Inspirations: Blink

Russell T Davies had intended that Steven Moffat would write Series 3's Dalek two-parter. He declined, but to make up for it he offered to tackle the Doctor-lite story for that year instead. This had become an annual necessity after the introduction of a Christmas Special to the production schedule each series. The principal cast could not feature prominently in fourteen episodes, so one had to use them only sparingly.

Moffat was asked to come up with something really scary, and opted for a sort of haunted house setting.

For inspiration, Moffat looked to a story he had written for the 2006 Doctor Who Annual - "What I Did On My Christmas Holidays, by Sally Sparrow".

In this, Sally is 12 years old and spending the 2005 festive season at her aunt's cottage in Devon. On return to school she writes an essay about what she got up to. Fascinated by some flowery wallpaper, she tore a piece off to find some writing underneath. Clearing the whole message she is shocked to find it directed at her - "Hep me, Sally Sparrow!" - and a date of 24th December1985. Her aunt digs out some photos from that date when a party was held, and there is the Ninth Doctor holding another request for help from her.

Beneath more wallpaper is a message leading Sally to a video cassette hidden at the back of a shelf.

This allows Sally to have a conversation with the Doctor - in the same way that adult Sally can with the Tenth Doctor in Blink. After stepping out of the TARDIS in 1985, it jumped forward 20 years, leaving him stranded. He knows her half of the conversation after reading her essay about these events - which she gives to him when she is older.

Sally can pilot the TARDIS back to the Doctor using some reset button that allows the ship to home in on his watch.

Sally, as an adult, later encounters the Doctor and gives him her essay, knowing he will need it one day.

As you can see, all the main plot beats of Blink are present. We have a character called Sally Sparrow taking the lead. Moffat changed her to a young woman as he knew children tended to hate watching other children. She peels away very old wallpaper to find a message from the Doctor directed specifically at herself. The Doctor has been separated from the TARDIS and needs her help to get it back. Everything revolves around him knowing what is going on by learning it from Sally, before she has met him. She sorts things out retroactively. Her communication with him involves a video rather than a DVD, but the main thing is a transcript of events which he can follow.

The time frame was shifted back to the 1960's, to allow one of the characters (Billy) to grow into an old man.

Rather than an "alien from outer space" type monster, Moffat decided that something which you might come across in everyday life would be scarier. He recalled a childhood holiday to Dorset around Christmas, where he had seen a derelict church and graveyard with warning signs forbidding access.

Through the railings he had seen statues of lamenting angels, covered in vines.

This provided the image of the Weeping Angels, variations of which can be seen in any Victorian graveyard. The idea that any statue could be dangerous then grew out of this.

In terms of their modus operandi, living statues naturally led to thoughts about the children's game "Statues", or "Grandma's Footsteps". Here one person stands with their back to the others, who then have to sneak up on them. The person with their back to the group turns around randomly, at which point the others have to freeze. If they are seen to move, they are knocked out of the game.

The idea that the Angels sent victims back in time, to live off their potential energy, was simply a way of making them dangerous without actually killing people.

Wester Drumlins was the name of a house in which Moffat had lived in the 1990's.

Moffat hit a problem with the ending, finding it impossible to destroy unkillable monsters. He even sought help from Mark Gatiss. Eventually he realised that there were four angels - and the TARDIS had four sides. (The ending doesn't really bear thinking about too closely. All it takes is for the lightbulb to fail and the Angels are freed).

Provisionally titled "Sally Sparrow and the Angels", Moffat decided to retitle it as Blink. RTD pointed out that he would have to have characters use this word through the script. Moffat then had to rewrite much of the dialogue to stress the "Don't Blink" instruction.