Rate and Discuss 3.10: Blink

[Dirk Gently]

Firstly, even though something that causes something can happen after the thing it causes, due to time travel, there still has to be a first thing. There has to be a cause, for there to be an effect. Otherwise, I think we are breaking one of (Azimov's?) rules of Time.

Hi Loomsy.

That point was actually the driving point of the episode. Time is stated as not being a linear line of cause & effect but a ball of wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey stuff!
And as for Asimov's rules of time, since when has one writer’s rules affected another's? Just because they make sense to us living in linear time doesn't make them right. That's like saying grapes shouldn't grow in bunches because of the rule about apples growing separately, it just doesn't correlate.
You can't say one writer’s Science Fiction is rubbish because he doesn't use rules made up by another, that's just silly.
And anyway, the cause of the Doctor using Sally is that Sally gives him that pouch of info before the Doctor needs it. The big question should be "How come the Doctor had that info pack at the time he went back in time?"
Surely that would give him fore-knowledge in which to avoid the incident in the first place therefore Sally wouldn't have given the Doctor the info which means he wouldn't have fore-knowledge which means the incident wouldn't be avoided which means the Doctor would have the fore-knowledge to avoid the incident........ Chronic what?

[Jon Masters]

The last bit that puzzled me, was how the Tardis key came to be where it was. Is it just that the Doc lost it when he got got by the Angel things? But if so, why didn't the angel things realise what it was and do summat with it?

As I suggested before, my reasoning was that when the Angels got rid of the Doctor and Martha they got hold of the TARDIS key, but they didn't get hold of the TARDIS because it had been found and removed by the police.

They offered the key to Sally and then followed her in the hope (or knowledge that the Doctor had already communicated with her via the message under the wallpaper) that she would find out where the TARDIS was so they could steal it. That's why they didn't kill her on the secod visit to the house and why they followed her to the police station.

[Dave Lewis]

Who chucks the rock at the beginning, when Sally ducks? Is it an angel? Is it a local chav? Is it the Doctor? If it's the latter, then it's a case of he who is without sin casting the first stone...

[WhiteCrow]

Well the thing about this episode is it's caused Who to be talked about several times in our office - doesn't normally happen.

Including when I lost my pass "were you standing near a statue at the time" har har not funny ...

[Rob McCow]

It's been clearly established that Si Hart threw that stone!

[Pip Madeley]

No, it was obviously The Fifth Doctor.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qe3e5kmtduc

[Antony Cox]

I've just watched this and I thought it was fab!

As you know, I'm not one for spotting plot holes, so any discrepancies in the story did nothing to spoil my enjoyment. I thought it was very clever, and I didn't mind the lack of Doctor/companion in it. I've found the relentless Doctor lands somewhere shouts a lot, battles some CGI monsters and then leaves rather tedious week after wee, so this far more interesting story appealed to me a lot and I think Tennant's lesser inclusion worked well.

The statures were a realy clever idea, far more creepy frightening for me than any CGI monster could ever be. And the lead actress was terrific; she really carried the story well and as others have said, would make a good companion.

For once I really likes Murray Gold's score for this story, and is it juts me or were there several homages to previous snippets of DW music? The first bit in the house sounded very Dudley Simpson, and there was another section which sounded very similar to one of the Troughton Cyberman stories. And near the end there was a chord which was almost identical to a nbit of the excellent score to The Five Doctors. Maybe I was just imagining it??

All-in-all a great story and I've given it 9/10.

[Middle Aged Loomsy]

...or madam, Milky Tears (strange name if ever I heard one) - you say I speak the truth on more than one occasion?

But who are you? Do you tell every stranger that they speak the truth? Are you fale or mefale? How old are you? What do you do? (apart from Dr Who that is?)

[Milky Tears]

...or madam, Milky Tears (strange name if ever I heard one) - you say I speak the truth on more than one occasion?

But who are you? Do you tell every stranger that they speak the truth? Are you fale or mefale? How old are you?

I'm mefale, 21 years old and hot to trot. Only you and Jonno ever speak the truth on Planet Skaro.

What do you do? (apart from Dr Who that is?)

I'll do anything.

[Rob McCow]

Milky Tears was born in 2006 when James Lindsay opened the pocket watch he'd been carrying for years.

Honestly, who'd use a pseudonym on line?

[Dirk Gently]

I know, these people who hide behind fakery should be shot.

[Stuart Wallis]

I hide behind the people who hide behind fakery. Should i now find myself a convenient tree instead?

[Dirk Gently]

You may cock your leg where ever you see fit my good man.

[Rob McCow]

You may cock your leg where ever you see fit my good man.

And on that note the thread rested for five years!

Who chucks the rock at the beginning, when Sally ducks?

I still don't know. Chances are it'll be Matt Smith's Doctor in the 50th Anniversary Special at this rate.

So, Blink, eh? Blink by Steven Moffat. No thanks, I'd rather use my own eyelids, badum tish. Blinkedy Blinkus blinking Blink. There's no shortage of people lining up to tell you how amazingly gob-smackingly adjective-producingly brilliant this episode is, so I'll just stop right here.

Except to say, it's an OK episode with some good sound effects. And a really awful 'squeaky bike' scary noise on the sound track which still irritates the hell out of me.