Cardiff anytime I went into the city centre I'd see the EXACT statues that are shown at the end of the episode. As a child I knew it wasn't real but I would still not blink until I had passed them, JUST IN CASE, it was real haha.
HAHA! I don't blame. I would've done same thing as a kid. In fact, I used to hold my breath when passing by cemeteries as a child because I heard it was bad luck not to. So, at least you had an actual episode that caused your behavior and not some random old wives' tale. lol
@BritanyBinges haha, Doctor who: terrorising children since 1963 😉😂 it was good fun. Oh really? That's not something I've heard before. Very interesting. But glad to know I wasn't the only gullible person believing things haha. Btw, I just wanna say recently discovered your channel, and I adore it so much. You are definitely in my top 5 reactor channels, and I watch many 😂 Plus, it's nice to see a non-welsh person react to doctor who and comment on the buildings, landscape or streets because most of them are real streets in Swansea, Cardiff, or other places in Wales (sometimes Bristol also). So I appreciate the compliments of my gorgeous home 🥰
Been looking forward to this one. Blew me away when I first saw it and continues to do soon each rewatch. Clever, scary, intense and just an all round fantastic ride. Although I do have one issue with the blinking thing. What's wrong with winking alternate eyes? Sally Sparrow, along with Madame de Pompidor, are definitely the companions who got away. Although Carey Mulligan hasn't done too bad for herself since. Fantastic actor.
Oh if you liked the Weeping Angels, just wait for Silence in the Library! Two of the creepiest episodes in the whole series and the most rewarding ones! If noone told you yet: the Angel in the garden threw the rock to knock her out, so she stopped looking at it. ^^
Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead is one of my top favorite stories of the show so far :) (For reference, I'm starting series 10 on Patreon next week.)
O I have been so looking forward to this episode. And your reaction was so worth the wait. So glad you are going on this journey and that we all get to enjoy it with you.
This probably is one of the best doctor and martha episodes. As you know its not the last you see of them, the best (or worst😭) is Amy and Rory's final episode
@@heatherqualy9143ALWAYS good advice to keep in mind! In this instance,however, Britany has made it clear in several of her reactions that she's currently on Series 9.
@glenns7252 Amy and Rory's final episode WRECKED me. I didn't see it coming at all. I actually started tearing up when I was editing this and got to the part where the Doctor says "they just zap you into the past and let you live to death," because all I could think about was Amy and Rory. :(
This is one of the best episodes of Doctor Who ever made. The story is clever and I like that the Doctor and Martha only play a small part in it. I've always though that Sally Sparrow would have made a great companion.
I completely agree with everything you said. :) It takes a special character (an actor/actress) to be able to come into a show like this and be the focus of the episode and actually pull it off.
I've heard it that Carey Mulligan was actually asked if she wanted to be a companion but declined the offer. Bit of a shame, I think, Sally Sparrow's one of my favourite one-off characters.
@@murdomaclachlan That's too bad. She would've been great.
Carey Mulligan became a big star after this.
17:47
They're not looking at them, but the audience is. One of the best things about this episode is they never move when the audience can see them either. For example, ones in the background move occasionally, but only when they are covered by a character.
Actually while that's true as a concept in this episode, the more in universe reason they can't get them is that the angel pointing is facing the three others. It is locking his allies.
2:59 is a better example
@@canadian__ninjaThis sort of necessarily means that in a group, only the one last in line can move forward until he hits the field of vision of another one, and he better hope he's not looking at the one who just saw him or else they are both stuck indefinitely.
I mean theyre called "the lonely assassins" for a reason@@TimoRutanen
I would totally get a weeping angel as a tombstone, just to mess with people.
Reminds me of Village of the Angels. Everyone craps on that era, and it’s not my favorite, but that was a damn good Weeping Angel episode, perhaps my favorite, especially odd since it’s the only one not written by Moffat.
Nothing spookier than living near the street they filmed this episode, then later realizing I could see it from my bedroom window. One night it even had a light on. I dont think I slept that night 😅
Wait, do you mean you can see the house from your bedroom window??!! Or, something else from this episode?
