Weeping Angels
Encyclopedia
The Weeping Angels are a fictional ancient race of aliens from the Doctor Who
television series, featured in the Tenth Doctor
episode "Blink
", and the Eleventh Doctor
episodes "The Time of Angels
", "Flesh and Stone
" and in a cameo appearance in Series 6's "The God Complex
". Steven Moffat, their creator, attributes their appeal to childhood games such as Grandmother's Footsteps and the notion that every statue out there is secretly a Weeping Angel.
Their usual mode of feeding is to send their victims back in time, feeding on the resulting energy difference. When they are not being observed by another sentient being, they can move very quickly and silently, but when they are being observed they become "quantum-locked
", occupying a single position in space. In this state, they are frozen and indestructible. They cannot suppress this reaction. If two Weeping Angels were to look at each other at the same time, they would be trapped in stone form forever. To prevent this, they often cover their eyes when freezing - this makes them look like they are weeping. They were not shown moving (the angels were stop-motion in their initial appearance) until the Eleventh Doctor
episode, "Flesh and Stone
", where they slowly turn towards Amy Pond
when they realise she cannot open her eyes.
The Weeping Angels possess several notable abilities. They feed on energy, whether that energy be from electric lights, as seen in the Season 3 episode "Blink
", or from living creatures. Without power, the Angels start to decay, turn to stone without being watched, and begin to appear to melt; this can be undone by providing the Angels with energy, but it is implied they can no longer acquire energy themselves in this state. In "Blink," the Angels stole the Doctor's TARDIS
after trapping him in the past. The engine of the vehicle contained enough energy to feed them for a lifetime. They have also exhibited the power to project themselves through images. In "The Time of Angels
", an Angel trapped in the vault of the Byzantium is able to control a video screen that was playing video footage of it. It overrode the screen controls and could control nearby electronic equipment as well. The Angel is able to take over the screen and come through it in an attempt to kill Amy because "that which holds the image of an angel becomes itself an angel" (warning in an ancient book on the Angels, found by River Song
).
With a touch, a Weeping Angel can send a person into the past, to before his own birth. The Angels feed off the "potential energy" of the years their victims would have lived in the present. The Doctor describes them as "the only psychopaths in the universe to kill you nicely" because their victims are otherwise uninjured and may live out their lifespans in the past. However, in "The Time of Angels" it is suggested that when Angels need bodies for something (unexplained) they simply snap the victims necks and inhabit the bodies. The Angels also display the ability to speak in their victims voice, as "Angel Bob", a fallen soldier of the Church, becomes the "voice" of the Angels and explains the Angels motives and thoughts to the Doctor.
Weeping Angels can plant an image of themselves into a person's mind by looking straight into their eyes. Amy Pond
was infested in such a manner, to the point of verbally counting down in a manner similar to a time bomb, but she was able to suspend the Angel's gestation (though not eliminate it) by closing her eyes.
In the Christmas special "The End of Time - Part 2
", the president of the Time Lords, Rassilon
mentions that in the vote for Gallifrey to rise by ending time itself two voices rose against the decision to complete the ultimate sanction, so they were punished: "The vote is taken, only two stand against, and they stand as monuments to their shame - like the weeping angels of old." The two female Time Lords can be seen covering their eyes as the Weeping Angels do.
Novels
Short stories
In "Blink", a quartet of Weeping Angels send the Doctor and his companion Martha Jones
to the year 1969, and seek to feed off the vast "time energy" reserves of the TARDIS
he left behind in the present. But though they found the key to the TARDIS
, they cannot find the machine itself. Sally Sparrow takes the key from one of them while it is in stone form, leading them to stalk Sally to recover it. During their pursuit, Sally inadvertently leads them to the TARDIS. Eventually the four Angels, having surrounded the TARDIS, are tricked into looking at each other when the box disappears, leaving them deadlock
ed in their stone forms.
