The Staring Contest (Village of the Angels)
"Don't blink. Don't even blink. Blink and you're dead. They are fast. Faster than you can believe. Don't turn your back. Don't look away. And most of all, don't blink. Good Luck."
Tick, tick, tick, tick...
The year is 2007, the month is June and the day is Saturday 9th. The blinds are closed and I'm sitting in front of the television, quietly beside my Mum, who is sipping from a mug of tea, my Dad is entering the room with another mug, however, it's filled with coffee and not tea, my Dad doesn't drink tea, or at least he didn't back then, not as far as I can remember. It's starting to get dark, the sun is setting and my Dad, before he takes a seat in front of the television, switches on the small lamp in the corner of the room - it clicks on and fills the room with a soft yellowy glow, my Dad takes his seat just as the BBC continuity announcer finishes up.
Then it begins, the light from the television gets darker as it transitions into the sights and sounds of a new episode of Doctor Who. I see a rattling gate, the wind blows gently, kicking up scrunched up leaves, I hear the distant sound of a fox screeching out into the night sky - then I see someone fall into view, someone has climbed over the fence and landed on the other side. I see their face, her face, the face of Sally Sparrow - she smiles, looking up towards the creepy house; Wester Drumlins. The house of the Weeping Angels.
That was how it started, my history with those creepy little creatures. I had missed the "coming soon" trailer the week before, I had another engagement that unfortunately made sure I was kept in the dark regarding this episode in particular. I had no idea what to expect, no one at school had informed me because hardly any of them watched the show. I had no idea what I was about to get myself into...
I was terrified, as a child, watching Blink. The whole idea of the Weeping Angels scared me to the bone, the concept of these THINGS taking the shape and form of statues (which, keep in mind, are bloody everywhere) and only being able to attack you when you're not looking at them - it's a brilliant idea, but as a child, I did not appreciate it as much as I should have.
...tick, tick, tick, tick...
The year is now 2010, the month is April, and the day is Saturday 24th. I'm once again sat across from the television, once again the blinds are closed, and once again it's beginning to get a little darker, the lamp is still emitting a yellow glow into the room and my parents are once again waiting for a new episode of series 5 to begin. We've not spent that much time with Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor yet, we're all still getting used to him - well not me, I was on board immediately - and now the new episode is about the begin.
A blue sky and the squawking of peacocks, panning down onto a sun-kissed grove, fresh green fields and solid oak trees - an image of paradise, but not all is well - and I'm very prepared because I know what this episode has within it, I saw the "next time" trailer, I'm fully prepared for what's in store.
In saying that, I was definitely not "fully prepared for what's in store" in fact, I was the exact opposite. I was once again absolutely terrified, if not more because this time I now had a fear of not just the Weeping Angels, but also any image that held one, bloody brilliant. That's just great. When the episode was finally over, I turned on all the lights leading to the bathroom, where my Dad stood, with his hands over his eyes - which freaked me out a lot - I closed the door quickly and fast, which was a bad move because I needed to brush my teeth, so I opened up the door again and my Dad promptly jumped out and scared me. Thanks, Dad.
I was so scared that night, that when I went to bed, I didn't get a single wink of sleep - because all I saw was the figure of an Angel silhouetted into the crack of my bedroom door, and every time I drooped off to sleep, I would snap my eyes open and it would be creeping ever closer to me and my bed.
After that, we agreed to watch Weeping Angel episodes the following day, when the sun was shining high in the sky and I had no need to go to bed with nightmares. That did the trick actually. Worked a charm.
...tick, tick, tick, tick...
Rolling in now towards the year of 2012, the month of September and the day was Sunday 30th - that's right, Sunday, I was taking no chances, I was prepared this time around. Not only were there Weeping Angels but it was also reported to be the final episode of Series 7, Part One, which meant no more Doctor Who until Christmas. This was also going to be the final days of the Ponds, with who we had spent so much time, I wasn't ready to say goodbye honestly.
I didn't find this episode as creepy as I probably would have if I was younger, maybe it was a sign of me maturing, or maybe the episode just wasn't scary - I enjoyed it though, a New York Noir with creepy Stone Angels? What fun! Sadly this was the last time we ever got a proper Weeping Angel story for a long time, they were downgraded to the occasional cameo, jumpscare fodder, upsetting really. Over time I slowly got used to them, no more watching episodes of Doctor Who on Sundays...OR SO I THOUGHT!
...tick, tick, tick, tick!
Then finally, the year is 2021, the month is November, the day is Sunday 21st - although not by my own decision. The yellowy glow of the living room lamp is many, many miles away, as are my parents. I am at university, sitting in the dark, watching Countryfile on BBC IPlayer live before the new chapter of Doctor Who: Flux is set to begin. I look over at my clock, it's 6 pm, not long now, only twenty more minutes, oh joy.
As I wait, I remember that I never got round to writing up Week 3 of my blog, I'll admit I still feel bad about not sticking to my commitment, but then I remembered that it's my blog, so my rules. I'm not going to be writing a blog every single week, what would be the point of filler nonsense? I have nothing to say about "Once, upon Time", I was very pleased to see Jo Martin back, as well as possibly the White Guardian, or Susan, or the Rani, or (very much definitely, maybe) Tecteun. Other than that, not much to report regarding that one. I wondered if this week would be the same, but as you can see, it was not.
The episode started, the first one to be co-written, by none other than Maxine Alderton, the same person who did the last spooky-scary episode with the Cyberman in series 12, that was a really good story. This one was also pretty good, the Weeping Angels were tremendously creepy, and I absolutely loved Kevin McNally (of Pirates of the Caribbean fame) as Professor Jericho - this was a very Classic Who episode, with the creepy base-under-siege style manor house being broken into by Weeping Angels.
That cliffhanger will go down as one of the best I think, the Doctor transformed into a Weeping Angel! Wow! I never expected that, I didn't even think it was a cliffhanger until I heard that ever-familiar, ever-annoying noise at the end there - leading into a surprisingly quieter end credits, things are afoot. Not long now until the end of the series, not long at all, I wonder how Christopher is going to wrap all this up in time for New Year's Day. The plot gets thicker by the second and I am getting more and more excited alongside it!
Also, that next time trailer, not going to comment much on it because I can save it all for the next blog (if there is one), but I'd just like to say that I'm very happy to see Kate Stewart and UNIT back. Very happy indeed. That is all.