#larry nightingale

[screencapshd]

LARRY: Okay. There he is.

SALLY: The Doctor.

LARRY: Who's the Doctor?

SALLY: He's the Doctor.

DOCTOR: Yup. That's me.

[aquitainequeen]

It took me sixteen years but I’ve just realised that in Dr Who: Blink,

a) the Weeping Angel at the start of the episode could easily have gone with the old reliable method of sneaking up on Sally and sending her back in time, but instead chooses to try braining her with a rock. (???)

b) why would Sally and Larry meet up back at the creepy abandoned house where several people have already vanished without a trace (and which is likely a base for the strange statues that appear to be following Sally) as opposed to meeting up somewhere with lots of witnesses, like a pub?

c) why is a long abandoned house still attached to the National Grid so that there's still electricity in the cellar?

d) Larry is likely short for Laurence. Laurence Nightingale.

Laurence Nightingale.

[casasupernovas]

hey look, i turned up the brightness on 'blink'

[witchofthemidlands]

i'm sure someone's said this already but can you imagine being the person who took on the wester drumlins case after billy or a prospective buyer if the house ever got put on the market eventually & going down into the basement only to see these four eldritch horrors standing around in a circle like this:

[crumb]

Damon Herriman in sfx prosthetics for Judy & Punch (top) and The Nightingale (bottom)

[master-missysversion]

I never realised until just now that the main characters in Blink are both named after birds

[nightingaletrash]

me: okay, so you failed to sneak out of the tavern without being notice and you've been spotted by two guards who recognise you. They're about to raise the alarm, what do you do?

Dragonborn Bard: let's do 'get help'!

Goliath Barbarian, not hesitating for a second: *grabs the Dragonborn and yeets him at the guards with a nat 20*

me: ...and they're dead on impact, great.

[mitjalovse]

The Soul Cages put Sting outside the 80's, which were his era. True, he should've felt like an 80's musician thanks to him achieving his greatest success then. Still, his introduction to the 90's in the form of The Soul Cages didn't see him stumble. Then again, while The Police were indebted to the 80's – one does ask oneself how their possible 90's would've sounded –, Sting moved differently. Thus, Ten Summoner's Tales continued what he did on the predecessor, though he did loosen himself some more. Moreover, I think Sting might have considered this a pejorative, yet he remains one of the most underappreciated pop singer-songwriter. He used to be afraid of this, though I believe he did accept this quality recently.

[adventure-showdown]

What is your favourite Doctor Who story?

TOURNAMENT MASTERPOST

synopses and propaganda under the cut

The Happiness Patrol

Synopsis

The TARDIS arrives on the planet Terra Alpha, where the Seventh Doctor and Ace discover a society in which sadness is against the law - a law enforced zealously by the brightly uniformed Happiness Patrol. The planet is ruled by Helen A with the aid of her companion, Joseph C, and her carnivorous pet Stigorax, Fifi.

The penalty for those found guilty of unhappiness is death in a stream of molten candy prepared by Helen A's executioners, the robotic Kandy Man and his associate, Gilbert M.

Propaganda no propaganda submitted  

Blink

Synopsis

In an abandoned house, the Weeping Angels wait. The only hope to stop them is a young woman named Sally Sparrow and her friend Larry Nightingale. The only catch: the Weeping Angels can move in the blink of an eye. To defeat the ruthless enemy — with only a half of a conversation from the Tenth Doctor as help — the one rule is this: don't turn your back, don't look away and don't blink!

Propaganda no propaganda submitted

[zilabee]

Joan Baez met the Beatles in 1965, and they invited her to spend a few days on tour with them. A couple of quotes from Larry King's 'Ticket to Ride':

- Tony Barrow: "It was this very high stage at the Cow Palace, very high, and kids towards the front were getting squashed against the front of the stage. Joan Baez was doing a kind of Florence Nightingale, and sort of holding kids up to safety and bringing them around the back there, laying them out on the floor."

Larry Kane: "Baez behaved in an extraordinary way, braving the onrush to pick the injured children out of the crowd one at a time. Her strength was amazing."

