Don't Even Blink - My Favorite Doctor Who Episode

Psst - if you are reading this in Bloglovin or another feed reader, click through and check out the new look! 

Blink is one of my favorite Doctor Who episodes ever. It's the tenth episode of the third series of the show (David Tennant's second season) and I love it. 

For one, the star of this episode isn’t the Doctor. It’s Sally Sparrow, played by Carey Mulligan. The entire episode revolves around her. This makes Blink one of the few entirely stand-alone episodes. It has a Twilight Zone kind of feel (I mean that in the best way possible, I love the Twilight Zone) in that you could watch this one episode and know everything that you need to for the story line. You don’t need the full history of the Dalecks or Cybermen, you don’t need to know who Jack Harkness or Harriet Jones is. It actually doesn’t even matter who the companion is (it’s Martha, but who cares?) because the Doctor is a pretty minor element of this story.

Ok, this episode does set up a lot for future episodes (for Whovians, did you just tear up thinking of Angels Take Manhattan? Because I did) but that doesn’t matter for the story line. All you need to do to appreciate the gloriousness of Blink is to watch it. 

This episode is so good that it is one of the episodes recommended by Sarah Bessey in the Beginner's Guide to Doctor Who who just can’t sit through the cheesiness of the Ninth Doctor (who I’ve already defended). Really, if you have never seen an episode of Doctor Who and just want to spend an hour seeing what it is about, watch Blink. The first time I saw it, I was on the edge of my seat. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen it now (I may have watched it three times in the past week…) but I appreciate it more every time. To me, the Weeping Angels are one of the creepiest Whoverse baddies there are (the Vashta Nerada and the Silence are up there too).

In fact, I refuse to ever own a statue now. Back when my husband and I were dating, we went to a home and garden show and I might have freaked out in the statuary section. I kind of hate that I even put an image of a Weeping Angel in this post (that which holds the image of an Angel becomes itself an Angel itself, right?)

I’ll be back soon with more Doctor Who updates. If you’ve seen this episode, did you love it as much as I did? Or am I just a little too cuckoo for this storyline?   

While you're here, check out some of my recent posts!

Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor

We could argue all day that if I really want to watch all Doctor Who this year I should've started at the very beginning, back to the first Doctor in 1963. But really, you can never watch ALL Doctor Who episodes because many of the earliest episodes were destroyed or are simply missing. Not to mention that my friend is watching along with me (sort of) so I decided to only go back to the beginning of the reboot. And that's where we shall begin!

This was probably my third or fourth time watching the first series. While the Ninth Doctor isn't my favorite, he is absolutely lovable! 

He's sarcastic, bossy, fearless, considerate, gentle, and kind. I loved Christopher Eccleston's (the man who played the Ninth Doctor) quote about the character.  

Because it is so true. The Ninth Doctor (as well as subsequent Doctors) doesn't fear the unknown. He approaches things with a joyful curiosity. He accepts that some people are black, some are white, some are gay, some are straight, and some are aliens that look like trees. I agree with Eccleston, I think that is a great message to kids. 

And I think this first series is a little more geared toward kids than later seasons. It is pretty cheesy and overall isn't too scary. (There are some seriously frightening episodes later on that I don't think young kids should watch!) The "Aliens of London" and "World War Three" episodes are almost comical. Farting aliens, what 8 year old by wouldn't find that hilarious? Even "Father's Day" has some cringe moments (the flying bat things? so weird) but it still manages to tug on your heartstrings. "The Empty Child" has caused me to be wary of all gas masks (but it also introduces Jack Harkness so yay!). And oh, "Bad Wolf" and "The Parting of the Ways" might have made me tear up a time or two. 

I wish we could have seen more of the Ninth Doctor, but he left to make way for David Tennant to take over as the Tenth Doctor! Some people dismiss the Ninth Doctor, but Eccleston did a fabulous job. His portrayal of the Doctor got people watching again. His chemistry with Rose (the companion) was wonderful to watch, and if he hadn't done such a good job, we might never have made it to the Twelfth Doctor (so many thoughts on him, by the way!). 

So now we say farewell to Nine. You were indeed fantastic. 

A Who Year Resolution

Yesterday I said I was making one resolution for 2015. And that is a Who Year Resolution! I'm going to rewatch Doctor Who in 2015. 

You see, I was talking with a friend a few weeks ago (ok, we were emailing. That’s the same as talking these days, right?). She has been binge watching Breaking Bad and needed to find a new show because a person can only  rewatch Breaking Bad so many times. I’d suggested Doctor Who ages ago, but she’d given it a try and wasn’t a fan of it. Which ok, if you start with the Ninth Doctor, I can kind of see. Because as much as I love him, that season is pretty hokey. I suggested she try Sarah Bessey’s suggestion on watching some of the important episodes and then jumping right in with the Tenth Doctor. That way you skip some of the corniest episodes (ahem, I’m looking at you, farting alien disguised as the Prime Minister). But she decided to try from the beginning again. Which means I’m going to join her!

I have to give her credit for the name, she suggested a Who Year Resolution and I loved it. (For the record, don’t say things to me you don’t want to appear on the blog. After all, I got my name from a text message!)

So it’s time to enact the Who Year Resolution. I’m going to rewatch all episodes of Doctor Who. Ok, I’m just going to rewatch the new rebooted episodes. Someday I’ll check out the older episodes, but for now, we are starting with the Ninth Doctor. I’m ready to jump back in with Rose and Mickey, to say goodbye to Nine and hello to Ten (David Tennant, swoon). To cry my eyes out as companions come and go. To tolerate the companions I don’t care for. To cry my eyes out when Ten says he doesn’t want to go. To be freaked out by the Weeping Angels, the Silence, and the face mask zombies.

If you haven’t watched Doctor Who, why don’t you make your very own Who Year Resolution and watch too? I’m not going to blog through every episode but I’ll do at least a recap each season. I may write about specific episodes that speak to me (or freak me out) but I promise that Doctor Who won’t completely overtake the blog! Not everyone is a Whovian, I know.

But if you are, you may want to check out my Pinterest board: A Who Year Resolution. Be warned: there may be a few spoilers, so pin with caution. If you aren’t, then feel free to skip over the Who Year posts. I’ll forgive you, I promise.

Happy Who Year!