@@BritanyBinges I could see the old creepy house the Angels were in. Where this episode was filmed from where I used to live. Didnt realize until a week before we moved. Kinda glad I didnt know until much later tbh xD
Fun Fact: They had completely shot all the scenes with the young Billy before casting his older counterpart. The older actor had an accent (I think Jamaican), The young Billy had to redub his entire performance to match the accent.
I was just checking before saying the same thing! Great performances by Michael Obiora and to the late Louis Mahoney. I understand that the latter was actually born in Gambia although I confess that the accent always sounded Caribbean to my ears too.
Wow that's actually so cool
It says a lot that the weeping angels are already at a similar level of prominence in pop culture as daleks and cybermen.
Almost...
The doctor saying don’t turn your back don’t blink good luck line was scary as hell but it is a very iconic line in doctor who
The angel threw the rock. The doctor knew to warn Sally bc she prob included that in her report. It’s one of those timey wimey things where a future event causes a past event that allows the future event to happen
DOCTOR: Don't blink. Blink and you're dead. Don't turn your back. Don't look away. And don't blink. Good luck.
Now I'm terrified to go near status's or even look at them. Thanks Moffat!
I was never super crazy about statues before this. lol
Prime Doctor Who. Turn any little ordinary thing into nightmare fuel.
Bit of trivia for you.
Moffat didn't intend for this to be a Doctor Who episode. It was a feature film he was writing. Had it pegged as his Hollywood breakthrough.
Then he was getting close to a deadline with still no idea for the episode so he repurposed it.
So glad he did. The Whoniverse is so much richer with the angels in it.
Another bit of trivia for you - none of that's true. It's an extension of a short story he wrote for the 2005 Doctor Who annual.
@@robvanriot while I haven't been able find an interview backing up what I saw in a clip about the angels ages ago (where I got this) I have found the short story you talk about.
That story is nothing to do with the angels. At all. It's a conversation over time where the ninth Doctor is split from the TARDIS by twenty years and employs a 12 year old Sally Sparrow 's help in getting the TARDIS back to him.
It's not that element I was talking about, but rather the angels as a concept so no need to get snarky.
The Angels Have the Phone Box IS a tshirt. 😂
I like the idea that the angels don't move in the episode when we (the audience) are looking at them. Like when Sally took the key, realistically she wasnt looking at them so they should have got her but because we were looking, they didnt move.
When you said that they weren't moving when Sally and Lawrence weren't looking, was because YOU were watching THEM! Any living thing! Great writing.
This is the episode that introduced me to Doctor Who. It's ONE of the best ...if not THE best... episode to show a friend who is curious about the show. It has almost zero plot spoilers. It could almost fit in at any point in the show.
Moffat wrote some of the best episodes! The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances in Series 1, The Girl in the Fireplace in Series 2, Blink in Series 3, and Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead. Moffat also created some of the most iconic characters of New Who: Captain Jack Harkness, the Weeping Angels, and River Song.
That's why Moffat is my favorite writer. He was even before I knew that he eventually became the showrunner. I'm pretty sure he's written most of my favorite episodes. :)
Who's River Song? 😉
Oh sweet melody, I think I should go p..d fishing ... :)@@chanceneck8072
@@chanceneck8072 She first appears in series 4
@@KyokaJiro5 Right.
So why are we mentioning her here already? 🤔🤷♂️
The angel threw the rock, If they had knocked her out, they would've gotten her easily.
Once you're finished with David Tennant.
You have to watch the bloopers.
If I'm remembering correctly i do believe there's footage of the actresses of the Weeping Angels dancing in costume XD
I'm actually in the 12th's Doctor era over on Patreon. :)
I've been holding off on bloopers because I find that they kind of ruin shows for me (at least the parts with the bloopers) because that's all I can think about when I watch those parts on a rewatch. :-/
@@BritanyBingesWow.
They're THAT far ahead???? 🤨
My favorite Doctor.....
This is one of my favourite episodes. Carey Mulligan did such a great job, no wonder she's had a solid film career since
Most of the weeping angels are actually people in costume because they couldn't make statues in enough positions. There's some funny behind the scenes footage of them
The 2022 film She Said stars Carey Mulligan and also features Samantha Morton. Two people who both dominate the screen whenever they're on.
