CT: Blink
So I've missed it by a few days (because keeping up with which day of the week it is turns out to be pretty much impossible, so things like anniversaries for random episodes of TV shows is pretty much out of the question) but it was just recently the ten year anniversary of the Doctor Who episode "Blink".
Full disclosure time- I got into Doctor Who pretty late. Like David Tennant was in his last stretch as the Doctor by the time Little C had badgered me into giving the show a chance. Believe it or not, there was a time when "random British TV about a time traveler and his wacky human companion" made me sorta shrug instead of immediately starting a fan blog about it. The times they have a' changed readers.
But what finally did it for me was that Little C showed me just "Blink". By itself. No context except "that's the Doctor and that's his wacky human companion and just hold onto your hat". And while I am normally fastidious about watching shows in order, it turns out that this was the best possible way to make me a fangirl for life. Because "Blink" is just a fantastically written episode of television start to finish.
If you've never seen the show or the episode, I desperately don't want to ruin anything for you. Suffice it to say that a girl named Sally Sparrow finds herself being hunted by a monster that can send you back in time. She also figures out that she's in a unique position to help save The Doctor, who's been trapped in the 60s by the same monster. It's an iconic episode, with lines that have become emblematic of the entire show. It's beloved for a reason.
I like Doctor Who, and I like the episodes that are more Star Trek-y in nature ("Let's go to this random time/planet and solve their immediately life threatening problem") but what I really love is time travel. As a mechanism. As a plot device. In all its many forms. Looking at my collection of books and movies and comics, the ones that have stuck with me year after year are the stories that delve into the deep possibilities of time travel. The stickiness and difficulties it can present, from time loops to discrepancies in history to being stuck in a foreign time. And "Blink" handles time travel in a stunning way. I've studied this script many a time just to wrap my head around the carefulness of its construction. It leans into the messiness of time travel in order to create a neatly wound narrative.
It's also a "Doctor-lite" episode, in that we spend most of our time with Sally and very little time with the Doctor. Sally is played by a suuuuuper young Carey Mulligan and I have to admit that while I think she's an all-around fantastic actress, this is my favorite role of hers ever. She's bright and captivating and the exact right combination of game for the adventure and not willing to put up with a whole lot of nonsense. It's a brilliant performance.
If you've never watched Doctor Who, this might be the episode to start with. Then if you love it, you can do what I did and go back to the beginning to watch them all.
Happy Watching!
CT
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| Image from IMDb |
Full disclosure time- I got into Doctor Who pretty late. Like David Tennant was in his last stretch as the Doctor by the time Little C had badgered me into giving the show a chance. Believe it or not, there was a time when "random British TV about a time traveler and his wacky human companion" made me sorta shrug instead of immediately starting a fan blog about it. The times they have a' changed readers.
But what finally did it for me was that Little C showed me just "Blink". By itself. No context except "that's the Doctor and that's his wacky human companion and just hold onto your hat". And while I am normally fastidious about watching shows in order, it turns out that this was the best possible way to make me a fangirl for life. Because "Blink" is just a fantastically written episode of television start to finish.
If you've never seen the show or the episode, I desperately don't want to ruin anything for you. Suffice it to say that a girl named Sally Sparrow finds herself being hunted by a monster that can send you back in time. She also figures out that she's in a unique position to help save The Doctor, who's been trapped in the 60s by the same monster. It's an iconic episode, with lines that have become emblematic of the entire show. It's beloved for a reason.
 |
| Image from IMDb |
I like Doctor Who, and I like the episodes that are more Star Trek-y in nature ("Let's go to this random time/planet and solve their immediately life threatening problem") but what I really love is time travel. As a mechanism. As a plot device. In all its many forms. Looking at my collection of books and movies and comics, the ones that have stuck with me year after year are the stories that delve into the deep possibilities of time travel. The stickiness and difficulties it can present, from time loops to discrepancies in history to being stuck in a foreign time. And "Blink" handles time travel in a stunning way. I've studied this script many a time just to wrap my head around the carefulness of its construction. It leans into the messiness of time travel in order to create a neatly wound narrative.
It's also a "Doctor-lite" episode, in that we spend most of our time with Sally and very little time with the Doctor. Sally is played by a suuuuuper young Carey Mulligan and I have to admit that while I think she's an all-around fantastic actress, this is my favorite role of hers ever. She's bright and captivating and the exact right combination of game for the adventure and not willing to put up with a whole lot of nonsense. It's a brilliant performance.
If you've never watched Doctor Who, this might be the episode to start with. Then if you love it, you can do what I did and go back to the beginning to watch them all.
Happy Watching!
CT
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