I don't know if there are photos of her on that tour, only ones I can find are of her with them the year after at candlestick park:

Joan Baez - Interview with Rolling Stone in 1983:

- I don’t know what the hell they thought of me; they thought I was Florence Nightingale because I used to tend to the wounded at their concerts. - Then we ended up in this great big mansion in Los Angeles that somebody had given them. But big as it was, there weren’t really enough master bedrooms for everybody. And poor John was the one who had invited this little Mexican waif along [...] So he offered me his room. - And these poor girls, just sitting downstairs waiting to see whether they’re gonna be picked by somebody––they don’t talk, they don’t even knit. They just sit there in these little outfits that they’ve worked on for months waiting for this thing to happen. And eventually a Beatle will come by and pick one of them and, you know, drag her off to his lair. - And I think [John] felt compelled–, “Well, I’ve asked her and she is a star and oh, dear” – and he started coming on to me, very unenthusiastically. I said, “John, you know, I’m probably as tired as you are, and I don’t want you to feel you have to perform on my behalf.” And he says, “Oh, luvly! I mean, what a relief! Because you see, well, you might say I’ve already been fooked downstairs.” [Laughing] So we had a good laugh and went to sleep.

[screencapshd]

LARRY: It's like we're hearing half a conversation. Me and the guys are always trying to work out the other half.

SALLY: When you say you and the guys, you mean the internet, don't you?

LARRY: How'd you know?

SALLY: Spooky, isn't it?

[companion-showdown]

Best companion to get intoxicated with: Round 0 Masterpost

the elimintation numbers on the posts themselves are largely wrong because I made a mistake and only realised when it was too late, its two per group except 14 and 15 which is 3

Day 2

Elimination Groups:

Group 8 (2 eliminations)

God the Computer

Hallan

Hass

Hebe Harrison

Hex Schofield

Irving Braxiatel

Jack McSpringheel

Group 9 (2 eliminations)

Jane Austen

Jason Kane

John (Another Girl, Another Planet)

Joseph (Oh No it Isn't)

Joseph (The Doomsday Manuscript)

Koschei

Laura Tobin

Group 10 (2 eliminations)

Lola Denison

Mark Seven

McQueen!Master

Miranda Who

Mother Francesca

Mother Mathara

Mr Crofton

Group 11 (2 eliminations)

Ms Jones

Narvin

Pandora

Peter Summerfield

Preacher!Master

Renee Thalia

Romana III

Group 12 (2 eliminations)

Ruth Leonidus

Sabbath Dei

Sam Bishop

Scarlette

Stratum Seven Agent

Tameka Vito

The Black Dalek Leader

Group 13 (2 eliminations)

The Earl of Sandwich

The Original Golden Dalek Emperor

The War King

Unnamed Courtesan (In the Year of the Cat)

V.M.McCrimmon

Valarie Lockwood

Wolsey

Group 14 (3 eliminations)

Ianto Jones

Toshiko Sato

Owen Harper

Andy Davidson

Gwen Cooper

Banana Boat

The TARDIS

Missy

Group 15 (3 eliminations)

Sally Sparrow

Larry Nightingale

Bannakaffalatta

Vincent van Gogh

Madam Vastra

Psi

Saibra

Beep the Meep

Seeding Groups

Group 8

Charley Pollard

Evelyn Smythe

Lucie Miller

Liv Chenka

Group 9

Bernice Summerfield

Fitz Kreiner

Frobisher

Iris Wildthyme

Group 10

Rose Tyler

Mickey Smith

Jack Harkness

Martha Jones

Group 11

Donna Noble

Wilfred Mott

River Song

Amy Pond

Rory Williams

Group 12

Clara Oswald

Bill Potts

Nardole

Yasmin Khan

Group 13

Graham O'Brien

Ryan Sinclair

Dan Lewis

Ruby Sunday

day 1 under the cut

Day 1

Elimination Groups:

Group 1 (2 eliminations)

Sara Kingdom

Bret Vyon

Delgado!Master

Morbius

Sutekh the Destroyer

Cessiar of Diplos

Duggan

Group 2 (2 eliminations)

Erato

Pangol of Argolis

Deedrix of Tigella

Soldeed of Skonnos

The Three who Rule

Varsh

Group 3 (2 eliminations)

Keara

Tylos

Tremas of Traken

Panna

Karuna

Aris

Group 4 (2 eliminations)

Richard Mace

Kamelion

King Yrcanos

Sabalom Glitz

The Kandyman

Karra

Group 5 (2 eliminations)