In "The Time of Angels
", in the distant future, a large group of Weeping Angels have been trapped in a catacomb for centuries, slowly losing their form due to starvation. When a rogue angel crashes a starship into the catacomb, the Angels feed off its leaking radiation and revive. The Weeping Angels are seen moving on-screen for the first time when they realise that Amy Pond cannot see them.
and the Dalek
s took second and third place, with 15% and 4% of the vote, respectively. The Daleks usually come out on top in such polls. Moray Laing, Editor of Doctor Who Adventures, praised the concept of escaping a monster by not blinking, something both simple and difficult to do.
The Weeping Angels came in at number three in Neil Gaiman
's "Top Ten New Classic Monsters" in Entertainment Weekly
. They were also rated the third "baddie" in Doctor Who by The Telegraph
, behind the Nestene Consciousness
and Dalek
s.
"Blink" won the Hugo award
for Best Dramatic Presentation (short form) in 2008.
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
television series, featured in the Tenth Doctor
Tenth Doctor
The Tenth Doctor is the tenth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He is played by David Tennant, who appears in three series, as well as eight specials...
episode "Blink
Blink (Doctor Who)
"Blink" is the 10th episode of the third series of the new production of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on 9 June 2007, and is the only episode in the 2007 series written by Steven Moffat; the episode is based on a previous short story written by...
", and the Eleventh Doctor
Eleventh Doctor
The Eleventh Doctor is the eleventh incarnation of the protagonist of the BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. Matt Smith plays this incarnation, replacing David Tennant's Tenth Doctor in the 2010 episode "The End of Time, Part Two"...
episodes "The Time of Angels
The Time of Angels
"The Time of Angels" is the fourth episode in the fifth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who, first broadcast on 24 April 2010 on BBC One. It is the first episode of a two-part story written by showrunner Steven Moffat and directed by Adam Smith; the second episode was...
", "Flesh and Stone
Flesh and Stone
"Flesh and Stone" is the fifth episode of the fifth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by showrunner Steven Moffat and directed by Adam Smith, the episode was first broadcast on 1 May 2010 on BBC One...
" and in a cameo appearance in Series 6's "The God Complex
The God Complex
"The God Complex" is the eleventh episode of the sixth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on BBC One, BBC America and Space on 17 September 2011.-Plot summary:...
". Steven Moffat, their creator, attributes their appeal to childhood games such as Grandmother's Footsteps and the notion that every statue out there is secretly a Weeping Angel.
Their usual mode of feeding is to send their victims back in time, feeding on the resulting energy difference. When they are not being observed by another sentient being, they can move very quickly and silently, but when they are being observed they become "quantum-locked
Quantum Zeno effect
The quantum Zeno effect is a name coined by George Sudarshan and Baidyanath Misra of the University of Texas in 1977 in their analysis of the situation in which an unstable particle, if observed continuously, will never decay. One can nearly "freeze" the evolution of the system by measuring it...
", occupying a single position in space. In this state, they are frozen and indestructible. They cannot suppress this reaction. If two Weeping Angels were to look at each other at the same time, they would be trapped in stone form forever. To prevent this, they often cover their eyes when freezing - this makes them look like they are weeping. They were not shown moving (the angels were stop-motion in their initial appearance) until the Eleventh Doctor
Eleventh Doctor
The Eleventh Doctor is the eleventh incarnation of the protagonist of the BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. Matt Smith plays this incarnation, replacing David Tennant's Tenth Doctor in the 2010 episode "The End of Time, Part Two"...
episode, "Flesh and Stone
Flesh and Stone
"Flesh and Stone" is the fifth episode of the fifth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by showrunner Steven Moffat and directed by Adam Smith, the episode was first broadcast on 1 May 2010 on BBC One...
", where they slowly turn towards Amy Pond
Amy Pond
Amelia Jessica 'Amy' Pond is a fictional character portrayed by Karen Gillan in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
when they realise she cannot open her eyes.