Honestly the second half of Season 3 is just about the best run in the whole show. All killer no filler.
Finale is debatable. For many that's one of the 2 weakest stories
@@Joey15811Yeah, great run towards the finale and then totally blows it.
Blink was written by Steven Moffat who took over as showrunner after Russell T. Davies left the show. It was the same message on all the DVDs otherwise Larry would have a bunch of transcripts in his folder but he only has the one. Also I do have a T-shirt with the message "The Angels Have The Phone Box" as well as one that says "Keep Calm and Don't Blink".
At the end Larry was standing on her Left when she looked at him and took his hand. Look to your left.
Good catch!!
I like the implication that Kathy’s daughter Sally (born in 30s or 40s?) is the same Sally that Billy would then marry in the 70s, just a cool little connection
Oh, that's a fun theory!
The timeline is that this episode is set in 2007 - the Doctor says it is 38 years after 1969 - except for the last scene, which is a year later. Martha meets the Doctor in 2008 (because Rose missed a year in Series 1). So the last scene fits nicely in 2008. It has to be after The Lazarus Experiment and before Utopia.
The weeping angels became such a cult classic they turn up in the Witcher 3 game as an easter egg
Oh, that's a fun easter egg! I haven't seen the show, but I did know it was based on a game.
A subtle production decision that makes takes this episode over the top for me, is that the angels can’t move even when it’s only US as the viewer seeing them. It’s as if they know that even beings from an alternate reality are looking in on them. Having them freeze even when the viewer is seeing them makes us an active participant in the story and it takes the fear factor up a thousand percent.
And then Moffat went and ruined it in series 5. Because as brilliant as he can be, he's also an idiot.
@@WolfHreda Agreed... I really wish the weeping angels had stayed a one-off thing, because the more you try to explain it the less it makes sense and the impact of the experience diminishes so much. The angels breaking that rule kind of mirrors how I personally felt about Moffat's series, in that it felt like the audience was no longer being welcomed into the world and a part of the story. It stopped being easy for people of all ages and all walks of life to understand what was going on, and even when that was directly because of poor writing, there was always such an attitude of "well you must be stupid, it's timey wimey, I'm the Doctor and I say so, so catch up already" with how the confusing things and plot holes got explained away...
23.10 re the “duck” I believe the implication is that the Angel threw the rock at her - glad you enjoyed this one! I watched it for the first time in a sleepover when it first came out and we were all terrified of the weeping angels😂
Oh, what a fun sleepover activity! I'm sure that's a special memory for all of you now. Our creepy sleepover movie was always The Craft. lol
This is my favourite Doctor Who episode by far. When I first watched this episode, I was living in Cardiff (where the show is produced, and the city appears a lot in the show), and well all those statues they showed at the end are all ones I recognised, so that was super creepy for me
Oh, wow... yeah that would be SUPER creepy. lol
Must have watched this half a dozen times and I only just noticed they decorated the shop with Tardis roundels
An absolute classic. Adore this episode to this day. The actress who plays Sally is also a big movie star now.
I don't think I've seen her in anything else.
@@BritanyBinges Look a little harder.
@@paddynemo5411 What an odd response. lol
@@BritanyBingesTry "Pride and Prejudice" from 2005. She is Elizabeth's younger sister Kitty and it's so good.
She is also in "Drive" (2011) and "The Great Gatsby" (2013). In 2015 she played the leading role in "Suffragette".
@@BritanyBinges She's played by Carey Mulligan. Her best film (in my view) is Promising Young Woman. Really worth a watch - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Promising_Young_Woman
Even though Matt Smith is my Doctor, and even though Tennants run is only my 3rd favourite, this is still probably my favourite episode in Doctor Who. Its so genius. And the fact that the Angels can't move when the audience sees them, is one of the best things ever.
Sally gave him a folder, which had all of her interactions with the angel, the house, the Police. This allowed them to put the messages so there would be no temporal paradoxes
doesn't this mean sally was the reason they went to wester drumlin and got touched by an angel?
