So I've Been Meaning to Write This for a While

I've been thinking I should have written about this ages ago, but the script got nominated for a Hugo, and I just heard that the same writer got a script in the next season so now's as good a time as any.

I really, really liked the Doctor Who episode "Blink." You can read all about it here - easier than retyping the whole thing. It's a really well done, very tight time travel paradox story. Usually paradox stories don't work out logically - it's like someone got it in their head that they don't have to work that that's the paradox. That's a total cop out, they do have to work, they have to work better. A really tight paradox story is a lovely thing indeed and this is one of them.

There's also a cool alien: the "weeping angels." And as a Doctor Who episode it's unique because the Doctor is basically not in the episode. I guess they do "Doctor-lite" episodes so they can do parallel filming schedules. So mostly the Doctor is in this episode as a series of "easter eggs" on commercial DVDs that another character sees. Actually there's an artifact like that on each and every DVD she owns - and only those. They form the basis for a scripted conversation across timelines, a really cool concept, and even original science fiction I think (also really very rare).

The coolest part of the conversation device is that you wind up saying "Hang on a minute!" because it is logically falling apart, and then pretty much just at that moment, the moment you are doubting that the story is as tight as you thought it was, they fix it. Too cool.

So I am blathering, but I think it's likely that Scifi will rerun last season before the new season comes on. So if you get a chance to see "Blink" you shouldn't miss it.