Steven Moffat shares early Doctor Who Weeping Angels concept
They have been voted time and again the scariest monster ever to have been in the Doctor Who universe. The Weeping Angels, are indeed, a classic Doctor Who monster of the modern era. And now, more than fifteen years after the character first appeared in the episode Blink, opposite Carey Mulligan, in June 2007, the writer of the show, and the man who would go on to be showrunner of the BBC sci-fi series, Steven Moffat, has shared some early notes on the baddies.
Writing on Twitter, Steven Moffat, who wrote many episodes of Doctor Who between 2005 and 2009, before becoming showrunner of Doctor Who until he was succeeded by Chris Chibnall in 2017, shared an email that he sent to Julia Gardner, a producer, while writing the episode in late 2006.
The email details The Weeping Angels as “My monsters: statues that come to life when, but only when they’re unobserved.”
Moffat goes on: “So when we look at them, they look like stone statues – motionless, weather-beaten stone. They are weeping angels, with folded wings on their backs, and their faces always buried in their hands. But when you look away, their hands drop and they look at you. And maybe do a bit sneaking-up.”
The fascinating email for Doctor Who fans give a really in-depth insight into the birth of this brilliant monster that would go on to appear in several stories including The Time of Angels and The Angels Take Manhattan.
Moffat also talks about the logistics of the character, suggesting they’d need “five or six of them” and detailing the way they could be shot in order to make the production as smooth as possible.
In the introduction to the email screenshot, Moffat says he has “no memory of writing it” but “it made me smile when I realised I was talking about it.”
Steven Moffat has recently released his new drama Inside Man, a thriller which stars Stanley Tucci and sees him reunited with the star of the Doctor Who episode Blink David Tennant in one of the main roles.
With Tennant returning to the show for its 60th anniversary in 2023 alongside another returnee in the shape of Russell T Davies, Moffat has also been speculated to be returning. However, when asked recently, he said he didn’t have any plans to be going back to Doctor Who anytime soon.
Former Doctor Peter Capaldi, who played the Twelfth incarnation of the Doctor has also said he won’t be involved in the special episodes in 2023.
So far there’s no word on Matt Smith and many of the other big names from the modern era of Doctor Who.
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