The Ninth Doctor #18

'What I Did on My Christmas Holidays by Sally Sparrow' (2005) from Doctor Who Annual 2006.

It's very different to experience a Doctor Who story from more of a writer-development perspective rather than canon-development. I don't really care as much about how this Sally Sparrow and the Blink Sally Sparrow could possibly be the same person, and instead find interest in how this plants many seeds that Moffat will later flower in the televised version. As a short story, though, it's plenty of fun, and shares a lot of the mystery and even dread that Blink has while being shrouded in that child-like fairytale wonder.

I hadn’t realized this was the predecessor of Blink. But it was so fascinating to make the comparisons between the ideas that began here and what ended up in the episode.

DOCTOR WHO ANNUAL: 2006: STORY 14

Steven Moffat’s short story from the Doctor Who Annual 2006, What I Did on My Christmas Holidays by Sally Sparrow, is well known for being the inspiration for Moffat’s very own Blink.

Because Blink is a very well-known and popular episode, it’s interesting to look out for similarities and differences between the short story and the TV episode. While we have the timey-wimey aspects that made Blink a success, such as the writing behind the wallpaper and the Doctor’s video message, a noticeable difference is the fact that Sally Sparrow is a younger character here.

But perhaps Blink’s biggest addition is the iconic Weeping Angels, who were not in the original short story.

Something that has been said many times before, but is most definitely true, is the fact that Moffat is absolutely wonderful at writing prose. It’s something I wish he did more.

But while the story is beautiful to read, it is slightly let down by the underwhelming story.

The short story is pretty solid. A bare-bones version of some concepts that would be fleshed out in Blink much better (I prefer the TV Questions works much better in a visual media and/or audios). Moffat is great at writing prose, so it’s always nice to read them. He writes the child wonder greatly, he already did great in that one Short Story in that 13th Lockdown Anthology. I probably sound much harsher than I should, but I did think it did its job well and was a lovely read.

Cute short story! I enjoyed reading this earlier idea for the scenario.