Blink and you'll miss him

(The following fer sure fer sure contains spoilers about Blink.)
I LOVED this week's Doctor Who episode, and he wasn't in it much at all. "Blink" was the second reinterpretation of a previously published story in a row, this time with Steven Moffat using his Sally Sparrow story from the 2006 Annual. Same premise, same character name, but the rest all different. More canon trouble? Well, the comic strips and Annual short stories have less of a claim than the novels and audios in that respect. Let's just move on, shall we?

"Blink" was, like "Love & Monsters" last year, an essentially Doctor-less show. To make room for a Christmas special in the actors' schedules, we'll be getting one of these annually. But if there's a character that's well cut out for this, it's the Doctor. With a 1000-year lifespan and a godlike reputation, it's entirely permissable to tell stories in which he is simply an inspiration in another protagonist's life. And if those protagonists are going to be totally charming and three-dimensional characters like Elton (last year) and Sally Sparrow (this year), you won't hear me complaining. (Sally is YUMMY!)
I'm reminded of certain comic book series where many issues were devoted to other people who were only just touched by the lead character, most prominently fellow Whovian Neil Gaiman's Sandman, but this was not unknown in Doctor Who even before the new series. The New Adventures sometimes sidelined the Doctor totally in favour of his companions, and early Who's tight schedules meant the Doctor was sometimes out of action for an episode or more. Usually just backstage, but there is the matter of Mission to the Unknown, aka the "Dalek cutaway" which sets up The Daleks' Masterplan. Here, the Daleks are the stars and they mow down the good guys with abandon.

So that's an idea for next year! An epsiode from the point of view of the villains, villains who have lost before they could even try. Don't mess with a time traveller.

Other thoughts on Blink:
-Does it work as a time travel puzzle? The answer is yes. I wish I could direct you to the theories, but you have to be a member of Outpost Gallifrey to access their forums (hey, it's free, so do yourself a favour).
-When I found out the Angels were played by mimes IT BLEW MY MIND. It's still pretty blown days later as I write these words. I may never recover.
-On that subject, they ramped up the suspense so much there towards the end that I was sure Nightingale was gonna bite it.
-Favourite line: "Don't look at me. Don't look at me... Don't look at me!" Not only is that a gorgeous bit of acting and character, immensely sweet, but on second viewing, it seemed to inform on the Angels' modus operandi.
-The statue montage at the end made for a beautiful closer. Just the chill I needed, in fact. It works great with the idea that Doctor Who is about finding the magic and/or terror in common everyday things (police boxes as much as statuary).

See you next week, I have to check my loo for Yeti.