This was a Doctor/Martha light episode in order to give the actors more time to work on the season finale. There is also a £ savings aspect.
The best episode for me
With the best doctor
With the best villain
It s so clever to add villain like the Angel.
When i watch the episode for the first time, 2 days after i visit the Reims cathédrale
And they have multiple angels in the front of the cathédrale
This episode remember this every time
That's nice that you have a special memory to go along with this episode. :)
The weeping angels are one of the few new who monsters that have become as iconic as series staples like the daleks or cybermen. Quite deserved I feel
Aaaaand Dr Who creates yet ANOTHER person scared of statues! 😆
Yep you’re right you’re not in the minority. A game changing episode I think. Showed that Doctor lite episodes can work when they’re written well. The characters are amazing, the plot is complex but solvable… its scary, funny, touching. Really is quite a genius piece of writing. (But like I said before I think this run of 6 episodes from human nature through to the finale of season 3 is brilliant and only bettered by the final 6 episodes of season 4).
THANKS for this!!! Ten couldn't get a job in 1969 because he didn't want to take from Doctor Three's UNIT thunder :) I read somewhere that Moffat wrote this in just a few days. The brother/boyfriend was so proto-Rory.... :)
I can definitely see a bit of Rory in the brother/boyfriend character! lol
The first episode I ever saw, I immediately feel in love with the show!
Here's one more timey-wimey paradox for you:
Since the later episodes in Series 5 establish that, "The image of an Angel becomes an Angel," it's possible that the Weeping Angels in this story were born from the photos of themselves which Sally gave the Doctor. They may not have even existed to send the Doctor back in time if the Doctor and Sally had not run into each other at the end!
Not sure if anyone's said it previously but the thing about this episode that I love is that it's the perfect example of how to do a successfully scary, atmospheric and thought provoking episode of TV on a very small special effects budget and with very little screen time for your central characters as well!
Great reaction to one of the all time best DW episodes. Your avalanche of words in the wrap up/outro shows how excited you were after having watched it (I felt the same way the 1st time.)
Nu Who often relies on classic monsters to do the heavy lifting, so it was cool to see a new one being so epic.
This is one of those instant classic episodes. Like when this came out everyone was talking about it and 16 years later people are still talking about it. I remember I had to stay at my auntie's house the night this was on and we had a deal that if I got to watch Doctor Who, she got to watch some boring musical that made me want to rip my hair out. Well, she hates scary stuff and she was not thrilled to be watching this but I loved it. Then I got to watch it the day after again with my family and watch my Brother crap himself. Good times.
I like Martha’s “all of space and time he promised me!” There’s a story in the Doctor Who comics where the 13th Doctor visits Martha in her job in the shop.
Oh, fun!
Ah yes the EP with the line "Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey" and Weeping Angels' first appearance, absolute terrifying they are. One of the better Doctor/Companion lite EPs up to this point.
It was the ONLY good "lite" episode. They did better with Moonlight, just having it companion light, and Turn Left, with Doctor lite. Having both lite needs an amazing script, and the first effort was a 100% fail.
@@johnlarro6872 You mean Midnight, right? I think that EP was equally as scary than Blink
@@pokemaniac05 The failure was Love and Monsters...
I thought Love And Monsters was pretty good until the ending which was pretty awful.
So a thing I love about this episode about the angels in particular, the original concept is that the angels are beings of a dimensions outside our own, 4th 5th 6th whatever outside of 3rd, and so don't move when we, the viewers can see them. I remember seeing an interview about this episode back when it was made. This was changed however when angels appeared in later episodes and it always disappointed me
Just now realising how old this reaction video is, and I hope somebody else said the same thing, as I find it to be very interesting info
This was one of the best episodes of doctor who and the best episode to not fully feature the doctor and also one of the best and scariest villains of doctor who I used to be scared of these weeping angels so glad you reacted to this
this is the first episode of Doctor Who i was able to convince me mom to watch! Definitely one of my favorites
This is a pretty intense one for her to say yes to. lol
A great reaction to a top episode! It IS awesome & so well written & performed - from older & younger Billy to Kathy - plus, it was very Doctor-lite! Cary Mulligan played Sally, and she's a great actress. P.S I've always thought an angel threw the rock......P.P.S The angels do return!
