Phobia Corner: Statues - 'Doctor Who'

The Phobia Statues

The Cause Various Doctor Who stories.

According to Wikipedia (always a dodgy way to start an article), a statue is "a sculpture in the round representing a person or persons, an animal, or an event, normally full-length, as opposed to a bust, and at least close to life-size, or larger. Its primary concern is representational."

Well, thanks to various moments of Doctor Who over the decades, statues have come to represent fear. Observe a Whovian nervously shudder past a stony installation and it's unlikely you'll see them batter their eyelids, for blinking is a strict no-no. Steven Moffat's sublime 2007 story 'Blink' introduced the world to the Weeping Angels - statues that can move and kill whenever eyes aren't open. The episode's final scene depicts a range of bronze and stone statues around the globe, their stillness potentially masking a sinister force within.

This wasn't the first time in the Whoniverse that statues were a malevolent force. In 1985's 'Revelation Of The Daleks', The Doctor was almost killed by a strategically-placed statue of himself when it toppled on him. It was all part of Dalek creator Davros's masterplan to thwart the Time Lord.

The Third Doctor had to fend off a particularly mobile statue in 1971 adventure 'The Daemons'. Made of stone and totally bulletproof, Bok was a gargoyle who served a Daemon called Azal and was activated by The Master. The Doctor managed to keep it at bay by reading a Venusian lullaby to it, but it went on the rampage attacking UNIT troops until Azal was defeated. Subsequently, Bok returned to its statue form and is presumably still lurking out there somewhere.

It's not only pigeons that aren't welcome in Trafalgar Square these days. The looming presence of Nelson's Column has ensured Doctor Who fans will keep well away.

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