Doctor Who's Steven Moffat releases original Blink draft – and the ending is very different
Sally Sparrow's fate could have been quite different.
Steven Moffat has unveiled the original script for Doctor Who's iconic instalment Blink, which saw the introduction of the terrifying Weeping Angels.
The writer released the document following a fan tweet-along to the episode on Halloween, although he encountered some difficulty retrieving it as it was saved in an outdated file format.
After several failed attempts, it was writing duo Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran who were able to gain access to the fabled script, which has numerous similarities to the finished product but some notable differences.
Moffat said in a statement: "A few things before you read. I hated the last scene so much that the morning after I emailed the script - before I’d even heard a note - I wrote a new ending and hurriedly sent it in. No one has seen this version in years, and hardly anyone saw it at the time. Forgotten history, I suppose. The road not taken."
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The episode was originally to be titled Sally Sparrow and The Weeping Angel, with fewer mentions of the word "blink" than featured in the final draft.
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Moffat continues: "The proper title hadn’t arrived yet, so no one says 'don’t blink!' Weird, really, looking back. When I changed the title, it was Russell [T Davies] who suggested I hit the word “blink” over and over again, like a cheesy old trailer. As you know, I ran with note for all I was worth - and what a brilliant note it was."
In addition, the original ending to the episode included a more uncertain future for Sally and Larry, as it was implied that Sally could potentially end up with another woman.
"Mind you, Russell always rather liked this ending - because, in his words, 'it was a bit more lesbian,'" Moffat recalled.
The full script is now available to read here.
The Weeping Angels were recently voted the scariest Doctor Who monster of all time in a poll by RadioTimes.com, beating out stiff competition from the likes of the Daleks, The Cybermen and the Gas Mask Zombies.
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