The actor who played the older Billy in hospital appeared in classic Doctor Who…not sure if you’ve seen the episode yet, but no spoilers. Is nice to see recurring actors from the glory days. Also I wish a weeping angel could zap me into the 1970s when I was born, see my grandparents and father again
The only explanation I can think of for The Doctor's warning to Sally to duck at the beginning is if she wrote a detailed narrative of the whole thing, and included that with the paperwork she gives to the Doctor in the end. He then takes it as an instruction (Wibbly-wobbly, Timey-wimey rules, lol), goes to the house and writes it on the wall for her to find. Best way to think of time-travel: Don't assume a sequence of events has to happen in linear order. What we think of as the later-event(s) can happen first to the person jumping around in time.
Not really hard to understand. Doctor has found himself in the middle of bootstrap paradox (google it), meaning, he had to do exactly what was in the transcript to avoid paradox and the universe breaking apart (Rose's dad situation). He did it because he did it.
It’s like Harry’s Patronus in Prisoner of Azkaban. “It wasn’t my dad I saw earlier, it was me. I knew I could do it this time because, well… I’d already done it!”
It's a time travel episode without a time traveling Doctor. It's fun exercise of nonlinear causality.
There is no episode showing what they fight at the end.
Elsewhere in the show we see the Tardis disappear for a moment but when it comes back, it's been hours, days, even years for the Doctor. It might be we only watch minuscule part of the Doctor's adventures.
The same easter egg on DVDs of different movies. The same clip unrelated to the movie on different movies would intrigue youtube commentators.
This is a double banking episode, something used on _Doctor Who_ to save time, where two episodes would be filmed at the same time. The focus would be on guest actors with the Doctor and his companion just making brief appearances or the Doctor and companion would split up and each have a solo episode. I would love an episode after this where the Doctor and Martha are in the '60s, but alas. There's always fanfic, I suppose.
"I have until the rain stops" kills me every time for some reason. Everything I love about Moffat's writing (I vastly prefer him to RTD) is present in this episode. I was surprised you didn't recognise Carey Mulligan, but then again I hadnt seen a Denzel Washington film until two years ago so we all have our blind spots!
For me this is the best episode, it had it all and kept you interested. The first of the Weeping Angels stories.
I assume Sally wrote the story down for the doctor and told him she saw the writing on the wall, so back in 1969 he went to Westa drumlins and knowing what was to come wrote it for her to find.
I love that the episode includes the audience in this and that makes it more creepy
this is such an highly regarded episode and the weeping angels are iconic, i'm glad you really enjoyed it!
This is an incredible episode, more so when you consider it's Doctor and Martha light. Sally really sells this episode and Lawrence as well. Considering we only see Billy for a short time, his story and connection with Sally feels authentic and you feel for him. It's (one of) the things that confuses me. Why can't the Doctor go back in time to find those people who've been taken. But then I suppose the events we see wouldn't happen as intended for the Doctor to get the Tardis back? I dunno, it makes my head hurt.
Probably the first truly good doctor-light episode.
So much good writing, so many perfect little scenes.
There are two direct sequels to this episode... a “found phone” mobile game called “The Lonely Assassins” and a 10-part full cast official podcast adventure called “Redacted.” Both take place after series 11 or 12 though.
It was raining when we met
It’s the same rain
Is such a cool, weird, creepy, depressing, timey wimey line rolled into one
I think the Angel threw the rock to incapacitate her, to make it easy to get her without being seen. I just don’t know how the Doctor knew she needed to duck. Also. Throughout this whole episode we don’t actually tell Larry what happened to his sister, he just doesn’t get told at all that she’s dead. Even in the time jump forward at the end we don’t really explore any of that, how he’s feeling etc.
