Angels -- the kind that weep

So when I read Anne Rice's Angel Time (and she mentioned my review on her FB page. It's been a while and just wanted to bring up that past glory ;-), the angels in her story couldn't understand exactly what was in the heart of man, but they did hide their faces and weep when people turned their backs away from God and did the wrong thing.

So the statue of a weeping angel is not anything unusual. It typically evokes feelings of grief, sadness, and loss. I'm not sure one would associate it with horror, but leave it to Doctor Who to do just that.

The Weeping Angels appear in what is probably my favorite episode of the re-booted series, Blink. [Just to give my quick thoughts on Doctor Who:  loved Tennant as the Doctor, favorite series was Season 2, favorite sidekick was Donna Noble and was really looking forward to her turn as the companion but that series was very sad and dark for me.]

Anyroad, with all the talk about Angels these days it's nice to see Doctor Who bringing them back in the two most recent episodes featuring the Tenth Doctor (Matt Smith). Yes, Matt is young, and I had reservations about him replacing Tennant but they were completely washed away when I saw his performance at the end of Time Part 2. I wasn't even aware that BBC America was running the series until I was flipping through the stations on Saturday night and saw it was on AND that my favorite baddies, the Weeping Angels, were once again in it.

What makes these beautiful messengers so bad that I love them? Well basically, they look like statutes, but really they're humanoid beings who cannot move while someone is looking at them or seeing them. They move when the lights are out, or when your back is turned, or when you... blink your eyes. In a split-second, they'll touch you and send you back in time. Just the thought of beings masquerading as innocuous statues who can sneak up on you in the blink of an eye and then -- whammo! That's right, you'll end up, just as you are in the here and now -- same age, same experiences and memories -- only you'll have to start over again with your life in, say 1890. Or 1945. Or 1762.

Sure, it doesn't sound so bad, especially for people who like historical fiction (though not having antibiotics does make me shudder!) but in the lastest episode -- the angels are killing people, and now they've trapped The Doctor, his new, spunky companion, and Alex Kingston who plays River Song, a woman from the Doctor's past (or future, depending upon which point in time you're at) and that's what makes her so mysterious and intriguing.

I'll definitely be tuning in this Saturday night for the concluding episode, Flesh and Stone (and I know the folks in the UK have probably already seen it so please don't spoil me!) to see how it all ends.