Adrien Wall

Alan Turing

B-Aaron

C'rizz

Captain Black

Captain Magenta

Carmen Yeh

Group 6 (2 eliminations)

Chris Cwej

Clarence the Angel

Compassion

Cousin Anastasia

Cousin Gustav

Cousin Intrepid

Cousin Justine

Group 7 (2 eliminations)

Cousin Octavia

D'eon

Death's Head

Eliza

Elspeth (Where Angels Fear)

Emilie Mars-Smith

Father Kreiner

Seeding Groups

Group 1

Susan Foreman

Barbara Wright

Ian Chesterton

Vicki Pallister

Group 2

Steven Taylor

Dodo Chaplet

Ben Jackson

Polly Wright

Group 3

Jamie McCrimmon

Victoria Waterfield

Zoe Heriot

The Brigadier

Sergeant Benton

Group 4

Liz Shaw

Mike Yates

Jo Grant

Sarah-Jane Smith

Harry Sullivan

Group 5

Leela

K9

Romana I

Romana II

Group 6

Adric

Nyssa

Tegan Jovanka

Vislor Turlough

Group 7

Peri Brown

Mel Bush

Ace McShane

Chang Lee

Grace Holloway

[yahoo201027]

Day in Fandom History: June 9…

In an abandoned house, the Weeping Angels wait. The only hope in the world lies in a woman named Sally Sparrow and her friend Larry Nightingale, only to face a challenge without blinking and with help from The Doctor. “Blink” premiered on this day, 17 Years Ago.

[witchofthemidlands]

could whovians who probably have more braincells than me figure this one out with me?

is it just me or does the whole ‘an image of a weeping angel becomes itself an angel’ make no sense considering blink or were the angels in blink INCREDIBLY weak to the point where they just couldn’t do the stuff they did in the time of angels/flesh & stone??? because larry was full on staring that stone gremlin in the face, dead in the eyes & he was fine, sally also had pictures of the angels which she then gave to ten, so did the angel that zapped martha & ten actually come about because it jumped out of the pictures sally gave him? i am confused & considering how tightly woven the rtd-moffat era is to the point where you have to remember 30+ episodes to work stuff out, i can't believe they’d make their own lore make no sense.

[doctorwho-rewatch]

S3E10 - Blink

★★★★★

Don't blink. Blink and you are dead.

The Weeping Angels are one of the most horrifying aliens in Doctor Who and this episode is one of the best non-Doctor Who stories of the series. I say that deliberately. This episode is so good, but it is very different from a traditional Doctor Who story. I never understood why people use it as an introduction to the show. You'd be sorely disappointed if you expected the rest of the show to be like Blink.

With the Doctor and Martha largely out of action, it is up to Sally Sparrow and Larry Nightingale to decipher the easter eggs in various DVDs to prevent the Weeping Angels from getting hold of the TARDIS and to rescue the Doctor who is trapped in the past. All the while keeping safe from the Angels, because if you blink...you get zapped into the past, erased from the present.

I was hooked at every moment. The creeping sense of dread as Sally navigated her way through the house - never knowing if an Angel was just around a corner, or just through a doorway is executed brilliantly. To keep yourself safe means to constantly maintain eye contact. If you're terrified, how do you do that? Your eyes begin to water. How much longer can you keep from blinking? What happens when another one, or another one appears. These are genuinely terrifying monsters.

Carey Mulligan was excellent as Sally and Billy Shipton's journey of being zapped back and living his days until he reunited with Sally as an elderly man was poignant.

This episode unnerved me for days after watching and I cannot think of a flaw. Brilliant stuff.

QUOTE: "People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect. But actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it’s more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey… stuff." (iconic)

[denimbex1986]

'...June 2007....there’s a near-10-year-old me that still gets scared at certain episodes of What's New, Scooby-Doo...

I’m more than happy to stick to comedies and cartoons, taking every measure imaginable to avoid the horrors of horror.

That is, until an episode of Doctor Who comes on the screen, featuring (or, rather, not really featuring) my Converse-wearing, pinstripe suit-donning idol in David Tennant’s 10th Time Lord, alongside Carey Mulligan’s Sally Sparrow, being hunted down by a group of angel statues out for blood.