I always assumed the binder had the full story in it so he knew what he needed to do
This whole episode is a very good example of a bootstrap paradox
I remember watching this with my daughters. It sent them screaming throughout the house. It was hilarious!😂
one my favourites... love that "Good Luck" *blink* at the end :
The bit at the end showing all the different statues, i know they were hoping to scare people forever with that, and it worked 😂 12 yr old me was terrified of every single statue i ever saw after this
Well, I was already creeped out by statues before seeing the Weeping Angels so it definitely worked on me as well. lol
Ahhh your first experience with the weeping angel, imo easily the scariest "villain" in Doctor Who (I know you are at 9x10 now but still)
Don't worry about your brain breaking, it is very brain-breaking stuff. "Wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey" isn't complicated though, it's basically a way to hand-wave away overthinking of time travel paradoxes hahaha. And the bow and arrow is easy to understand - we just have to realise that we as the audience don't get to see all of the adventures the characters have. Just know that they spend more time together than we actually see, but that anything plot-relevant would be in an actual episode of course, so we're not really missing much.
I've seen this episode several times and it stresses me out EVERY SINGLE TIME.😱😱😱
This is the best episode of Tennants possibly the whole of Dr Who.
"Wibbly-Wobbley, Timey-Wimy, Jeremey-Beremey" Genius!
“I think it’s pretty” I think I was 9 or 10 when I watched this episode for the first time and I haven’t been able to look at those statues the same way since 😅
This may have been the first time I saw Carey Mulligan, who has, of course, gone on to be nominated for an Oscar (maybe more than once). Sally Sparrow is one of the guest characters who might have made a good companion.
Yeah, I really enjoyed Sally and would've loved to have seen her more. I'm not sure if I've ever seen Carey in anything else.
This was the finest Dr Who story I’d seen up to this point (the first I’d seen was City of Death back in 1979 and it scared the pants off me 😅)
Glad you enjoyed it too 😊
I find it funny that in the DVD release of series 3, the video is an easter egg on one of the discs
I think they messed up the Weeping Angels later.
Unless we the viewer also prevent them from moving...
Many people would recommend this episode as the best episode for someone who hasn't seen the series to understand what Doctor Who is, in my opinion, although this is a great episode, I would recommend "The Girl in the Fireplace". What do you think ? Of the episodes you've seen, which one would you recommend if you could only recommend one?
While I do think Blink is an INCREDIBLE episode, I definitely wouldn't recommend it as the only/first one to watch if you wanted to get an idea of what the show is since the Doctor is barely in it.
I actually think you might be spot-on with The Girl in the Fireplace. It has a little bit of everything... the Doctor interacting with companions, a spaceship, a historical setting, creepy alien adversaries, the doctor being goofy, intense, romantic, and sad, great writing, great costumes, great music, elicits so many different emotions from the viewer, etc.
I'm glad you enjoyed this. The Angels are my joint favourite enemy of the Doctor, along with Daleks.
I find the Weeping Angels more terrifying, but I do prefer them over the Daleks.
Before I knew what Doctor Who was I remember seeing the adverts for this episode. Really did a number on me cause I've loved the series ever since.
The rock was thrown by one of the angels. It needed to get into the house, but the caretaker had replaced the window and the doors were locked.
Did anyone else notice the reflection in Britany's glasses while she was watching and immediately think, "The image of an angel becomes itself an angel."?
Brainy Specs.🤓
That House has been up for sales recently.
Blink! Glad you enjoyed it! Who knew blinking could be life changing. (That wasn't a question.)
If you want another top tier weeping angel story then I highly recommend Big Finish's recent boxset "The Eighth Doctor Adventures: Connections". All you need to know going in is that previous stories with the cast exist and it's in the period just before the time war properly breaks out, thats about it. I honestly think that the story with them in this box set is even better than "Blink".
This is the introduction to one of the most scariest and feared Doctor Who Monsters ever
Seriously one of the best episodes
It would seem that the angel threw it (whatever it was), and that if it hit her, she would have been sent back in time. Obviously, they took pictures of the wall and gave them to the Doctor, so he knew what to write, and of course it's a paradox.
Actually, I think that legit was made into a T shirt. Also, you will never look at statues and lawn decor the same way again.
This episode was terrifying when I was 8. But since being desensitised to SCP-173 (which was inspired by the Weeping Angels) it’s not ad bad now
The Easter egg was on all 17 DVDs. Different movies.