Description
According to the Doctor, the Weeping Angels "are as old as the universe (or very nearly), but no one really knows where they come from." He also describes them as the loneliest beings in the universe, since their quantum-lock reaction makes it difficult for them to socialize. That said, in all their TV appearances, the Angels could communicate with each other and work in groups. The quantum-lock is apparently an instinctive, uncontrollable reaction based on the idea of being seen. However, if the Angels are scared themselves, this reaction can be exploited to make them believe they are being watched when they are not. Though they themselves cannot speak, they can communicate through the voice of a person they kill by ripping out their brains and reanimating their minds. They are also very physically strong, capable of snapping necks, though physically killing a victim is rare for them.The Weeping Angels possess several notable abilities. They feed on energy, whether that energy be from electric lights, as seen in the Season 3 episode "Blink
Blink (Doctor Who)
"Blink" is the 10th episode of the third series of the new production of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on 9 June 2007, and is the only episode in the 2007 series written by Steven Moffat; the episode is based on a previous short story written by...
", or from living creatures. Without power, the Angels start to decay, turn to stone without being watched, and begin to appear to melt; this can be undone by providing the Angels with energy, but it is implied they can no longer acquire energy themselves in this state. In "Blink," the Angels stole the Doctor's TARDIS
TARDIS
The TARDISGenerally, TARDIS is written in all upper case letters—this convention was popularised by the Target novelisations of the 1970s...
after trapping him in the past. The engine of the vehicle contained enough energy to feed them for a lifetime. They have also exhibited the power to project themselves through images. In "The Time of Angels
The Time of Angels
"The Time of Angels" is the fourth episode in the fifth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who, first broadcast on 24 April 2010 on BBC One. It is the first episode of a two-part story written by showrunner Steven Moffat and directed by Adam Smith; the second episode was...
", an Angel trapped in the vault of the Byzantium is able to control a video screen that was playing video footage of it. It overrode the screen controls and could control nearby electronic equipment as well. The Angel is able to take over the screen and come through it in an attempt to kill Amy because "that which holds the image of an angel becomes itself an angel" (warning in an ancient book on the Angels, found by River Song
River Song (Doctor Who)
River Song is a fictional character played primarily by Alex Kingston in the British science-fiction series Doctor Who. River Song was introduced to the series as an experienced future companion of series protagonist the Doctor, an alien Time Lord who travels through time in his TARDIS...
).
With a touch, a Weeping Angel can send a person into the past, to before his own birth. The Angels feed off the "potential energy" of the years their victims would have lived in the present. The Doctor describes them as "the only psychopaths in the universe to kill you nicely" because their victims are otherwise uninjured and may live out their lifespans in the past. However, in "The Time of Angels" it is suggested that when Angels need bodies for something (unexplained) they simply snap the victims necks and inhabit the bodies. The Angels also display the ability to speak in their victims voice, as "Angel Bob", a fallen soldier of the Church, becomes the "voice" of the Angels and explains the Angels motives and thoughts to the Doctor.
Weeping Angels can plant an image of themselves into a person's mind by looking straight into their eyes. Amy Pond
Amy Pond
Amelia Jessica 'Amy' Pond is a fictional character portrayed by Karen Gillan in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
was infested in such a manner, to the point of verbally counting down in a manner similar to a time bomb, but she was able to suspend the Angel's gestation (though not eliminate it) by closing her eyes.
In the Christmas special "The End of Time - Part 2
The End of Time
The End of Time: The Next Revolution in Our Understanding of the Universe, also sold with the alternate subtitle The Next Revolution in Physics, is a 1999 science book in which the author Julian Barbour argues that time exists merely as an illusion.-Auto-biography:The book begins by describing how...
", the president of the Time Lords, Rassilon
Rassilon
Rassilon is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. In the backstory of the programme, he was the founder of Time Lord society on the planet Gallifrey...
mentions that in the vote for Gallifrey to rise by ending time itself two voices rose against the decision to complete the ultimate sanction, so they were punished: "The vote is taken, only two stand against, and they stand as monuments to their shame - like the weeping angels of old." The two female Time Lords can be seen covering their eyes as the Weeping Angels do.
Appearances
Television episodes- Series 3 (2007)
- BlinkBlink (Doctor Who)"Blink" is the 10th episode of the third series of the new production of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on 9 June 2007, and is the only episode in the 2007 series written by Steven Moffat; the episode is based on a previous short story written by...
