I have been taking an informal survey of my co-workers and friends in regards to who watches the new Dr. Who or anything BBC. It’s vaguely amusing when people ask me back, “Dr. Who?” Anyhow, I was talking to a friend last night and told him to look up one Dr. Who episode in which alien weeping angel statues go around touching people and killing them (draining their energy, sending them back in time, etc). This is one fantastic creepy story! With no bloodshed too!
“Possessing a natural and unique defense mechanism, the Angels are quantum locked. This means that they can only move when no other living creature, including their own kind, is looking at them. As soon as they are observed, they instantly turn to stone and cannot be killed.” More explanation on what actually happens to the victims is discussed here on this Wikipedia page.
“Blink” (2007) is the tenth episode in the new Dr. Who series 3 in which these weeping angels first appear. I don’t want to spoil anything, but just know that you have to keep staring at these angel statues and keep your eyes open – every time you blink, they come closer and closer until they grab you! Argh!! This episode won a ton of British awards, for best writer, actress, etc. Fans of Dr. Who Magazine voted it as the second best episode ever in 2009.
The inspiration for these scary creatures came from a children’s game called “Grandma’s Footsteps” (I’ve never actually played though, not sure if it’s British too?). Anyhow, one person (male/female) is grandma who is facing the wall. The other people try to creep up on grandma and tap her on the shoulder. If grandma turns around suddenly, everyone has to stop moving. If someone moves, grandma points to them and they have to return to start. As long as grandma is looking, no one can move. Whoever taps grandma on the shoulder becomes the next grandma and the game starts again!
If this isn’t twisted enough for you, try watching a series called “Black Mirror“, another BBC show. One season consists of only 3 episodes and there are 2 seasons so far. This show really freaked out my Viking husband as the settings and how the characters react (ordinary people) are so realistic, yet what happens is very twisted. The first episode features a British princess from a Royal family that gets kidnapped. The only way the kidnapper would free her is for the Prime Minister to have sex with a pig on live television. There are public polls via social media in which this action is supported so that a life can be saved. What would you do if you were the Prime Minister?
Musings of a Generic Asian 