Doctor Who: 10 Overused Tropes Of The Steven Moffat Era

Blink is undoubtedly one of Doctor Who’s all-time great episodes, and that’s largely down to the Weeping Angels burrowing into our everyday fears. Could that statue you pass on the way to work be a homicidal time assassin? Better keep your eyes on it, just in case.

This approach to writing monsters, for which he asks the question, “What’s the playground game?”, is one that Moffat’s had success with many times. It’s easy for kids to come up with games related to imagining they’ve seen and forgotten the Silence, or that every little creak they hear is the monster from Listen. All these are ingenious creations, and that can’t be understated.

But none of these monsters have sustained repeat appearances. The Angels became less threatening with every appearance, the Silence only made brief and disappointing returns, and how could a Listen sequel ever worked? What the Moffat era has lacked is a new alien race with enough depth and variation to each individual for them to work as a recurring presence.