- Series 5 (2010)
- The Time of AngelsThe Time of Angels"The Time of Angels" is the fourth episode in the fifth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who, first broadcast on 24 April 2010 on BBC One. It is the first episode of a two-part story written by showrunner Steven Moffat and directed by Adam Smith; the second episode was...
- Flesh and StoneFlesh and Stone"Flesh and Stone" is the fifth episode of the fifth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by showrunner Steven Moffat and directed by Adam Smith, the episode was first broadcast on 1 May 2010 on BBC One...
- Series 6 (2011)
- The God ComplexThe God Complex"The God Complex" is the eleventh episode of the sixth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on BBC One, BBC America and Space on 17 September 2011.-Plot summary:...
(illusion only)
Novels
- Touched by an Angel
Short stories
- Living History
- Suddenly in a Graveyard...
In "Blink", a quartet of Weeping Angels send the Doctor and his companion Martha Jones
Martha Jones
Martha Jones is a fictional character played by Freema Agyeman in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who and its spin-off series, Torchwood. She is a companion of the Tenth Doctor in Doctor Who, replacing Rose Tyler...
to the year 1969, and seek to feed off the vast "time energy" reserves of the TARDIS
TARDIS
The TARDISGenerally, TARDIS is written in all upper case letters—this convention was popularised by the Target novelisations of the 1970s...
he left behind in the present. But though they found the key to the TARDIS
TARDIS
The TARDISGenerally, TARDIS is written in all upper case letters—this convention was popularised by the Target novelisations of the 1970s...
, they cannot find the machine itself. Sally Sparrow takes the key from one of them while it is in stone form, leading them to stalk Sally to recover it. During their pursuit, Sally inadvertently leads them to the TARDIS. Eventually the four Angels, having surrounded the TARDIS, are tricked into looking at each other when the box disappears, leaving them deadlock
Deadlock
A deadlock is a situation where in two or more competing actions are each waiting for the other to finish, and thus neither ever does. It is often seen in a paradox like the "chicken or the egg"...
ed in their stone forms.
In "The Time of Angels
The Time of Angels
"The Time of Angels" is the fourth episode in the fifth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who, first broadcast on 24 April 2010 on BBC One. It is the first episode of a two-part story written by showrunner Steven Moffat and directed by Adam Smith; the second episode was...
", in the distant future, a large group of Weeping Angels have been trapped in a catacomb for centuries, slowly losing their form due to starvation. When a rogue angel crashes a starship into the catacomb, the Angels feed off its leaking radiation and revive. The Weeping Angels are seen moving on-screen for the first time when they realise that Amy Pond cannot see them.
Reception
In a poll conducted by BBC, taking votes from 2,000 readers of the Doctor Who Adventures magazine, the Weeping Angels were voted the scariest monsters of 2007 with 55% of the vote; the MasterMaster (Doctor Who)
The Master is a recurring character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He is a renegade Time Lord and the archenemy of the Doctor....
and the Dalek
Dalek
The Daleks are a fictional extraterrestrial race of mutants from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Within the series, Daleks are cyborgs from the planet Skaro, created by the scientist Davros during the final years of a thousand-year war against the Thals...
s took second and third place, with 15% and 4% of the vote, respectively. The Daleks usually come out on top in such polls. Moray Laing, Editor of Doctor Who Adventures, praised the concept of escaping a monster by not blinking, something both simple and difficult to do.
The Weeping Angels came in at number three in Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman
Neil Richard Gaiman born 10 November 1960)is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book...
's "Top Ten New Classic Monsters" in Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
. They were also rated the third "baddie" in Doctor Who by The Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
, behind the Nestene Consciousness
Auton
The Autons are an artificial life form from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, and adversaries of the Doctor. First appearing in Jon Pertwee's first serial as the Doctor, Spearhead from Space in 1970, they were the first monsters on the show to be presented in colour.Autons...
and Dalek
Dalek
The Daleks are a fictional extraterrestrial race of mutants from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Within the series, Daleks are cyborgs from the planet Skaro, created by the scientist Davros during the final years of a thousand-year war against the Thals...
s.
"Blink" won the Hugo award
Hugo Award
The Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...
for Best Dramatic Presentation (short form) in 2008.