That’s right, in the blink of an eye, Blink arrived - and so did my appreciation of what horror could do. (Or, at least, what it could do in a pre-watershed sci-fi series on the BBC - perfect for a fearful primary schooler like myself.)

Sure, this is no kill-heavy slasher in the form of Scream, and no paranormal mind-bender in the shape of The Conjuring, but Blink – perhaps the single most popular episode of the new Doctor Who era – demonstrates the genre’s ability to get under the skin and into the minds of the audience.

And, even with a PG rating and some questionable CGI, it does it masterfully well.

Blink’s greatest strength is its ability to establish a sense of creeping dread, of consistent threat, that is properly unnerving.

The feeling of being watched is one of the most disturbing one can experience, and has been explored throughout horror history - from Michael Myers taunting Laurie Strode from the shadows in 1978’s Halloween to Rory Kinnear’s birthday suit-wearing stalker drifting into the edge of the frame in last year’s Men, there’s very little that unsettles more than being followed.

There’s something mentally exhausting about the idea of never being able to rest, of not being able to drop your guard for even a moment, which can drive you insane - and Steven Moffat’s concrete-looking creations provide the perfect example of this.

You see, with the Weeping Angels, turning your back, trying to run away, or even taking your eye off their haunting expressions for a split second could spell the end of the road - just ask Amy Pond.

In the words of Tennant’s frantic Doctor, "Blink and you’re dead".

Is there any concept more terrifying than having the most basic human action rendered potentially life-threatening? This inescapable danger is draining, debilitating.

As we viewers watch Sally and Finlay Robertson’s Larry Nightingale navigate the nightmare they find themselves in, we grimace each time they turn their heads, and scream at the TV as we spot an angel moving ever closer.

It’s the sort of pulse-racing tension that only the horror genre can provide, and it lingers long in the memory.

Yet director Hettie Macdonald notches up the fear even further, ending the episode by turning her attention from Sally on the screen to us on the sofa at home, repeating Tennant’s iconic speech alongside real-life clips of gargoyles, statues and sculptures to ensure this isn’t just a concept that’s confined to the telly, but one that continues to stick with you even after you hit the big red button on the remote.

I know I, for one, lost many a night’s sleep in the weeks following that episode, as I feared that shutting my eyes to get some shut-eye would spell the end of my time on Earth (stop laughing, I said I was 10), and I’ll still remain resolute whenever I visit a cathedral or graveyard, determined to make sure those creepy creatures don’t get the drop on me. Thanks for that, Moffat.

As if the terror of being tailed from the shadows isn’t unnerving enough, though, the design of the Weeping Angels themselves ensures things are lifted to another level.

Visual effects producer Will Cohen and his team take something that is meant to be reassuring, gentle, holy, and turn it completely on its head.

As the angels switch from passive and peaceful to aggressive and menacing, their demonic faces take up the screen with a look of pure evil, accompanied by a smattering of thunder that still catches me off guard on the 18th watch.

Similar to clowns in the likes of It or dolls in the likes of Chucky, there’s an added shock factor that comes with witnessing something that’s traditionally 'good' going bad. Where once there was joy, there’s now malice, a threat - and if good can turn against you, what can’t?

All of this is hammered home by the fantastic leading performance from Mulligan. Through Sally, we see an everyday protagonist thrown directly into hell. We could easily be Sally ourselves, confused, overwhelmed and completely out of our depth, making it easy to properly experience these horrors through her.

Like the aforementioned Laurie in Halloween or Sidney Prescott in the Scream franchise, Sparrow is in no way prepared for her journey, an ordinary person in an extraordinary scenario, who’s unable to fully rely on a hero’s help - instead having to find her own way out of trouble.

And Mulligan delivers the twists and turns of this torturous 45 minutes with all of the nuance you’d expect from a future Oscar nominee.

Yet, what makes Blink truly special is that it delivers all of these thrills, scares and mental scars without the need for excessive blood splatters or easy cliches.

Through the simple combination of a killer script, top performances and a toe-curlingly terrifying concept, this beloved episode of Doctor Who provides everything horror has to offer, all without leaving the confines of a PG rating.

It may have come out 16 years ago now (yes, it is really that long ago), but Blink is still the ideal introduction to the genre - and a perfect Halloween watch, if you’re too scared to see Saw.'