Right, I meant was what the Doctor recorded the same video. So, I was curious at the time if there were differences in the easter eggs. But, it's clear they were all the exact same easter egg.
I wonder what would happen if you grabbed onto an angel and then blinked. Would it be forced to stay still because you can perceive it, or would it kill you because you're touching it and it's able to consume your time energy?
This episode is so good. It could be a classic Twilight Zone ep. Just very good Sci-Fi
So, not sure if this is something you know or not since this’ll be the third time you watched an episode like this but I’ll say it anyways, each season of Doctor Who during the RTD era had what they called a “Doctor-lite Episode” where due to filming schedules, there would have to be one episode per season where the actor for the Doctor wasn’t available as they were filming the finale so they wrote the episode with that in mind (I’m not sure if this was a thing in Series 1 but if it was then the episode was “Fathers Day”) In series 2 we had “Love and Monsters” which is highly regarded as one of the worst episodes of DW (which I agree with) Series 3 came with this absolute banger and then Series 4 actually had to have both a Doctor-lite *and* a Companion-Lite episode which resulted in “Turn Left” and “Midnight” which are two amazing episodes with Midnight being one I rewatch very regularly
And here another Dr Who legend begins...perfectly....great reaction to a great episode THANKYOU
So glad you enjoyed it! :)
As someone who lives near Cardiff anytime I went into the city centre I'd see the EXACT statues that are shown at the end of the episode. As a child I knew it wasn't real but I would still not blink until I had passed them, JUST IN CASE, it was real haha.
HAHA! I don't blame. I would've done same thing as a kid. In fact, I used to hold my breath when passing by cemeteries as a child because I heard it was bad luck not to. So, at least you had an actual episode that caused your behavior and not some random old wives' tale. lol
@BritanyBinges haha, Doctor who: terrorising children since 1963 😉😂 it was good fun.
Oh really? That's not something I've heard before. Very interesting. But glad to know I wasn't the only gullible person believing things haha.
Btw, I just wanna say recently discovered your channel, and I adore it so much. You are definitely in my top 5 reactor channels, and I watch many 😂
Plus, it's nice to see a non-welsh person react to doctor who and comment on the buildings, landscape or streets because most of them are real streets in Swansea, Cardiff, or other places in Wales (sometimes Bristol also). So I appreciate the compliments of my gorgeous home 🥰
Been looking forward to this one.
Blew me away when I first saw it and continues to do soon each rewatch. Clever, scary, intense and just an all round fantastic ride.
Although I do have one issue with the blinking thing. What's wrong with winking alternate eyes?
Sally Sparrow, along with Madame de Pompidor, are definitely the companions who got away. Although Carey Mulligan hasn't done too bad for herself since. Fantastic actor.
Oh if you liked the Weeping Angels, just wait for Silence in the Library! Two of the creepiest episodes in the whole series and the most rewarding ones!
If noone told you yet: the Angel in the garden threw the rock to knock her out, so she stopped looking at it. ^^
Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead is one of my top favorite stories of the show so far :) (For reference, I'm starting series 10 on Patreon next week.)
O I have been so looking forward to this episode. And your reaction was so worth the wait. So glad you are going on this journey and that we all get to enjoy it with you.
Thank you for being on this journey with me! :)
i think the grandson chucked the rock to get sally's attention so she would come to the door
Horror who is the best.
This probably is one of the best doctor and martha episodes. As you know its not the last you see of them, the best (or worst😭) is Amy and Rory's final episode
What. Are you doing? Take this massive spoiler off of here. Basic reaction channel etiquette.
@@heatherqualy9143she’s way ahead on Patreon and has already seen it. I believe she’s currently on Capaldi.
@@heatherqualy9143ALWAYS good advice to keep in mind!
In this instance,however, Britany has made it clear in several of her reactions that she's currently on Series 9.
@@heatherqualy9143 as i said "as you know" , she has said she's upto season 9, she even lists the episode shes upto on the video
@glenns7252 Amy and Rory's final episode WRECKED me. I didn't see it coming at all. I actually started tearing up when I was editing this and got to the part where the Doctor says "they just zap you into the past and let you live to death," because all I could think about was Amy and Rory. :(